A bare temporary fence around a construction site in Indianapolis does one job: it keeps people out. Add windscreen to it and the same fence starts doing three. It hides the work from the street, it knocks down the dust that blows off an open site, and if the screen is printed, it turns the whole perimeter into a sign that says who is building here. Fence Wizards rents temporary fence across Indianapolis and central Indiana, and printed windscreen is one of the most requested additions on commercial and downtown projects. Here is what it does and what to think through before you order it.
What windscreen is
Windscreen is a mesh fabric that attaches to the outside face of a chain link fence panel or post driven fence run. It is woven so that some air passes through, which is the point: a solid tarp on a fence catches the wind like a sail and pulls the fence over. Windscreen blocks most of the view and much of the dust while letting enough air through that the fence stays standing. Standard screen comes in solid colors, usually green or black. Printed windscreen carries a design across the panels: a company name, a logo, a project name, a rendering of the finished building, or a leasing message.
Privacy and site security
An open fence lets anyone on the sidewalk see what tools and materials are sitting inside. Screened fence removes that view, which is the simplest theft deterrent a site can add. It also keeps pedestrians from stopping to watch, which matters on a downtown Indianapolis job where the sidewalk is a foot from the fence line. For a site next to a school, a hospital or an occupied apartment building, the screen also keeps the mess out of the neighbors' line of sight, which keeps the phone from ringing at the city.
Dust control
Mesh screen on a fence perimeter cuts the dust that leaves a site on a windy day. It is not a substitute for water on a dirt pad, but it makes a visible difference to the cars parked across the street and to the storefronts next door. On demolition and earthwork phases in particular, screened fence is often what keeps a project on good terms with the block.
Printed screen as a billboard you already paid for
A construction fence around a downtown project is seen by more people in a week than most billboards. Printed windscreen puts that exposure to work. General contractors print their name and logo along the run. Developers print renderings and a leasing number. Institutions print a project name so the neighborhood knows what is coming. Because the print is on the same screen you would have wanted for privacy and dust anyway, the branding comes with the fence instead of on top of it.
How the print is produced and attached
Fence Wizards takes your artwork and produces the screen to the length of the fence run, printed to size so logos land where you want them and repeat cleanly along the perimeter. The screen ships with grommets along the edges and is tied to the fence with UV resistant ties at close spacing, top and bottom, so it stays flat through an Indiana spring. Gates get their own panels so the print reads even when the gate is open. If the fence line changes as the project moves, screen sections come down and go back up with it.
Wind load, and why the fence has to be planned for it
Screen adds wind load to a fence, and that is the one thing to plan for. On a panel and stand fence, screened runs get extra sandbags and, on exposed sites, bracing. On a post driven chain link fence, the posts are in the ground and the fence carries screen with far less drama, which is why long screened perimeters on open sites usually go post driven. Fence Wizards specifies the fence type with the screen in mind, so you are not adding screen to a fence that was not built to hold it.
Ordering it with your fence rental
Printed screen takes lead time for the print, so the earlier the artwork arrives the better; a rush is possible but a couple of weeks is comfortable. Solid color screen can go on with the fence at install. Tell us the fence length, which sides need screen, whether it is solid or printed, and where the gates are, and Fence Wizards will quote the fence and the screen together as one line on the rental. When the job ends, the screen comes down with the fence.
Which sites get the most from screen
Not every rental needs it. A short term equipment yard on an open lot, a fence line that faces a field, a two week project behind an existing building: those can run bare panels and nobody will notice. The sites that get the most from screen are the ones with a public face. Downtown Indianapolis and Carmel projects on a sidewalk. Retail and restaurant build outs where the store next door is open. Hospital and school work where the neighbors care what the block looks like. Demolition and earthwork phases where dust is the complaint. And any project where the general contractor or developer wants their name on the perimeter for the months the fence is up. If your project is one of those, screen is the cheapest improvement the rental can carry.
Fence Wizards rents temporary fence only. We do not install permanent fence or sell fence material, and we will say so if that is what a project actually needs. For a construction site in Indianapolis or anywhere in central Indiana that needs a screened, branded perimeter up fast, request a quote from Fence Wizards. Read our temporary fence rental cost guide for the inputs that drive the number.