Looking into turning our little patch of land (based in Taichung) into a proper garden. I’m dealing with the actual digging up of the land, seeding, planting etc myself for the most part but there are certain things I just would not have any experience (probably ability to do to be honest) in and would need outside help.
At a minimum this would involve the construction of a wall / fence around the land (with a gate in it), perhaps a pergola or similar structure being made and then price depending some lesser jobs…
Does anyone have any experience with such an endeavor in TW? Anyone have any recommendations for who to contact/ where to look? How expensive could such an endeavor be?
What type of fence are you considering? Like a chain link fence?
We built a very long chain link fence around our farmhouse. But we just used the vendor who built our warehouse and very large patio cover. We first put in a 60cm concrete base (half underground) and then workers added square iron poles upon which the chain link was soldered.
In terms of why type of wall/fence - We are very much open to different ideas based on what is available/ can be done / prices but it’d have to be something that’d keep a small dog inside.
If no need for fence to look “nice” then can do it yourself. I would use L shaped steel posts and plastic screen (which has different hole sizes). Dig hole and throw in a concrete cinder block. I used concrete to keep the steel post in place.
The above info from hansioux could prove to be very helpful in terms of knowing how much materials might cost when considering pricing.
That said the Pergola & Fence / wall (unless the cost was exorbitant I’d guess my wife would be looking for wood or somewhat decorative if it wasn’t a wall) was something in the OP I mentioned I’d be looking for outside help in doing.
I’ve no idea where to look in TW for something like a pergola and tbh I’m not sure if I even knew the word in English until recently!
I can ask the wife if she has the cost for our fence. Was one quote for fence, warehouse, patio cover, etc. … so not sure if she has a breakdown of costs for fence. Our fence is about 220 meters so was significant job. Was done 10 years ago in Hualien so not sure if useful.
Well I can handle the plants etc myself but definitely need some small contractor or similars help for the wall/fence - pergola etc because it is a space with complications.
11.7m x 12.51m - only those 2 sides would need a fence as the other two sides are blocked off by buildings. The land (and buildings) are elevated with the area below farming land or a path depending on the side. This means there is concrete right at the borders of the garden where any wall/fence will go.
The idea of the wall/fence is for privacy, stop farmers dumping their garbage in the former unused space and to keep our dog inside safely but not to entirely block out the view (just won’t make it too high). My wife would not be a fan of a chain link fence and would probably be looking for a wooden fence and is under the impression a wall may be more expensive anyway. She would probably prefer the aesthetic of the wood fence anyway.
Wood is probably the most expensive option, and it will surely rot in not that long a time. Where are you located (roughly). I have a couple pules of logs stored in SE Taiwan, they would make good temporary posts (they will rot too).
Chain link with vines on them are probably best. Concrete blocks and metal sheets are the other common things used here
If going wood, just go in with the understanding it will need redoing relatively often
Though drift wood from the *ocean can be done for free and the salt somewhat helps with fungal rot a bit.
And remember the wind gusts here. Even this week the wind was very strong at my house.
I had a nice looking arching trellis. The flower vines kept reaching out and hooking onto nearby tree. Well, I did not cut back often enough so with a couple of typhoons a few years back the tree limbs swaying back and forth pulled the vines so strongly my trellis was torn to bits. Well, the trellis quality was not so good in my opinion…bought at Costco.
No chance I can talk my wife into a chain link it’d seem, she is definitely looking for something more aesthetically pleasing. It looks like we will go the very Taiwanese route of looks like wood but is actually a form of plastic fencing.
Haven’t actually found who we will go with yet to help us with this project though (was originally looking to see if anyone knew where to go / who to use for assistance on jobs like the fencing and pergola)
Synthetic composite boards are commonly used around the world for housing now, it has a lot of advantages over wood from what I can see. So not sure I would describe it as a Taiwanese thing. As for their use in fencing or walls I don’t know anything about that.
Not meant in any kind of negative way but I’ve had a good deal of experience with looks like wood products in Taiwan from floor boards, to thick stickers on kitchen cabinets to give a wood finish and more. Once it looks good I’ve no issue especially if it can help with costs and potential rot issues.
