Alternative to windscreen

I hate to show my ignorance, but I can't help it. What's a windscreen?

It's not an alternative, but something that I've seen work really well is double windscreen (one layer on the inside of your fence and one layer on the outside of your fence). That has held up better because with just one layer, the wind will always mess it all up.

Gnats- windscreen is the mesh "tarp-like" fabric that you often see added to chain link fences.

quote:

Originally posted by Emanski's Heroes:
It's not an alternative, but something that I've seen work really well is double windscreen (one layer on the inside of your fence and one layer on the outside of your fence). That has held up better because with just one layer, the wind will always mess it all up.

Gnats- windscreen is the mesh "tarp-like" fabric that you often see added to chain link fences.

That’s what I was guessing, but to be honest, I’ve never heard it called that.

Is the one in question being used to actually block wind, or is it being used to provide a better backdrop? That’s what most of them I’ve seen are used for. Many of the fields here have opted for the plastic slats rather than the netting, Its easy to install, relatively cheap, and seems to hold up well to the weather.

I think it's generally used for looks on a baseball field. I know I can't stand playing on fields with chain link outfield fences without windscreen. I think for other sports it may actually be used to block wind, but I'm really not sure. The first place I ever saw the stuff was on tennis courts, so maybe it does actually block wind there?

quote:

Originally posted by Emanski's Heroes:
I think it's generally used for looks on a baseball field. I know I can't stand playing on fields with chain link outfield fences without windscreen. I think for other sports it may actually be used to block wind, but I'm really not sure. The first place I ever saw the stuff was on tennis courts, so maybe it does actually block wind there?

I agree. That dull gray chain link that you can see through, doesn’t exactly give the “cozy” feeling of a ball park. But the problem is usually one of $$$$. Our coach mitigated the problem by putting our batting cages right behind the right center field fence. The green netting of the cages give a great backdrop, and they only needed another 20-30’ of it to cover a huge chunk of the CF area.

Its sometimes hard to believe that just painting the chain link helps tremendously too. But for my $$$$, I’d just as soon have a Coke sign or some other sponsor’s sign painted on dark a dark green plywood wall.

Late winter winds can indeed be brutal. We use heavy duty plastic ties, and they work well. You don't want the ties to be TOO strong as the wind can actually take the fence down-you want the ties to break at some point, rather than the wind pulling the fence down. It's a pain to replace them, but really not all that time-consuming. We get pretty high winds and have elected this year to wait until about now to start putting up our outfield signs.


If we leave our screen up over the fall and winter next year, we may cut the bottom ties so it just blows up and flaps like a flag-much less stressful on the fence and screen.

Our screen also has cutouts, but we haven't seen where it helps much.

I've never seen this locally on a field, but I think it would work better than any windscreen.

http://www.yourfencestore.com/slatchoice.htm

We have cut half moon shaped cut outs in ours to let the wind go through. And it gets pretty windy in the afternoons here. So far it has held up that way with no issues. We have ours as a backdrop. It is black and it helps see the ball out of the pitchers hand better.

Since most baseball fences are not that tall, and their is not a major concern of the wind blowing them over - another alternative to tie wraps is braided cord/rope.  It takes a little longer to hang up the product, but the rope will last much longer.  If you are ever in need of any windscreen/logos or have any other questions feel free to contact Putterman Athletics.  www.puttermanathletics.com or shop.puttermanathletics.com 

many many years ago we planted bushes surrounding the outfield fence.  we let them grow fence height and they look great and never have to be replaced.  the initial investment is higher but overall much much cheaper in the long run than replacing windscreen. 

Okay, I know it sounds cheesy....but it works VERY well:  we took an old green garden hose and split it down the middle, then cut it into 2 inch sections.  We drilled holes in two spots on the hose sections, then fed heavy-gauge wire thru the holes to create re-enforced straps.  We poked the straps thru the screen and attached them to the fence posts and twisted the wire tight on the other side.  We used 3 straps for each pole and the results were outstanding.  I suppose you could use other items (bike iner tubes, rubber mats, etc.), but hose was what we had handy and it worked great!  We regularly experience winds of 30-40mph with 50+ gusts and the windscreen is still there.  Since the hose is pretty much the same color, you can't see the straps until you're about 20 feet from them. We also have a yellow top-rail cap for the fence, which works well to keep the top of the windscreen secure.

 

Best of all:  It's probably the cheapest solution and it's extremely effective. 

Yep!  This is what Gnats was referring to.  Not necessarily the same manufacturer, but these indeed are the "plastic slats" that he was referencing.

 

We have these at our facility and it allows for wind passage and provides a backdrop at the same time.  I think they've been quite good, and when heavily applied, are fairly attractive. One downside is to make sure that you cut them about 4 to 6 inches off the ground, or they also make a horizontal piece to hold them up.  Occasionally one will slide down a bit and get caught in the field drag (when we drag the warning track).