Hello,
I am trying to build an 8′ tall fence/screen on top of my parapet wall and not really sure how to secure it. The parapet wall has a metal coping on it and is a demising boundary between my property and my neighboor’s.
I am concerned that if I use screws to attach the wood base of the fence to the top of the parapet wall I would later on get water penetration(extremely bad). Should I do this and then silicone the around the screws to prevent water leakage or is this not enough?
or
should I just glue the bottom flange of the fence to the metal coping, use something like a “Gorilla Glue” product?
i’ve also thought about attaching the fence to the side of the parapet wall but that would be encroaching on the neighboor’s property so no go.
Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Any thoughts you guys would have would be very helpful.
Replies
What about attachment of the fence posts to your side of the parapet wall? Also, you need to give more info regarding type of fence and material it's made of. Is it a solid fence that will resist wind pressure or is it wire fencing? Adding eight feet to the top of a parapet wall sounds, at first blush, to be a lot of fence to be adding on to the top of an existing wall. Another question that needs to be considered is, what is the material, construction and existing height of the parapet wall itself? This metal coping you mentioned, do you mean to say metal flashing on top the wall which is acting as a cap to the wall?
Another question that needs consideration, parapet walls are frequently included in the building code as a fire suppression feature and alteration of that wall may or may not be allowed. Is this wall there because of the distance between your building and another building is very close?
you both make excellent points, it sounds like I need to seriously reconsider this project. I will make major adjustments including making it a lot shorter for instance. The fence was to be made out of wood and was intended to be for privacy.
thank you very much for your input it was very helpful for me and I realize that this project might a little too ambitious for me; I will stay away from the "Gorilla Glue" for this application.
I agree, shorter might well be a lot better. If it's privacy your after why not put up a short (in height) fence on top that wall which is just wood lattice work. Very light material and then plant some ivy, like Virginia Creeper, in planter boxes next to it and within a year, you'll have all kinds of privacy and it won't put undue pressure on the wall.
just a design comment . . . am in the middle of putting up a wood fence right now. Have the posts in, all of them are 6'-0" except for two i left at 8'-0" at one end. They'll get trimmed down later, but seeing them in place i couldn't imagine having an 8'-0" fence around my property . . . it would be h-u-g-e.
There will be wind and shade problems as well. Glad you're looking into it beforehand though. Best advice would be to get good advice and do it right. Fences are one of those things that people don't often give much thought about.
Ditto woodway. You left out a lot of information. Including what the fence is for: security, block vision, pets ...
About the only thing definate we can say now is that gorilla glue is probably not the right answer.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Don't mess with your parapet wall & associated flashing without...
A. Having some idea of the water/flashing issues...even a few small penetrations can lead to big trouble later..
B. Knowing something about structural design.....parapet is at least one story up, you've got wind loads to consider, & if your parapet is brick, you might be very surprised just how loose the top brick courses under the flashing are (the weigh of all the brick above does a lot to make a brick wall seem solid down at ground level, especially in older brick building done with lime mortar)