May 25
We’ve had an article get published on quite a few sites and newspapers around the country, most notably on the LA Times website, which boasts an audience of 8.6M! Below is the article.
Tips for installing a vinyl fence the easy way
(ARA) – If you need to keep the neighbors out or the pets and children in, it may be time for a fence, preferably one that will last a lifetime and requires very little maintenance. But if you know much about installing a fence, chances are this is a home project that makes you want to run for the hills. After all, who wants to rent power augers, dig deep holes, tear up the yard, remove excavated dirt and pour hundreds of pounds of concrete?
Probably not you. The good news is that you can actually install a fence without all this hassle. Do-it-yourself homeowners across the country are now installing sturdy vinyl fences without digging holes, making a mess of the yard or pouring concrete.
No-dig vinyl fence systems are installed by driving pipe deep into the ground using a post pounder. Fence has been installed this way for years, but for vinyl it can be tricky because it’s almost impossible to drive pipe into the ground perfectly straight, which results in crooked fence posts. This problem is solved by a clever leveling device that compensates for the crooked pipe so that when you slide your vinyl fence post over the pipe, the post is ultimately straight and level.
While driving pipe into the ground can require a bit of muscle, it’s still much easier than digging 3- or 4-foot-deep holes, dealing with excavated dirt and pouring three or four bags of concrete per hole, as most traditional vinyl fence installation instructions demand. Alternately, you can also rent a pneumatic post pounder to make it even easier.
Some skeptics wonder how a no-dig vinyl fence will perform in high winds. “We have had our digless fence products wind-load tested by an independent third party laboratory and it has been certified to stand up to 75mph sustained winds, which is where a category 1 hurricane starts,” says Denise Esser from WamBam Fence, an online company that ships no-dig fence to homeowners all over the country through www.wambamfence.com.
Installing vinyl fence by driving pipe into the ground has been used in Western Canada on tens of thousands of fences for more than a dozen years by both professional fencers and home owners. However, it’s only recently that companies like WamBam Fence have been manufacturing a full no-dig fencing solution designed for the do-it-yourself homeowner, offering a variety of styles and sizes. Alternately, there are companies that offer just the leveling devices to keep the pipes straight. This enables you to buy them online and use them with pipe, posts and panels purchased separately.
Homeowners often end up hiring a professional due to the amount of labor and equipment involved in a fence installation, but the no-dig method makes it much easier – and therefore more attainable – for the average do-it-yourselfer. With an innovative no-dig installation method, installing a vinyl fence is one home project that just got a lot easier.
THE STORY
This past December, we had an amazing opportunity to be a part of the popular TV Show “Extreme Makeover Home Edition”.
WamBam Fence gets an amazing opportunity
It all started when Ty Pennington, star of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, was surfing the web one day and stumbled across our fabulous fence. He declared that he just had to have a WamBam Fence for an upcoming episode…
That’s how I wish I could start the story of how WamBam Fence got to be involved with this high profile TV show, but alas, the truth is not quite so glamorous. Still, like most opportunities, it was the collision of events that were meant to be.
On the Set of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
My name is Denise, and I’m one of the founders and owners of WamBam Fence. If that sounds cool, the next sentence is not: I’m also member of Toastmasters International. If you’re not sure what that is, just Google it, and you’ll realize that it’s kind of geeky.
At a recent Toastmasters meeting, I had only just met Wade Miller, co-owner of Bellamy Homes, the company chosen for the EMHE build. Less than a week before the build, a few of us met up for a drink after a meeting, and someone piped up, “Well, Wade, you know if you need a fence that you can just ask Denise.”
“Really?” He replied, “Because I think we do need a fence. It wasn’t originally a requirement, but now it is.”
Knowing that there were many ears tuned in, I gave the right answer: “Sure, I can get you a fence.” I was thinking they needed maybe 10, 20 panels tops, and that it would be pretty cool to be a part of the project.
“How many feet?” I asked.
“Close to 400,” He replied.
