- Protection, beauty, privacy, defining boundaries or accenting surroundings are all very popular reasons for purchasing a fence.
- Keeping children in, dogs out, or enclosing a swimming pool/hot tub area are also very popular motives for fencing.
- In the end most homeowners purchase a fence for a combination of reasons and choosing the right fence is the key to success.
- While most fences will help you attain many of the goals, some will work better than others.
- When evaluating the costs of fencing, consider how long you want it to last and how much upkeep and maintenance it will require.
- Also consider local by-laws and neighbours before making your final decision.
- Ask yourself whether you’ll be in your house for twenty years or you want to invest in re-sale value.
- A quality product will avoid future maintenance costs and can add value to your home while unpopular choices may actually hurt your re-sale value.
- Many people enjoy entertaining in their backyard without the distraction of neighbours–particularly homes that back onto busy streets or pathways.
- PVC or Wood fences are the most popular choices for those looking for privacy; the particular choice of fence style governs the level of privacy that is offered.
- Many homeowners choose a Tongue & Grooved fence that will provide total privacy, with no space at all between fence boards, while others prefer a good neighbor fence with a 60% level of privacy.
- Whether you prefer no-maintenance PVC (guaranteed for life) or the more natural look of wood there are as many different privacy fence styles as there are levels of privacy.
- Carefully consider the amount of privacy that you require and choose a style that is right for you, your home and your lifestyle.
If you don’t want a total privacy fence, many semi-privacy fences are very effective at tricking the eye to not see what lies beyond.
- Fences that are considered pool legal are fences that are aimed at protecting children. These fence styles should be your first consideration.
- Beyond being pool legal you should also consider your preferred level of privacy. Some parents believe total privacy offers good protection from strangers, others think that a see through fence offers the advantage of a neighbour keeping an extra eye on the children.
- The choice of fence for swimming pools is greatly governed by what lays beyond.
- Inside the yard, between the house and the pool, almost anyone would choose a see-through iron, chainlink or picket fence.
- The choice of fence behind or beside the pool however is generally governed by what lays beyond.
- Homeowners that back on a river, field or wood lands will often also put a see-through fence behind the pool, while suburban homes, with neighbours close-by mostly want total privacy.
- While almost any fence is effective at separating your property from your neighbours, many small and light fence choices only serve this one purpose.
- Homeowners often regret their choice when two or three years later they decide on another home improvement, like the purchase of a hot tub, and are discouraged when they realize that their new fence needs to be replaced.
- Controlling traffic flow should be a careful consideration in any good landscape design.
- Fences that are designed to control traffic clearly direct visitors to specific areas, usually entrances and patios, and keeps them away from other areas.
- The right choice of fence and gate styles, incorporated with carefully thought out plant beds, will harmonize purpose with aesthetics.
- A properly designed, finely crafted fence takes on an individual quality all its own, independent of its surroundings.
- Matched to the style of your home and landscaping, a fence will enhance your home’s appearance and add to its value.
- Experienced designers understand the importance of finding proportions that will best create balance.
- Re-sale value should always be an important consideration but for some homeowners it’s more top of mind than it is for others.
- Choosing always popular fence styles is as important as choosing a fence material that will look as good at time of re-sale as it does when it’s first installed.
Although resale value should always be somewhere in the back of any homeowner’s mind, if you are unlikely to be moving in the foreseeable future, then you can probably risk a little bit and choose a style that is possibly a little less popular but works better for your tastes and lifestyle.
- Fencing that’s used to show off landscaping should be chosen so that all materials, including paint colors, complement what will be planted in front of it.
- Also, consider how the fence will look as the garden in front of it changes throughout the seasons.
- Dark color fences will generally take a back seat to your garden display while bright white fences will compliment your greenery.
PVC, Iron, Wood and Chain link continue to be the most popular choices of fence materials.
- While most fences will help you attain many of your goals, some will work better than others in each particular situation.
- Chain link fences will define boundaries, as well as control the flow of people and animals at an exceptional price.
- Iron fences offer strength, ornamentation and great visibility of what lies beyond.
- Maintenance-Free Iron fences can be used as attractive border or an elegant see through swimming pool fence.
- For many homeowners the warmth and beauty of a natural wood fence is worth the price of maintenance.
- The unique characteristics of wood are easily adapted to many kinds of construction and to a wide variety of fence styles.
- The unique characteristics of wood are easily adapted to many kinds of construction and to a wide variety of fence styles.
- PVC fences offer all of the styles and advantages of a wood fence but without any of the maintenance or with deterioration wood fences will change in look over time, PVC fences will always look like they were just installed.