Talk to Me About Fencing

Xstatic3333 · March 2015

There is so much home improvement knowledge around here, and I'm hoping I can pick your brains about fencing. H and I have decided that replacing our fence will be our next major home improvement project. We will want to save cash for it, but aren't really sure where to start. All we know for sure is that we want to go from 4' to 6'.

The current fence is chain link, which is not uncommon or out of place in our city neighborhood. We don't hate it, but it seems logical to upgrade to a different material if we are replacing it anyway. We are concerned, however, about losing light. We'd rather have light than the privacy of a solid fence. This is a long term or forever home, but of course we don't want to tank our property value either. We are unsure about plastic-type fences due to the noise they make in the wind. We like the look of wood or wrought iron the best, but have concerns about maintenance (wood) and cost (wrought iron). I don't want to waste a contractor's time until we have some idea of whether we are even close to being able to afford this.

What kind of fence do you have? Do you like it? Why or why not? Any costs you'd be willing to share to help me ballpark this? I'm attempting to attach to photos of our yard for reference.

formerlyGDaisy09 · March 2015

we have a 4' iron fence (came in 3ft sections from homedepot, i think each section was in the $15 range). to do our little dog-yard it was like $400. we're considering expanding behind the house so the dog (or maybe dogs) have more space, but to do that we're just going to get inxpensive cow fencing since we'd go down into the wooded area and that space isn't really visible to anyone.

we like how easy our fence was to install, however it does not work on slopes, it looks nice and serves the purpose of us being able to let the dog out to potty without going out with her (it's been a luxury when there's 3 ft of snow on the ground and going out involves a lot more than just slipping some flip flops or clogs on)

We did shovle a path around the fence as the snow got deeper, wouldn't have had to do that with a 6 ft fence. I've never noticed a lot of noise from our neighbor's vinyl fence, they have had issues with their dog knocking some of the slats off

Xstatic3333 · March 2015

formerlyGDaisy09 said:
we have a 4' iron fence (came in 3ft sections from homedepot, i think each section was in the $15 range). to do our little dog-yard it was like $400. we're considering expanding behind the house so the dog (or maybe dogs) have more space, but to do that we're just going to get inxpensive cow fencing since we'd go down into the wooded area and that space isn't really visible to anyone.

we like how easy our fence was to install, however it does not work on slopes, it looks nice and serves the purpose of us being able to let the dog out to potty without going out with her (it's been a luxury when there's 3 ft of snow on the ground and going out involves a lot more than just slipping some flip flops or clogs on)

We did shovle a path around the fence as the snow got deeper, wouldn't have had to do that with a 6 ft fence. I've never noticed a lot of noise from our neighbor's vinyl fence, they have had issues with their dog knocking some of the slats off

Stuck in the Box

Did you install it yourself? Probably not an option for us but I'm curious/impressed.

You gave me the idea to go to Home Depot, and they have a handy fencing project estimator. It looks like vinyl, composite, and steel cost a little too much to make sense at our income level. Wood and chain link are both this-year-doable, however, especially chain link.

With that said, if anyone has wood fencing, are you okay with it? Is it a huge pain to keep in good shape/restain every year? We are in the snow zone which I know could lead to more warping.

For the general peanut gallery, do you consider 6' chain link an eyesore? Personally I'm not always one to notice the little details about houses that others find important, but I want to protect my property value and do our part to keep our neighborhood looking nice so opinions on this kind of thing can be very helpful. I'm that girl who would paint our house ridiculous colors if left unchecked by my H and friends, but I'm trying to do better :-)

hoffse · March 2015

I don't really like chain link - I would probably go with wood and just assume you'll have to maintain it, rather than doing chain link.

We have a wood fence that I think the previous owners installed. It's fine. Not in the best shape, but it adds a lot of privacy to our back yard, which I like a lot. I'm pretty sure it's 6 foot. It's unfinished which is kind of nice - no need to paint it year after year. That would get very old very fast.

I do think next year we'll need to replace a few of the posts that have warped, but that really shouldn't be a huge deal. The fence as a whole is fine. I know it's been there for at least 5 years because the previous owners tried to sell the house when he got divorced a few years ago, and that fence was in the old photos (they just reused the old photos when they listed the house when we bought it).