Toastmasters Geeks Unite! Denise Esser of WamBam Fence with Wade Miller of Bellamy Homes, the company chosen for the build
I almost spewed my drink all over the place. “Um, wow. That’s a lot. Ok, well, I’ll have to check inventory.” It was a weak back paddle; I knew we had the inventory. It’s just that that was a lot of fence! I wanted to be a part of this project, but it was no small commitment for a relatively newer start-up like us. People assume that with a show like this, your logo and company name get splashed all over the place, bringing in major revenue. That’s not the case at all. Unless you’re willing to pay the big bucks—and I mean BIG BUCKS that would blow our marketing budget for years to come—the show will never display a logo or mention your company name. There is absolutely no coverage of your company, brand, or product.
WamBam employee Linda LaChance pitches in
Those petty doubts quickly went away. It was a great opportunity to be a part of something bigger than ourselves, and even though it was a heck of a lot of product, it was really cool to be able to give back to the community and be involved with this. It’s funny how things work out, too- because although we were all in to donate 100% of the product, when our manufacturing partner found out about the opportunity, they immediately offered to give us half the product for free in exchange for a press release.
John leads the fence project and he and his team from Archer Western Contractors do a fantastic job
We were a bit nervous about the install. Since we are manufacturers, we don’t offer installation services. I need a few more years at the gym pumping iron before I can wam bam pipe into the ground like nobody’s business. Wade found a crew of 15 or so volunteers to install the fence, which had to be completed in 15 hours. While we were sure that they would be competent—after all, our product is designed to be easy to install– having a crew of people unfamiliar with the product on such a tight timeline caused us a bit of anxiety. We really wanted it to go smoothly, quickly, and yet look good. A good install is critical to the final fence looking good.
Many hands make light work!
On the day designated for the fence install, Stephen, Linda, and I went on site to pitch in. There was security and check in areas where we received our mandatory hard hats and t-shirts. Once we got to the site, it was really cool. The energy at the build was amazing. It was shocking to see a half-built home that was supposed to be completed in only 2 more days. The amount of people and organized chaos on site was invigorating. Stephen, Linda and I pitched in a little, but the real heroes were the volunteers from Archer Western Contractors, particularly John Stull who lead the team. They worked tirelessly for hours to get the fence installed. Of course our anxiety was completely unnecessary- they did a great job and the fence looked fabulous.
A job well done
As if the opportunity wasn’t cool enough, when I learned a bit about the family receiving the home, it struck a chord within. The Fridays have fostered more than 30 children, and last spring they fostered a boy who showed them a video of his 4 siblings, all split up by the system. Declaring that a family should never be split up, the Fridays adopted all 5 children. Because their home was too small, the Fridays were forced to convert their carport into bedrooms to make space for the children. Ironically enough, this story hit kind of close to home for me, because many years ago, my grandparents did a similar thing: despite having 7 kids of their own, they took 3 orphaned children into their home so the siblings wouldn’t have to split up, and raised them as their own. Knowing that my father grew up in a home with a similar situation– and seeing how much difference my grandparent’s act of kindness made in the lives of my adopted Uncles and Aunts– I was able to appreciate the Friday’s sacrifice that much more.
The recipients of the home have a very similar situation to my father's childhood home
Once the dust settled, Wade met with the family to go over how to operate their new home. He buzzed me an email: “I have to admit that what they raved most about was their fence. They were so happy to have a fence it was crazy. I think it’s because there are so many new children coming through their home that they want to keep them off the neighbor’s property.” This email made my day.
Close to 400ft of fence goes up in about 10 hrs (excluding gates and finishing touches)
The show isn’t scheduled to air until 2012 for a Christmas special, and we’re excited to see the finished episode. We don’t expect to see much fence on the show, because the home’s fence is just a subtle backdrop to define the borders of their property, as any good fence should be. What really matters is being a part of something bigger than ourselves and being able to give back just a little morsel to the community.
Normally we like to hire professionals to do our videos and photography, but since the Extreme Makeover project was last minute, our go-to guys weren’t available. What you see is my ad hoc photography, videoing and attempt to slap it all together. It’s pretty grass roots, but I hope it can at least capture the essence of the experience.
