The Great Wall of West Columbia
Contributed by
PETS, Inc. Adopt-A-Pal

The people at PETS, Inc. build a six foot, 20" thick wall between the new facility and the neighborhood. Photo courtesy of PETS, Inc.

The people at PETS, Inc. are building two large barn-like structures to house their animals, adoption services, and retail activities. This will enable the organization for the first time in its 14-year history to function efficiently. The structures will provide a more humane and healthier environment for all of the animals. The group felt it was necessary to build a wall between the building and the neighborhood, because they didn't want the neighbors to be irritated by barking dogs if they put up an inexpensive chain link fence. Some of the houses are within 100 feet of their fence line.

PETS, Inc.'s six-foot high straw bale wall is constructed of 18" thick bales stacked in courses (much like concrete block) then tightly clad with chicken wire, which is tied on by weaving nylon string through it in a quilting fashion. Then a layer of Portland cement is slathered on to seal it. After a few days of curing, a second coat will be added. Finally, a third coat of cement will finish it off. The final result will be a wall over 20" thick and just over six-feet high. This will act as a sound barrier as well as block the dogs' view of activity in the neighborhood. Additionally, they have set the wall about five feet inside their property line so they will have plenty of room to plant fast-growing evergreen trees to act as additional sound barriers.

The group repositioned their buildings so they could create a greater distance between the kennel building and the new houses which meant they had to re-design their parking lot. The changes have resulted in an additional $30,000 in expenses for the organization. Work has been delayed until the additional funds can be raised.

www.petsinc.org