Installing anti-climb or non-scalable fencing is highly recommended if your backyard faces a park, parking lot, alleyway, or any other location where suspicious individuals may attempt to gain easy access to your house.

An Anti-climbing fence is any fence that is designed to make it difficult to scale. Normally at least 2.1 meters high and the most popular style known as the 358 is made of high-grade steel mesh that can’t be cut or scaled easily.

Essentially you can use any material like wood or vinyl, but keeping the outer face of the fence free from lateral supports or anything that would help a would-be bad guy climb it.

The 358 non-scalable fence

358 refers to the imperial measurements: 3” x 0.5” x 8 gauge. This is the size of each rectangle in the fence, designed to make it impossible to comfortably get toes or fingers in to climb.

Some facilities such as schools and childcare centers may require even tighter mesh aperture sizes to prevent tiny hands and feet from gaining usable holds. Protective fencing can accommodate any special customization needs you have such as extra small mesh aperture sizes.

The 358 non scalable fence

Anti-climb mesh

Many homeowners think of fencing simply as a way to prevent unlawful entry and to protect their property. Anti-climb mesh fencing is just necessary to keep people safe from harm.

Maybe there are some areas on your property that some people may find attractive for outrageous selfies, or just to fulfill youthful exuberance or drunken dares. That can put their lives at the risk. Anti-climb fencing can help prevent people from gaining access to the potentially dangerous areas on your property.

Failure to take appropriate anti-climb safety measures may lead to litigation and a lifelong sense of guilt if tragedy or accident happens. If you don’t want your property to look like a prison it’s good to know that you can procure attractive anti-climb mesh fencing solutions that will keep everyone safe while looking great.

Anti-climb fence design

Anti-climb fences should be at least 2.1 meters high to be effective. This is a minimal height, but if there are parapets or other objects nearby that might be used to assist climbing then the height should be raised to eliminate those parapets.

Carpark buildings often feature easy and open access to dangerous heights. In situations like this anti-climb fence design should include floor-to-ceiling mesh fencing. In other high-risk situations inwards leaning fences offer enhanced anti-climb protection.

Appearance and visibility are vital elements in modern safety fencing because you don’t want to create a prison-like atmosphere. On the market, there is a wide range of anti-climb mesh that is highly attractive, powder-coated, and in a huge color palette.

Anti climb fence design

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Anti-Climb fence characteristic and uses

Anti-climb 358 steel fence provides maximum property security and personal safety. That is due to the following characteristics:

  • Extremely difficult to climb. Because of the aperture size, they are nearly impossible to climb;
  • Highly resistant to normal cutting tools thanks to the minimal penetration gaps afforded by the aperture size;
  • Visually attractive – sufficient aperture size allows for clear spectator viewing pleasure whilst maintaining public safety;
  • Suitable for visual security and camera surveillance.

Generally, all anti-climbing fences are ideal for maintaining a safe environment at:

  • Airports, shipping terminals, and railways;
  • Schools, educational institutes, and libraries;
  • Motor racing circus;
  • Hospitals;
  • Hazardous natural features such as cliffs and waterfalls;
  • Dangerous animal enclosures, zoos, and aquariums;
  • High voltage transformers and dangerous chemical storage areas.

Benefits of a non-scalable fence

Public safety is an increasingly important issue that concerns all commercial operations and public spaces. Suicides and tragic accidents can have stressful repercussions on you, your staff, and witnesses. Inadequate anti-climb safety measures may also leave you open to health and safety infringement penalties and legal issues.

Anti-climb and non-scalable fencing products will also save you money because they are:

  • Cheap to install;
  • Effective in virtually eliminating safety branches;
  • Long-lasting. Up to four times longer lifespan than other fencing products thanks to the superior Zinc/Aluminium anti-corrosion coating.

Treatment of the surface

Non-scalable fences have standard galvanized anti-corrosion, in the galvanization process, a layer of zinc is formed on the surface of the steel. This coating protects the steel against atmospheric corrosion.

Galvanized panel fencing systems may be optionally powder coated in a color of your choice. Powder coating enhances the anti-corrosion by preventing the oxidation of the zinc, owing to which fencing systems preserve their aesthetic longer.