All the pictures are on the WamBam Facebook page. Click here to see the whole album.
The DIY network did a great job with the show- and our product! This segment shows a whole family gathering to install WamBam’s vinyl Even Steven fence.
We’re excited that WamBam’s vinyl fence is going to be on the DIY Network TV show “I Want That”. Set your DVRs for Dec 14, 2011 at 9:30pm to watch our fence live and in action!
Generally we’re not into press releases, but they do serve a purpose and I think it is fitting to release one announcing the launch of our product. The press release will be distributed on Monday, Sept. 20 by PRWeb Network.
I apologize that it’s quite boring and sterile, which sort of goes against the “WamBam spirit”. I promise this won’t become a habit. You may need toothpicks to prop your eyes open. Here it is:
New Do-It-Yourself Vinyl Fence Eliminates Digging Holes and Pouring Concrete
Forget about digging holes and pouring concrete with WamBam Fence’s innovative new vinyl fence system. Designed for the do-it-yourself market, installing a WamBam Fence eliminates much of the hassle associated with traditionally installing fence and can be shipped via UPS to a customer’s home.
Cornelius, NC (PRWeb.com) September 17, 2010 – WamBam Fence is a new company that has developed an innovative vinyl fence system that enables homeowners to install fence without the hassle of digging holes and pouring concrete. Developed for the do-it-yourself market, the entire fence system is designed to be shipped UPS. This allows a customer to order the fence system online and have it delivered to his or her home in conveniently sized boxes.
Currently fence installation is a time-consuming and difficult process for homeowners as they must rent augers, tear up the yard, and pour hundreds—if not thousands—of pounds of concrete. WamBam’s digless vinyl fence system eliminates these headaches because their fence is installed by driving pipe anchors deep into the ground. The pipe anchors work in conjunction with some patent-protected pieces to ensure a strong, lasting, and easier install. A short technical video demonstrating the concept can be found here.
With a tagline that boasts “The only fence that’s fun to install”, product videos featuring sock puppets, and fence panel names such as “The Curious George Privacy Fence“and “The Nervous Nelly Pool Fence“, it’s apparent that WamBam Fence likes to have a little bit of fun.
“We take the product very seriously, but don’t take ourselves too seriously,” says Denise Esser, one of the founders. “Fencing is a boring category and we want to liven it up a little. Buying and installing a fence can be an involved process, and we want to make it as fun as possible for our customers.”
WamBam Fence offers 9 styles of vinyl fence, including privacy, picket, pool and ranch rail. They also offer an assortment of gates and other fence accessories. The product is available online at www.wambamfence.com and other select dot com companies.
A spin-off from vinyl arbor manufacturer New England Arbors in Sarnia, Canada, WamBam Fence relocated to Cornelius, NC in 2009 to be closer to their target customer base. The product was in research and development stages for more than two years before launching.
The concept of the digless fence system has been used successfully by professional fencers all over Western Canada for more than twelve years. WamBam Fence is the first company to develop a full product line to take the concept national to the do-it-yourself market in a boxed program. To find out more about WamBam Fence, visit www.wambamfence.com .
About the Company:
WamBam Fence is the first company to offer a do-it-yourself digless vinyl fence system that can be entirely shipped UPS. Located in Cornelius, NC, WamBam Fence was founded in 2009 as a spin-off from vinyl arbor manufacturer New England Arbors.
Contact Information:
Denise Esser
10616 Bailey Rd. Unit H
Cornelius NC 28078
877-778-5733 x12
denise@wambamfence.com
WamBam Fence website
Follow WamBam on Twitter
Find WamBam on Facebook
Find WamBam on Youtube
inforetailradio.com approached me at the Hardware Show and asked if they could steal a few minutes for an interview. I was surprised because they were interviewing huge companies like 3M and Char-Broil, but they said they were intrigued by the company name and wanted to feature us as well. They have released the podcast, which you can listen to here:
Info Retail Radio Interviews WamBam Fence
(If you don’t have time to listen, it’s all about our do-it-yourself vinyl and ornamental aluminum digless fence that can be shipped UPS.)
