My weldmesh came today - not sure what to cut it with?

My weldmesh came and it looks a lot thicker than I was anticipating, it is 16gauge and I'm not sure the cutters I have bought will be good enough although they did say on them upto 16guage.

Did everyone else just use cutters?

Also got long gloves and a staple gun thing.

Going to make panels and screw them altogether.  Wood I am thinking of getting is 1x1.5 inches so will be 2x1.5 inches when screwed together, that should be ok shouldn't it?  Going to have 2 panels wide (so 6foot) by 5 panels long (so 15ft) and then attached to garage one side.

Also this probably sounds dumb but I can't find wood shiplap or tongue and groove that is treated anywhere unless it's the 12mm stuff and I was told that that's just too flimsy?  Was going to roof 4 foot of my run to cover the house and to keep food dry etc.

Also would you recommend treating the wood even though it's tanalised or not?  I wasn't sure and then I didn't know what you could use that'd be safe for the animals.

So many questions!...... 

An old pair of heavy garden shears may cut the mesh, worth a try if you have some. As rob said you need corner bracing to hold the panels square and i use black paint on the frames and mesh as it makes it less visible.

If you put the plastic sheeting on the roof attach it to diagonally cut wood (firrings I think) so that the water drains off it. 

I used these for cutting my 16ga weldmesh - good hand excercise!

Watch out for it springing back - it's vicious stuff!

I've just completed my run, 13mm square 16g, floor, sides and roof. The wire gets more vicious as the roll gets smaller! I used the aviation snips, hand staples and hammer but found it so much easier and faster when I got the air stapler and compressor going, bang, bang, in they went, then reinforced with some hand driven galvanised staples. If you're going to make them up as frames, support the middle of the mesh as it sags and distorts slightly. I used treated batten for the frames, screwed together. I carried the floor mesh a couple of inches up the sides and am now joining the two mesh surfaces using hog ring pliers which I couldn't buy locally but plenty on the internet.
I think I will paint the mesh with some black paint, as it's hard to see through the grey/blue of the galvanised mesh.

protect your arms and hands if possible, i looked like a character from a horror film when it pinged back on me.

The prob with Onduline on a run is lack of light, especially in winter. I find the plastic ideal, but you'll need to do what works for you

Rob

I found a good way to tame the weldmesh was with a spare plank of hardwood decking - nice and heavy, plus a couple of lengths of 2x4 or similar. One holding down the "free" end, then push back the roll while walking on it to keep it in position, then drop a bit of 2x4 into the curl of the roll, so it stops it from rolling back. I then put a third length under the "flat" area to lift it off the ground a bit to give better access to cutting.

Painting the mesh is a great idea - think I'll try it with an old mini paint roller - should be less splatter than with a brush, as I imagine that would flick paint everywhere as you brush on.

As for cuttin onduline - I agree - a cool day is best, and even then you need to keep going once you start - once the saw blade gets warm the cloigging starts, and if you stop the tarry goop solidifies. I ran a soldering gas burner over a few inches of the blade, then once the goop was soft, pulled it off with a cardboard "sandwich".

I reduced the amount of cutting needed by having my "panels" slightly narrower than the width of the mesh roll.

I used a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade to cut mine, went through it like butter.

But you have to make sure it's taught or it will vibrate too much.