I've been getting a few quotes for Colorbond fencing and have noticed that a lot of fence installers who advertise 'Colorbond fences' actually end up using Gramline fencing, The Gramline product actually looks quite good and seems pretty common but I'm confussed by this tactic where fencers pass it off as Colorbond.
Has anyone had experienced with this? Would you go with Gramline instead of colorbond?
Colorbond is a brandname like Kleenex or Dyson. Most Aussies know the Colorbond brand so the name is used to refer to all steel fencing of similar appearance, even if it's not Colorbond. Gramline is good quality, I would be happy with either Colorbond or Gramline fencing and make sure the fencer you're using has a good reputation. Only thing I would avoid is cowboy operators who can't specify what product they're using, I've heard of lower quality fakes but I'm yet to see one in person.
Agree. It’s just a brand name that’s become synonymous with steel products and is now the generic term. Like calling all cooler boxes ‘Esky’ or felt tip pens ‘texta’
Could not believe how much fencers are charging for their time these days. Even the cheapest quote we got, after deducting costs for the materials came to a rate of around $1,000 a day. Having built a number of retaining walls over the years, I can say that fencing isn't particularly hard work. The chap that did ours pretty much built it himself, with a bit of help from his Mrs. Turns out his son does the same but with his own fencing business (Income splitting, love it) Pretty much any reasonably fit person with some basic skills could do it. Unfortunately neighbours generally insist on getting the 'pros' to do it, even if they're no more competent than your average Joe.
COLORBOND® is a superior product in my opinion. Some of the fencers use the name but then supply cheaper knock off products. That gives them an edge when quoting against others who use the genuine product. The underside of every sheet of COLORBOND® steel should be stamped with the COLORBOND® steel brand mark. Apparently both the material and the rolling make a difference and also affect the longevity. There's also a difference in the thickness of some of the knock offs.I queried a fencer about using the name Colorbond when he wasn't actually supplying this and he got his nose out of joint and wouldn't do the job. So I found someone else who used the genuine product and who did the fencing for slightly less.