I made the big mistake of using old metal for a fence project without checking to see if the metal would corrode in the rain or not.
Now I have an ugly, rusted fence that looks like a tetanus nightmare just waiting to happen.
If I had stopped to consult my close friend the building contractor first, I could have avoided this problem and all of the wasted time, labor, and supplies that went into making this terrible fence. What I didn’t realize at the time is that the metal chain link fences that you see around homes and businesses are made with a special corrosion-resistant metal called galvanized steel. Galvanized steel has a layer of zinc on the outside that protects the metal underneath from rust and corrosion. If I had been smart enough to use galvanized steel in my DIY fence project, I wouldn’t have an ugly, rusted metal fence right now. The same goes for rebar tie wire used to reinforce concrete. The most common and cost effective kind of rebar tie wire is black carbon steel and it isn’t very resistant to rust at all. In fact, it corrodes when exposed to persistent moisture. That’s why a lot of moisture prone concrete structures like roads, sea walls, and bridge pylons are made with corrosion-resistant metal like galvanized rebar tie wire or stainless steel rebar tie wire. Condominiums right on the beach should be made with galvanized steel rebar tie wire as well. We saw what happens when cheap concrete and cheap concrete reinforcement rebar is used on a massive condominium building.