A. BRUSH GATES
Traditional brush gates were made of a welded tubular frame made with mid rail and top rail and large clearances either side to allow brush post and frame rolls to be fitted. They were a very heavy gate that had a welded gudgeon lower hinge and an adjustable threaded rod with welded sleeve top hinge and welded striker plate. The D latch was welded to the round section gate posts which also served as the end brush fence posts. The gate frame had.a welded foot plate/stirrup to support the foot of the brushwork, and after wires were fitted around the frame, brush was packed by hand under them and on both sides of the internal rails. Making the frame was a time consuming process and packing/weaving very difficult because of the short wire span and internal rails. The sides of the gate were brush rolled and also the posts were rolled to provide a very neat appearance when new.
Traditional Brush Gate
Unfortunately after a number of years of operation and deterioration of the brush, the frame rolls in the traditional gate tended to fall apart and jag in the D latches (and parrots beak latches) which were mostly used with these gates and often the frames were poorly made and rusted and movement in the frames meant dragging of the gate on the ground beneath. They were not a gate that was practical to be key lockable due to their looseness in the hinges and the bulky brush frame rolls and a padlock through the D latch was usually the only means of locking. The modern brush gate design replacing the traditional brush gate, is more cost effective to build, is close toleranced, durable and can be made key lockable.
Modern Ausbrush Gates
Ausbrush brush gate frames are made from welded square and rectangular section powdercoated/galvanised material with channel sides to house the machine compressed panel brushwork. Gate posts are set close fitting in 75x75mm or 100x100mm powdercoated material. The modern brush gate design replacing the traditional brush gate, looks good, is more cost effective to build, close toleranced, strong, durable and can be made key lockable with locks such as the D&D Lokk Latch Pro SL which is mounted through the gate post. The top finish can be either brush roll top or colorbond capping. Gates can be supplied with hinges, handles and either ‘D Latch’ or ‘D&D Lokk Latch’.
This image is of a superseded Ausbrush gate design. New image to be posted shortly of our current design 25-7-2019
B. LETTERBOXES
Designed as a universal letterbox for installation through a variety of fencing, wall and gate materials, the Thru-Fence Letterbox is simple to install and has a large front plate area upon which street numbers can be fixed. It is a big box that will accept A4 sized envelope material and being of Australian manufacture and powder-coated aluminium construction, this a quality letterbox that will last.
Letterbox Installation: After marking the brushwood panel with a felt tipped pen and using long handled pruning shears (or power saw) a rectangular hole is cut through the fence midway between a pair of horizontal panel wires. The box is then inserted through the hole from the front and the box flange is pressed hard against the brush panel. Another loose flange is slid over the protruding box from the rear to clamp tight against the brushwood fence and secured to the box using tek screws or pop rivets.
C. PROTACOAT PRESERVATIVE & FIRE RETARDANT
Ausbrush ‘ProtaCoat’ is an ‘all in one’, water soluble, non hazardous preservative coating and fire retardant and can be applied in 2 clear coats to new brushwood fencing panels (made from the hardwood, Australian Melaleuca uncinata).
It lasts up to 5 years outdoors before re-application is required (20 years indoors).
In addition to other special ingredients, the formulation comprises phosphoric acid, formaldehyde and methanol.
ProtaCoat has fire retardant and preservative properties, is anti-fungal and mildly resistant to bacteria and is pest resistant. It sets clear, with the finished look on brush fencing panels matt clear with a slightly darker, richer look. It reacts to fire and heat making a chemical change in the wood and also nitrogen is produced displacing air/oxygen. Other uses include thatched roofs, decks, fencing, raw furniture, timber plywood and all natural wood material surfaces.
Specifically formulated for maximum protection exterior and interior, for materials including wood, leaves, straw, rope, fibreboard, paperboard, corrugated cardboard, canvas and other fabric materials, it can be applied to porous and non-porous surfaces.
Application is by brush, roller or commercial pressure spray 50 to 250 psi. Application rate 4 to 5 square metres per litre, meaning that it will use just less than a litre of retardant per lineal metre of brush fence allowing two coats on both sides of the fence. It is supplied in 3.8 litre containers.
Use of the ausbrush ‘ProtaCoat’ preservative coating is recommended for new brushwood panel installations only, so that the brushwork and panel density are preserved and maintained and maximum fire retardant properties achieved. The preparation should be re-applied every 5 years in outdoor applications (20 years indoors).
Application to very old, deteriorated, dilapidated brushwood fences is not recommended.
In the image below, the panel on the right has just had one coat of ProtaCoat applied, while the panel on the left is about to be treated.
Treating Panels with ProtaCoat
The image below shows the finished Protacoat look after two coats and the panel has been fitted in a ready to stand pre-framed module 1760mm high x 1800mm wide with “in ground” leg length 640mm.
ProtaCoat Treated PreFramed Panels
Copyright: Ausbrush Panels Ptd Ltd, Last Updated June 2013