I have no idea if snow/cold wears down fences more quickly than heat. Our fence gets direct sun pretty much all day long, so it's bleached out a bit, and a few of the posts have cracked. As much as I dislike chain link, I honestly don't mind the bleached wood. It's kind of rustic, and I rather like it.

AprilZ81 · March 2015

I really don't like chain link fences, they just look cheap and junky. They tend to rust so they aren't exactly maintenance free.

I would do a 4-6 foot wood fence. You may not need to stain it every year depending on how it is finished, maybe every other year? Composite would be my next choice, how much more expensive is it?

formerlyGDaisy09 · March 2015

Xstatic3333 said:

formerlyGDaisy09 said:
we have a 4' iron fence (came in 3ft sections from homedepot, i think each section was in the $15 range). to do our little dog-yard it was like $400. we're considering expanding behind the house so the dog (or maybe dogs) have more space, but to do that we're just going to get inxpensive cow fencing since we'd go down into the wooded area and that space isn't really visible to anyone.

we like how easy our fence was to install, however it does not work on slopes, it looks nice and serves the purpose of us being able to let the dog out to potty without going out with her (it's been a luxury when there's 3 ft of snow on the ground and going out involves a lot more than just slipping some flip flops or clogs on)

We did shovle a path around the fence as the snow got deeper, wouldn't have had to do that with a 6 ft fence. I've never noticed a lot of noise from our neighbor's vinyl fence, they have had issues with their dog knocking some of the slats off

Stuck in the Box

Did you install it yourself? Probably not an option for us but I'm curious/impressed.

You gave me the idea to go to Home Depot, and they have a handy fencing project estimator. It looks like vinyl, composite, and steel cost a little too much to make sense at our income level. Wood and chain link are both this-year-doable, however, especially chain link.

With that said, if anyone has wood fencing, are you okay with it? Is it a huge pain to keep in good shape/restain every year? We are in the snow zone which I know could lead to more warping.

For the general peanut gallery, do you consider 6' chain link an eyesore? Personally I'm not always one to notice the little details about houses that others find important, but I want to protect my property value and do our part to keep our neighborhood looking nice so opinions on this kind of thing can be very helpful. I'm that girl who would paint our house ridiculous colors if left unchecked by my H and friends, but I'm trying to do better :-)

our fence is more of a garden fence (clicky) so it was easy to install (no post hole digging!)

I personally don't find chain link to be too much of an eyesore. I'm on the board of a NFP building a dog park in our area, we're planning to plant cheap, hardy perennials around the boarder to dress it up a bit (day lilies, hostas, hydrangia, etc. things that fill in quickly).

Xstatic3333 · March 2015

AprilZ81 said:
I really don't like chain link fences, they just look cheap and junky. They tend to rust so they aren't exactly maintenance free.

I would do a 4-6 foot wood fence. You may not need to stain it every year depending on how it is finished, maybe every other year? Composite would be my next choice, how much more expensive is it?

The wood style I like (lattice top) is 2-4K for materials, while composite is 6-8K. That's a big difference for us, sadly.

Feedback on the chain link is helpful. I should mention that this is our back yard. Our front yard has nice, standard landscaping that we're planning to improve this year and no fence. I think wood is probably the way to go but we're planning a big veggie garden and I worry a lot about the loss of light.

Another potential issue is that our neighbors share one side of the current fence. No clue how that's gonna get handled. They also have a dog but theirs is tiny so they won't be likely to want to upgrade with us.

formerlyGDaisy09 · March 2015

hoffse said:
I don't really like chain link - I would probably go with wood and just assume you'll have to maintain it, rather than doing chain link.

We have a wood fence that I think the previous owners installed. It's fine. Not in the best shape, but it adds a lot of privacy to our back yard, which I like a lot. I'm pretty sure it's 6 foot. It's unfinished which is kind of nice - no need to paint it year after year. That would get very old very fast.

I do think next year we'll need to replace a few of the posts that have warped, but that really shouldn't be a huge deal. The fence as a whole is fine. I know it's been there for at least 5 years because the previous owners tried to sell the house when he got divorced a few years ago, and that fence was in the old photos (they just reused the old photos when they listed the house when we bought it).