Specifications of 358 fence/high-security fencing

Panel Size
(Height x Width)
Fence Post
(Height x Size x Thick)
Clamp Bar
(Height x Width x Thick)
Inter or Corner Clamp No (PCS)
2007mm ×2515mm2700mm ×60×60×2.5mm2007mm×60mm ×5.00mm7 or 14
2400mm× 2515mm3100mm×60×60×2.5mm2400mm×60mm ×5.00mm9 or 18
2997mm×2515mm3800mm×80×80×2.5mm2997mm×80mm ×6.00mm11 or 22
3302mm ×2515mm4200mm×80×80×2.5mm3302mm×80mm ×6.00mm12 or 24
3607mm ×2515mm4500mm×100×60×3.0mm3607mm×100mm×7.00mm13 or 26
3607mm ×2515mm4500mm×100×100×3.0mm3607mm×100mm×7.00mm13 or 26
4204mm × 2515mm5200mm×100×100×4.0mm4204mm×100mm×8.00mm15 or 30
4496mm × 2515mm5500mm×100×100×5.0mm4496mm×100mm×8.00mm16 or 32
5207mm ×2515mm6200mm×120×120×5.0mm5207mm×100mm×8.00mm18 or 36

How to improve the security of non-scalable fences?

If you want to improve the security of your anti-climb fence system, additional security topping is essential. Those additional toppings include:

  • Barbed wire
  • Razor wire
  • Rotating spikes
  • Anti-climb spinners
  • Rota spike
  • Electric pulse fence

These toppings are effective because they are sharp and spiky, and if the intruder tries to touch them or climb over, they could be cut and caught on them. This increases the risk of the uninvited guest being injured or caught so it is likely to deter them from even trying.

Installation of the security accessories

Different system means a different way of attaching which includes a specially designed post or bolt-on extensions.

Barb & razor wire is normally fitted using “T” or “Y” extension. “T” extensions mean the wires will be upright, while “Y” extensions mean the wires will be curving outwards the front of the fence. When the toping is extending outwards, the dept an intruder would need to get over gets much deeper making it more difficult to climb over.

In most cases “Y” extension is recommended, the reason is explained above, but sometimes there are certain restraints that make the usage of “Y” extensions impossible. In that case, go with the “T” extension.

Why consider before installation of the toppings?

The biggest drawback of the additional security accessories is the cost. By adding an anti-climb topping onto your system, you raise the overall cost of the project because of the cost of the material and the cost of the installer adding this to the fence.

There are also additional risks for the installation crew since they are attaching something sharp and spiky to the top of the fence, and proper method statements must be provided to cover this.

A more cost-effective and safest option is to buy a palisade with the pales curved outwards and mesh with the panel curved outwards. The process of adding these toppings is part of manufacturing meaning no extra material and installation time, which is more economical.

Bottom line

No matter what level of security your fences are, you are purchasing a fence to demarcate a boundary so the last thing you want is a person climbing over the fence.

With both mesh security fencing and palisade security fencing, the aim is to ensure that it is difficult to gain footholds and that footholds can’t easily be created. But the most effective feature to make an anti-climb fence is an additional security topping or curving the panel/pales outwards to create an overhang.

FAQ's

As the name suggests, anti-climb fences are designed to prevent anyone from climbing your fences and gaining access to a property or potentially dangerous areas. The mesh apertures must be small enough to prevent people from gaining a good foot-hold for climbing.

Usually, the anti-climb mesh is manufactured from a quality OneSteel Zalcote (Zinc/Aluminium) 4mm high tensile steel mesh, and it has an aperture of 71mm x 9mm that is too small for hands or feet.

People considering various perimeter security solutions to boost security around their homes and work premises often ask: Are anti-climb spikes legal? The answer is yes they are – but you need to use them in accordance with the law.

Do anti climb spikes work

Only use anti-climb paint where legitimate or normal access is not permitted. You have a legal duty to display a clear warning notice when anti-climb paint is used, these need to be easy to see from any angle of approach and repeated every 2-3 linear meters.

Anti-climb spikes are a highly effective, highly visible intruder deterrent. Installing anti-climb spikes on top of vulnerable barriers such as walls, fences, and gates significantly bolsters property security.

The general rule of thumb is that in a property’s back, fence panels can be a maximum of 2 meters high. If you are thinking about front garden fences, restrictions state that fences alongside a driveway can be a maximum of 1m or 3ft.

igor elenchevski
Author: igor elenchevski - is a prolific writer in many niches including music, home improvement and even psychology and addictions. His success is built around his in-depth research and understanding of a subject before putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys).