I made the pressing 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 care about 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 disappointing fence. What I didn’t realize at the time is that the metal chain connect fences that you see around homes and dealers 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 usual and cost effective kind of rebar tie wire is black carbon steel and it isn’t really resistant to rust at all. In fact, it corrodes when exposed to persistent moisture. That’s why a lot of moisture prone concrete structures care about roads, sea walls, and bridge pylons are made with corrosion-resistant metal care about 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, and every one of us saw what happens when cheap concrete and cheap concrete reinforcement rebar is used on a massive condominium building.