I have no idea if snow/cold wears down fences more quickly than heat. Our fence gets direct sun pretty much all day long, so it's bleached out a bit, and a few of the posts have cracked. As much as I dislike chain link, I honestly don't mind the bleached wood. It's kind of rustic, and I rather like it.

new england temperature fluctuations would definitely wear a wood fence out faster. as far as the chain link goes, we're looking at galvanized for the dog park, that isn't suppose to rust. if it's your back yard and you do some landscaping around parts visible from the street I really don't see a problem with a nice chainlink. definitely more secure for your dog

Xstatic3333 · March 2015

formerlyGDaisy09 said:

hoffse said:
I don't really like chain link - I would probably go with wood and just assume you'll have to maintain it, rather than doing chain link.

We have a wood fence that I think the previous owners installed. It's fine. Not in the best shape, but it adds a lot of privacy to our back yard, which I like a lot. I'm pretty sure it's 6 foot. It's unfinished which is kind of nice - no need to paint it year after year. That would get very old very fast.

I do think next year we'll need to replace a few of the posts that have warped, but that really shouldn't be a huge deal. The fence as a whole is fine. I know it's been there for at least 5 years because the previous owners tried to sell the house when he got divorced a few years ago, and that fence was in the old photos (they just reused the old photos when they listed the house when we bought it).

I have no idea if snow/cold wears down fences more quickly than heat. Our fence gets direct sun pretty much all day long, so it's bleached out a bit, and a few of the posts have cracked. As much as I dislike chain link, I honestly don't mind the bleached wood. It's kind of rustic, and I rather like it.
new england temperature fluctuations would definitely wear a wood fence out faster. as far as the chain link goes, we're looking at galvanized for the dog park, that isn't suppose to rust. if it's your back yard and you do some landscaping around parts visible from the street I really don't see a problem with a nice chainlink. definitely more secure for your dog

Hmmm, maybe we could plant privacy barrier-type plants in front of the side available from the street. The other sides border neighbors who are used to chain link so it wouldn't be a big deal.

vlagrl29 · March 2015

I don't like chain and I don't like iron. We have a wood fence for our backyard. Our HOA states that our neighborhood should have 4 ft fences so that's how high ours is and the pickets of wood are spaced a bit not side by side like some wood fences. I got it installed when I moved back into the house with my dog back in 2008. It cost $3500

vlagrl29 · March 2015

Xstatic3333 said:

AprilZ81 said:
I really don't like chain link fences, they just look cheap and junky. They tend to rust so they aren't exactly maintenance free.

I would do a 4-6 foot wood fence. You may not need to stain it every year depending on how it is finished, maybe every other year? Composite would be my next choice, how much more expensive is it?
The wood style I like (lattice top) is 2-4K for materials, while composite is 6-8K. That's a big difference for us, sadly.

Feedback on the chain link is helpful. I should mention that this is our back yard. Our front yard has nice, standard landscaping that we're planning to improve this year and no fence. I think wood is probably the way to go but we're planning a big veggie garden and I worry a lot about the loss of light.

Another potential issue is that our neighbors share one side of the current fence. No clue how that's gonna get handled. They also have a dog but theirs is tiny so they won't be likely to want to upgrade with us.

our neighbors want to put up a fence and asked to share that side and I said it was ok. They have 2 dogs and we have 1 - I don't expect it to be much of an issue.

formerlyGDaisy09 · March 2015

Xstatic3333 said:

formerlyGDaisy09 said:

hoffse said:
I don't really like chain link - I would probably go with wood and just assume you'll have to maintain it, rather than doing chain link.

We have a wood fence that I think the previous owners installed. It's fine. Not in the best shape, but it adds a lot of privacy to our back yard, which I like a lot. I'm pretty sure it's 6 foot. It's unfinished which is kind of nice - no need to paint it year after year. That would get very old very fast.

