My back yard has a 11ft chain link fence going down the long side of the property. Whenever they installed it it comes to be about 2-12 inches of the ground causing big gaps at the bottom so my dog can get out is there any way to fix this cheaply and with out a lot of know how? The fence is probably 100 feet long. I just don’t know what to do about it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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You would have to release the fence from all the posts, except the end ones, then use some sort of pole to push it down at each post, and re-attach the fence. It’s going to be a lengthy job.
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You can bury chicken wire about a foot deep and then bring an edge up to the fence gap and attach it to the chain link.
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I would probably just add something to the bottom of the fence. If your yard is not level lowering the fence might not look right. If it is just to keep the dog in a hot wire works nicely and is easy to install. If you also want something that looks better put a row of bricks used to make raised flower beds or landscape timbers. 2 1/2″ is not much space to make. Go to a garden section and look around you should be able to find something that will work.
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I have 4 dogs, myself, and recently built my own fence after a lot of research and lots of thought, since one of my dogs is a digger. An alternative to Ray’s suggestion would be to buy (or maybe get some used fencing through Freecycle) some cheap wire fencing, like chicken wire, that you can cut as high as you need it to be, then dig a trench around the bottom of the fence. Place the bottom of the wire in the trench and tie the top of the wire to the bottom of the chainlink. Recover the trench. This will not only solve the spacing problem, but will also help prevent your dog from trying to dig under the fence. If you happen to notice your dog digging under the trench, or trying to dig under the fence, then you can usually stop the problem by burying your dog’s poop in any hole that you find. This seems to deter them from digging in the same spot, so if you have enough poop available, you might want to add some to the trench before you fill it back in, just to be on the safe side. Gravel rocks added to the trench is another possible solution.
If your dog is not a digger, you might be able to use some fill dirt to raise the ground level up to the fence. Or, you might try asking around construction sites or demolition for any unwanted pavers or lumber (that would normally end up in the landfill!), and place that around the bottom of your fence to cover the gap. Don’t be afraid to ask people for stuff they would normally just “throw away,” especially if it’s still in pretty good shape and would just take up space in landfills. Many people would be happy to just give the stuff away to anyone who may want it, especially if they are charged money by the city dump for dumping it. Naturally, pavers or bricks would look nicer than lumber, but either way, you can always paint it to make it look better, like it’s part of the fence design. Then, at a later date, if you want to, you can always try hiding the “extension” with plants. Just make sure they’re non-toxic to dogs, so your dog doesn’t end up getting poisoned.
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If you add fencing to your side of the fence be sure to tie the tops onto the existing fence. Your dogs may attempt to pull down you installed piece of fence and crawl between the two wires and get stuck and possibly injured.