Residential Fence Installation

Fence installation has come a long way since fences were mainly used for security concerns. Today, fences outline the property, provide privacy, finish off the exterior styling of the home and provide protection for pets and children. In fact, most architects think of them as an extension of the home design. Fences are also made from more diverse materials than just the old wooden picket fence or concrete blocks.

Wood Fences

The traditional wooden fence is still the most popular of all fencing materials. Not only are familiar white-picket fences still in vogue but pressure-treated wood has allowed fence builders to achieve many different styles and applications. For example, many wooden fences provide great acoustic boundaries between properties while others allow kids to play soccer and baseball without danger of running out into traffic.

PVC Fences

The rise in popularity and accessibility of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) fences has allowed homeowners to have many styles to enhance and define their homes. In fact many people would rather build fences with this type of material because it is low-maintenance, durable and aesthetically appealing. Despite being thinner in appearance than wood, PVC is actually stronger. In fact it has almost five times the strength and four times more flexibility than wood.

There are two production processes for PVC fences: co-extrusion and mono-extrusion. The mono-extrusion process has an ultraviolet protection like titanium dioxide mixed in with the PVC before the product is shaped. In this method the entire fence has both the coloring and protection throughout. With the co-extrusion process, just the thin outer layer of PVC is treated for color and ultra-violet protection. The inner part is a cheaper material that forms the bulk and strength of the fence. Therefore co-extrusion only uses a small portion of the expensive protective layer making this style of fencing the least expensive.

Wrought-Iron Fences

Wrought-iron is the classic fence. The material is the strongest of the fences and can be heated and bent into almost any type of design. However, the old ones were high-maintenance and had to be sand-blasted to get rid of rust before re-painting. The new steel fences are coated with PVC or powder-coated so that they have now a great aversion to deterioration.

Aluminum Fences

One of the lightest and strongest of the fencing materials is aluminum. It is also comes in more styles and designs than PVC fences because aluminum can be molded intricate details without sacrificing strength. Powder-coating makes allows them to be produced in a rainbow of colors. Because - unlike wrought-iron - they will never rust aluminum is a better product around swimming pools and seaside homes where salt is ever-present.

Chain-Link Fence Installation

Once the preserve of industrial security chain-link fencing has been invading the residential market for years because it not only offers security it provides a clean look. The plain, galvanize-dip appearance is still a popular style however the parts of a chain-link fence can be purchased in a wide-variety of colored, vinyl coatings. For increased privacy colored aluminum or vinyl strips can be inserted between the links. This gives it a solid look and is popular with homeowners who want a swimming pool fence or a safe place for domestic animals to roam.

Fences are a great do-it-yourself project for a person with minimum handy skills. For the best result have a qualified company install your fence. The results will be worth the cost.

Kim Kinrade writes for renovation, travel and news sites. When he is not doing this or renovating old houses he finds the time to write novels.