PVC Coated Galvanized Wire

What is PVC coated galvanized wire?

PVC coated galvanized wire is straight wire made by drawing a plastic (PVC) sleeve over zinc coated steel wire, so it carries two layers of protection: zinc inside, plastic outside. Zinc alone is used up over time once air and moisture reach it, while the PVC sleeve cuts that contact off completely; as long as the coating is not torn, the steel never meets moisture. Our standard product is green and is sold by the kilogram.

We hold it in our warehouse in two sizes, 2.2 mm and 2.7 mm. It serves as tension wire on garden and estate perimeters, tie wire on PVC coated chain link runs, training wire in vineyards and connecting wire in greenhouses and irrigation lines.

Technical specifications

The sizes given are outside diameters including the coating, so the galvanized core inside is thinner. Weights vary slightly with coating thickness and are approximate, but accurate enough for planning an order.

2.2 mm or 2.7 mm? Choosing the size

The most common mistake here is comparing PVC coated wire directly with the diameter of bare galvanized wire. A wire measuring 2.2 mm including its coating carries less steel than bare wire of the same thickness, because part of the outside dimension is plastic. Strength should be compared on the steel core.

• 2.2 mm: The thin size, comfortable to work by hand. It suits tie wire, fixing PVC coated chain link to the tension wires, greenhouse and seedling ties and light garden work, and gives more metres per kilogram on jobs with many small ties. Over long spans it will sag.
• 2.7 mm: For lines carrying a tensile load: tension wire on garden and estate fences, the load bearing tier in vineyards, long spans. It takes a wire strainer well and does not sag.

The practical rule applies here too: the wire you tension is the thick one, the wire you tie with is the thin one. Using both sizes on the same run is stronger and cheaper than working with one.

How many kilograms do I need? Metre to kilogram calculation

With a product sold by weight, the real question is how many kilograms a given length takes. For steel wire, weight per metre is the diameter squared divided by 162; on PVC coated wire the light plastic sleeve adds a small share on top.

• 2.2 mm: roughly 0.022 kg per metre → 1 kg ≈ 45 metres
• 2.7 mm: roughly 0.033 kg per metre → 1 kg ≈ 30 metres

Example 1 — garden fence: an estate garden with a 120 metre perimeter takes 3 rows of tension wire, so 120 × 3 = 360 metres in total. In 2.7 mm that is 360 × 0.033 ≈ 12 kg; with tensioning and waste, 13–14 kg is the right amount.

Example 2 — tie wire: if the chain link on that run is tied every 40 cm, three rows give roughly 900 tie points. At 20 cm per tie that is 180 metres, so about 4 kg of 2.2 mm is enough.

Coils and spools also affect planning: a coil is the economical option, but without a simple device that lets it rotate as it unwinds, the wire tangles on itself. A spool pays out more evenly, though packaging makes its price per kilogram higher.

PVC coated or bare galvanized? Where it makes a difference

The two products have the same skeleton; the difference is in the surface protection, and it does not matter equally everywhere.

• PVC coated is the better choice: coastal and humid regions, lines in constant contact with irrigation water, greenhouse interiors, farms handling fertiliser and chemicals, villa and estate gardens, and schools and parks where appearance counts too. Green does not stand out against planting.
• Bare galvanized wire is the better choice: fields, land boundaries, construction site perimeters and animal pens — long runs where cost comes first and appearance matters little. You get more steel for the same weight.

One warning: the sleeve protects, but once damaged it works against you. Water entering through a tear is trapped under the plastic and cannot dry out, so corrosion advances faster there than on bare wire. Coating integrity decides the life of the product.

Where is it used?

The main uses on site:

• Tension wire: bottom, middle and top rows on PVC coated chain link fence runs. Same colour and same protection class, so the finished line looks consistent.
• Tie wire: fixing chain link to the tension wires, or to connection points along a panel fence line.
• Vineyards and orchards: load bearing and secondary tiers in wire training systems; where irrigation and spraying reach the wire, it outlasts bare wire.
• Greenhouses and agriculture: film tensioning, string carrier lines, seedling ties. With constant humidity and irrigation, a greenhouse is where PVC coated wire earns its keep most.
• Poultry and small animal pens: tensioning and tying PVC coated chicken wire runs.
• General garden work: tying climbers and trees, pergola and arbour ties, decorative hanging lines.

Protecting the coating, service life and common mistakes

What decides the life of PVC coated wire is not the steel but the soundness of the sleeve. The most common mistakes on site:

• Crushing it with pliers: gripping the wire hard in the jaws splits the sleeve. Cut and tie without stripping the coating.
• Leaving cut ends open: every cut leaves bare steel. Turn those ends to the hidden side or cover them to delay rusting.
• Over tensioning: plastic on an over stretched wire cracks; the crack is hard to see, but it opens a path for water.
• Dragging the wire: pulling it over concrete, stone or sharp edges peels the sleeve off.
• Long storage in direct sun: unwrapped plastic hardens and turns brittle. Keep coils in the shade.

Follow these rules and PVC coated wire clearly outlasts bare galvanized wire in damp conditions.

What determines the price of PVC coated wire?

With a product sold by weight, the price is not a fixed list but a result of the current market. The determining items:

• The steel market: raw material prices and the exchange rate reach the price per kilogram week by week.
• Steel core diameter: at the same outside size the steel inside can differ, and that sets the real strength and the real cost.
• Zinc coating weight: the zinc under the plastic is the second line of defence once the sleeve is damaged; a heavier coating costs more.
• PVC thickness and quality: a thick sleeve with UV additives lasts longer in the sun and is reflected in the price.
• Size: even at similar prices per kilogram, thin wire gives more metres for the same weight; compare per metre.
• Quantity: the unit price falls as the order weight rises.
• Shipping: total weight and distance set the carriage cost; delivery is charged.

All the prices we quote include VAT. For a firm price we need the size, the weight or length you want and the province for delivery.

Ordering, shipping and delivery terms

Our main business is selling and shipping products. You order by phone or through the contact form; the wire is weighed, prepared and sent from our Ostim warehouse anywhere in Türkiye by courier or freight. Light orders travel by courier, heavy and palletised orders by freight; the route depends on quantity and is stated in the quotation.

If you are in Ankara, the site survey is free: we see the site and choose the right size and quantity together. Even so, delivery is always charged, within Ankara too; carriage is calculated on order weight and distance and shown as a separate line in the quotation.

Installation is not a standard service. Our teams attend perimeter projects of approximately 1000 metres and above; on smaller jobs we send the product out and give technical support by phone while you tension and tie.