Paul Green, security specialist at The Expanded Metal Company, examines the differences between palisade fencing and expanded metal mesh fencing.
Look at any site with perimeter protection or pay attention to the fencing that is preventing access to train tracks, and you’ll often see either expanded metal mesh or palisade fencing being employed. Both types of security fencing have their advantages – but why should you choose one over the other?
The use of palisades – originally wooden stakes driven into the ground side by side to form a barrier – can be traced back to ancient Greece and Rome, where they were used to protect military camps. Wooden palisades were also used by Native American societies.
Metal palisade fencing is today used across multiple sectors as a low-cost perimeter security solution. It is very easy to transport over rough terrain and is simple to install over sloping terrain, so as well as urban applications, palisade fencing is often employed in rural or more remote areas.
However, there are several disadvantages to palisade from a security perspective.
Expanded metal mesh is a comparatively more recent security solution. Originally developed in the 1880s by John French Golding, the inventor and patentee of expanded metal and founder of The Expanded Metal Company, expanded metal mesh was originally widely used in the construction industry.
However, its qualities give the material several advantages as a fencing solution – and for many years it has been widely used as a fencing solution across the world. Certified, high-end double skinned security fencing such as ExMesh™ SR3 is used to protect critical infrastructure, government and military sites and high-risk areas, while lower cost options such as ExMesh™ Fastrack have been designed to be used across miles of railway embankments to protect transport infrastructure and the public.
Expanded metal mesh boasts several qualities which make it highly suitable as a security fencing solution.
For more information on expanded metal security solutions, visit the ExMesh™ website.
Check out the video below which shows just how difficult expanded metal mesh fencing is to break through…
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