Seven kilometres of fencing in six days, from start to finish. Laid and completed. About 90 hours’ work for two independent fencing contractors, Tim Garrick and Cory Twigley, and their crew.
The Gisborne-based fencers were over in Napier completing a massive line of eight-wire three-batten fence for the main drain that intersects a low-lying farm.
Tim, who runs T Garrick Fencing, says the groundwork was easy going. “The farm is actually below sea level. You dig a hole, and it is sand and shells. It’s sandy silty ground which used to be mud flats and really good for ramming because it is quite soft. Obviously, you need to make sure you have the strainers and angles done properly to keep them in the ground.”
Last year, the two contractors were both first-time qualifiers and finalists in the Golden Pliers and paired for the Silver Spades. In this job, even though there was no firm deadline for completion – this six-day stretch of waterway fencing was a race to the finishing line.
Their competitive nature drove the fencers to prove to themselves just how much they could do in one week.
Cory runs Twigley Contracting. As well as competing together, he works alongside Tim on some local jobs. This was definitely a big one. “Tim rang and asked ‘Shall we team up with the boys?’ So, we went down there and worked dark to dark, and just did it!”
“We wanted to work fast!” says Tim. “We went hard out with the Stockade tools – and they worked flawlessly.”
Tim and Cory reached for their Stockade ST400i post staplers. They borrowed a ST315 pneumatic battening stapler and one of the crew brought along their cordless ST315i.
Most of the battening work was done with the ST315 pneumatic Stockade battening tool while the ST315i cordless stapler was on hand to finish off in the dark.
For the first couple of years contracting, Tim worked without the Stockade post stapler. He bought a second-hand one that had already been through the paces. “After that I realised how good it was and ended up buying a second post stapler – and lending the first to Cory, who then realised how good it was too! He has bought his own one.”