Heras fence banners: fitting them without turning the fence into a sail

Heras fence banners are best made from mesh, tied at every single eyelet, and only fitted once the fence installer has confirmed the run will cope with the added wind load. That’s the whole answer in one line. The reason is simple: a temporary fence panel is designed to let wind straight through. Cover it with solid plastic and you’ve built a sail on two small feet. The material you choose matters as much as how you tie it.

Why mesh is the default #

Heras panels aren’t dug in. Each one stands in a pair of feet and is clipped to its neighbours with couplers, and the open wire lets gusts pass. The mesh version we print uses 260gsm mesh: thousands of tiny holes let much of each gust pass, yet from the far kerb it reads as one solid image.

Solid material isn’t banned. The PVC version comes in 440gsm PVC, or a 400gsm material with no PVC in it, and suits a sheltered corner, a weekend event, or a modest banner partway along the fence. Weeks outdoors in open country, though? Mesh.

Situation	Better choice
Exposed site, months of use	Mesh
Sheltered courtyard, short event	PVC or PVC-free
Small message mid-run	Either
General roadside fence mesh banners	Mesh

Sizing Heras fence banners to the panel #

Most panels come in around 11 ft 6 in wide by 6 ft 7 in tall (3500 × 2000 mm). Here’s how our sizes sit on one:

Banner (feet)	Available in	Banner (mm)	On the panel
10 ft 10 in × 5 ft 11 in	Mesh and PVC	3300 × 1800	Fills nearly all of it, with a tie margin on every side
9 ft 10 in × 4 ft 11 in	PVC	3000 × 1500	A generous message with fence showing round it
6 ft 7 in × 3 ft 3 in	PVC	2000 × 1000	A compact sign in the middle of the panel

Hire firms’ panels aren’t all identical, so measure one before you order. Heras fence panel size shows exactly where to put the tape.

One delivery note: at 3.3 m the full-panel size is past the 3 m line, so the order gets the £15 oversize charge. It’s added once, whether you buy one banner or twenty. Large banner delivery explains the rule.

Talk to the fence owner first #

This bit isn’t optional. Hanging anything on a temporary fence changes how it behaves in a gale, and a run of panels flat across a pavement is a genuine danger. Before a single tie goes on, ring the company that put the fence up or rented it to you. Ask whether it needs extra support, such as heavier blocks on the feet or bracing on every panel with a banner. It’s their kit and they know its limits.

Sites with a principal contractor or site manager should have the plan signed off by them. The HSE’s construction pages cover keeping site boundaries and temporary structures safe.

Kit list #

• The banners, with eyelets. Metal eyelets hold up better outdoors over time.
• A cable tie for every eyelet, and a few spares in your pocket.
• Side cutters.
• Work gloves, because cut ties and fence wire will nick your hands.
• A second pair of hands.

Fitting Heras fence banners: eight steps #

Allow about half an hour for the first panel and less for each one after.

1. Agree which panels. Settle with the fence company or site boss exactly where banners go, and have any added weights or bracing in place before you start.
2. Inspect the fence. Every panel should sit properly in its feet with tight couplers and a straight run. Never hang a banner on a panel that’s leaning or bent.
3. Lay it out. Spread the banner somewhere clean and work out which face goes roadside and which edge is the top. It’s surprisingly easy to tie one on upside down.
4. Top corners first. Your helper holds it in place while you secure both upper corners to the top tube, right beside the uprights, which is the stiffest part of the frame.
5. Then the bottom corners. Secure these to the lower tube; now the banner is square and the wind can’t get under it.
6. Every eyelet, no exceptions. Work along the top, then the bottom, then both sides. Each skipped eyelet piles extra strain on its neighbours.
7. Tension and tidy. Draw each tie in until the face lies flat but isn’t drum-tight. Snip the ends off and rotate the ratchet heads so they face inwards, onto the site.
8. Walk the pavement side. Look along the run from the footpath. Nothing should overhang the path, and every panel should still stand true.

Crowd barriers: same method, different frame #

The metal barriers you see lining queues, fun runs and match days are dressed exactly like Heras panels: a tie through each eyelet and round the frame. Sizes for crowd barrier banners:

Width × height	Metric
7 ft 3 in × 2 ft 7 in	2200 × 800 mm
6 ft 7 in × 3 ft 3 in	2000 × 1000 mm
7 ft 7 in × 3 ft 3 in	2300 × 1000 mm
Your own size	Width 500 to 2500 mm (1 ft 8 in to 8 ft 2 in); height 300 to 1200 mm (1 ft to 3 ft 11 in)

Choose PVC, mesh or PVC-free. Barrier frames vary from one supplier to the next, so get the tape on one and go slightly smaller than the frame. They take 3 working days to produce on standard, 1 on express or 5 on saver.

Weekly checks during the job #

Make Heras fence banners part of the routine fence check: after any blustery night, and weekly at the very least on longer projects.

• Snapped ties. Replace them the same day, before the eyelets either side start to tear.
• Moving panels. Feet lifting, couplers loose, the run starting to lean: report it to whoever manages the fence.
• Storms on the way. Snipping the banners free until it passes beats picking a fence line up off the road.
• Mud. The brown tidemark near the ground rinses away with a hose and a gentle brush.

Coming down #

Banners come off first, then the fence gets taken apart. Cut each tie, pick up every scrap (the hire firm won’t thank you for panels bristling with plastic), dry the banner and roll it print-side out. A mesh banner in decent shape can go straight up on the next job; storing banners covers the in-between. For bigger site projects, see our construction site banners.

Need a hand choosing? #

Send your panel measurements and a line about where the fence is through get a quote, and we’ll recommend the right size and fabric for your Heras fence banners.