We needed to paint the garden wall and I had to break up the old trellis to separate it from the creepers which had intertwined with it.

We were quoted about R15 000 for replacement trellisses and I figured I could do better. Here’s how –

This is what I set out to achieve –

D’you see the almost invisible trellis?

First I pinned the wall 60cm apart horizontally and 40cm vertically

Notice that this one is on a curved wall which solved another problem.

Then, using 1.5mm braided stainless steel wire and electrical crimp unions I fitted the wire to the first pin.

You have to be careful to choose a large enough crimp that you can feed the wire back on itself.

Having secured the start I looped the wire around each pin in one row, then down to the next and back again.

When I reached the last pin I terminated the wire in the same way, pulling it tight with pliers while crimping it.

Finally I retied the creepers to the wires with 1cm wide strips cut from a pair of Helen’s tights (she hasn’t missed them yet!)

All materials came from Builders Warehouse and cost about R900.

If we need to paint the wall in future, I will simply cut the wires, paint the wall and then replace them.