NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE

**Idaho**

**CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATIONS**

**FOR**

**POWER FENCE**

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(Owner/Operator) (Project Title)

GENERAL

Installation shall be in accordance with an approved plan. Details of
construction shown on the drawings but not include herein are considered
as part of these specifications. Construction activities shall be in
accordance with applicable OSHA regulations.

Prior to construction the fence lines shall be cleared of any possible
obstruction that would hinder the fence placement and operation.

The soil surface along the fence line shall be relatively smooth such
that placement of the bottom fencing member does not exceed the maximum
fence member to soil surface spacing specified.

The fence materials shall have an expected life of 10 years with routine
maintenance. All wood materials except Orange Osage, Western Red Cedar,
Juniper and Black Locust that have contact with the soil shall be
treated with an EPA-registered wood preservative. Wood posts shall be
treated from the butt end of the post to distance of at least 30 inches
for line posts and 36 inches for all corner, gate and brace posts. Refer
to Table 1 for the life expectancy of treated versus untreated wood
posts.

MATERIALS

[Fiberglass Posts]{.underline}. Fiberglass posts shall be of heavy duty
specified material with a minimum diameter of 1 inch.

[Wood Insultimber]{.underline}. Iron wood posts shall be a minimum of 1
inch square in dimensions.

[Wood Posts]{.underline}. Line posts shall have a minimum top diameter
of 3 inches and shall be a minimum of 6 feet in length. Corner, gate and
brace posts shall have a minimum top diameter of 5 inches and shall be a
minimum of 7 feet in length. Braces shall have a minimum top diameter of
4 inches and shall be a minimum of 6 feet in length.

Table 1. Life Expectancy of Untreated and Treated Fence Posts (Years)

+------------------+-----------+------------+------------+-----------+
| Kind of Wood     | U         | Pressure   | Hot and    | Cold Soak |
|                  | n-treated |            | Cold Bath  |           |
|                  |           | Treated    |            |           |
+------------------+-----------+------------+------------+-----------+
| Western Red      | 12-15     | 20-25      | 20-25      | \-        |
| Cedar            |           |            |            |           |
+------------------+-----------+------------+------------+-----------+
| Lodgepole &      | 2-4       | 20-25      | 15-20      | 10-20     |
| Ponderosa Pine   |           |            |            |           |
+------------------+-----------+------------+------------+-----------+
| Aspen or         | 1-3       | 15-20      | 10-15      | 5-10      |
|                  |           |            |            |           |
| Cottonwood       |           |            |            |           |
+------------------+-----------+------------+------------+-----------+
| Douglas Fir &    | 3-6       | 20-35      | 15-25      | 10-20     |
| Western Hemlock  |           |            |            |           |
+------------------+-----------+------------+------------+-----------+

[Wire]{.underline}. The grade of the wire shall be 12.5-gauge or heavier
galvanized high tensile with a minimum tensile strength of 135,000 psi.
Galvanizing shall be no less than Class III (0.8 oz. of zinc per square
foot of surface).

[Fasteners]{.underline}. Fasteners may be made of high quality glazed
porcelain or UV resistant HDPE or HDPP plastic. Galvanized 9-gauge wire
may be used on fiberglass and insultimber posts.

[Stays]{.underline}. Fiberglass stays shall be used; they shall consist
of marble, fiberglass and high-polymer resins.

[Energizer Units]{.underline}. The unit shall include a high impact
self-insulating weather resist case, a snap-in circuit panel, a safety
pace fuse, a lightening arrester, have full power input and reduced
power output, be high power/low impedance with 5,000-volt peak output
and have a 2.3 millionlombs charge and a pulse that is furnished within
300 millionths of a second. The unit shall operate on 110-volt, 220-volt
electrical power or 12-volt battery or solar--powered system.

INSTALLATION

The fence shall be reasonably straight and shall not deviate more than
12 inches between any corner and gate or line brace assembly.

The line tension for all line wires shall not be less than 175 pounds
per wire.

All power fences will be grounded with at least three ½-inch diameter
galvanized rods.

[Post Depth]{.underline}. Fiberglass line posts shall be set a minimum
depth of 1.5 feet and wood line posts shall be set to a minimum depth of
2 feet, unless otherwise specified. Gate, corner and brace posts shall
be set to a minimum depth of 3 feet, unless otherwise specified.

[Post Spacing]{.underline}. The maximum post spacing interval shall be
50 feet on fences without fence stays and 100 feet with one stay between
posts.

[Line Bracing]{.underline}. Line brace assemblies shall be located at
all corners, gates and abrupt changes in vertical topography (generally
considered as 15 degrees). On straight reaches of fencing line braces
shall be installed at a spacing of no more than 1300 feet.

[Wire Spacing]{.underline}. Wire spacings are as follows, unless
otherwise specified:

Table 2. Wire Spacing (Cattle Only Fence)

  --------------------- ------------- ------------ ------------ -----------
  Fence Type            Spacing                                 
                        Measured From                           
                        Groundline                              
                        (inches)                                

  2-wire                18 -          30 +                      

  3-wire                18 +          26 -         36 +         

  4-wire                12 -          20 +         28 -         38 +
  --------------------- ------------- ------------ ------------ -----------

Table 3. Wire Spacing (Sheep Only Fence)

  ---------------------- ------------ --------- --------- --------- ---------
  Fence Type             Spacing                                    
                         Measured                                   
                         From                                       
                         Groundline                                 
                         (inches)                                   

  4-wire                 10 +         16 -      24 +      32 -      

  5-wire                 6 +          12 -      18 +      24 -      34 +
  ---------------------- ------------ --------- --------- --------- ---------

Note: On spacing (+) denotes charged wire and (-) denotes a ground wire.
Where the free movement of antelope is a concern, the bottom wire shall
always be a ground wire and alternate wires should be charged from the
bottom wire.

[Wire Fasteners]{.underline}. Fasteners shall be attached to the posts
in such a manner so as not to cause grounding of the line wires.

[Stays]{.underline}. Stays shall be uniformly spaced between the posts
as required for the specified post spacing.

[Grounding Rods]{.underline}. All energizers must be grounded. Ground
rods for the fence must be driven into the ground a minimum of 6 feet or
additional grounding rods shall be added.