I do think next year we'll need to replace a few of the posts that have warped, but that really shouldn't be a huge deal. The fence as a whole is fine. I know it's been there for at least 5 years because the previous owners tried to sell the house when he got divorced a few years ago, and that fence was in the old photos (they just reused the old photos when they listed the house when we bought it).

I have no idea if snow/cold wears down fences more quickly than heat. Our fence gets direct sun pretty much all day long, so it's bleached out a bit, and a few of the posts have cracked. As much as I dislike chain link, I honestly don't mind the bleached wood. It's kind of rustic, and I rather like it.
new england temperature fluctuations would definitely wear a wood fence out faster. as far as the chain link goes, we're looking at galvanized for the dog park, that isn't suppose to rust. if it's your back yard and you do some landscaping around parts visible from the street I really don't see a problem with a nice chainlink. definitely more secure for your dog

Hmmm, maybe we could plant privacy barrier-type plants in front of the side available from the street. The other sides border neighbors who are used to chain link so it wouldn't be a big deal.

I'm thinking some nice big hydrangeas would shield the fence so you'd hardly notice it from the street. I'm assuming since you aren't looking for privacy the fence is mostly for your dog?

Xstatic3333 · March 2015

formerlyGDaisy09 said:

Xstatic3333 said:

formerlyGDaisy09 said:

hoffse said:
I don't really like chain link - I would probably go with wood and just assume you'll have to maintain it, rather than doing chain link.

We have a wood fence that I think the previous owners installed. It's fine. Not in the best shape, but it adds a lot of privacy to our back yard, which I like a lot. I'm pretty sure it's 6 foot. It's unfinished which is kind of nice - no need to paint it year after year. That would get very old very fast.

I do think next year we'll need to replace a few of the posts that have warped, but that really shouldn't be a huge deal. The fence as a whole is fine. I know it's been there for at least 5 years because the previous owners tried to sell the house when he got divorced a few years ago, and that fence was in the old photos (they just reused the old photos when they listed the house when we bought it).

I have no idea if snow/cold wears down fences more quickly than heat. Our fence gets direct sun pretty much all day long, so it's bleached out a bit, and a few of the posts have cracked. As much as I dislike chain link, I honestly don't mind the bleached wood. It's kind of rustic, and I rather like it.
new england temperature fluctuations would definitely wear a wood fence out faster. as far as the chain link goes, we're looking at galvanized for the dog park, that isn't suppose to rust. if it's your back yard and you do some landscaping around parts visible from the street I really don't see a problem with a nice chainlink. definitely more secure for your dog

Hmmm, maybe we could plant privacy barrier-type plants in front of the side available from the street. The other sides border neighbors who are used to chain link so it wouldn't be a big deal.
I'm thinking some nice big hydrangeas would shield the fence so you'd hardly notice it from the street. I'm assuming since you aren't looking for privacy the fence is mostly for your dog?

LOVE hydrangeas. We already have some out front.

No, we'd actually prefer NOT to have privacy. I like being able to watch people go by, as does the pooch and the husband. The dog is turning into a bit of an escape artist, which is the main reason for the upgrade. The 6' height is important to us because we really do feel he could escape from our yard, and therefore only let him out when we're right there with him. He'll follow his nose anywhere. If we get a second, having a 6' fence will increase our adoption options for large breeds. A lot of the breed-specific rescues around here won't even consider 4' fences.

Xstatic3333 · March 2015

Also, the current fence has some holes from the previous owner's dog, who was apparently a digger. He was huge, so wouldn't have been able to escape, but ours is in that middle zone where he could both jump the fence and squeeze through the holes if we weren't paying attention. We'll only have him out there with us, but could lose focus if we are gardening or grilling if not careful.

simplyelise · March 2015

Not a homeowner, just sharing my opinion!

I think chain link fences look fine at 3-4ft. That is pretty much the norm in my area. But if you want 6ft, I think it starts to look a little prison yard-ish. Are you wanting that high because of pets?

formerlyGDaisy09 · March 2015

Xstatic3333 said:
Also, the current fence has some holes from the previous owner's dog, who was apparently a digger. He was huge, so wouldn't have been able to escape, but ours is in that middle zone where he could both jump the fence and squeeze through the holes if we weren't paying attention. We'll only have him out there with us, but could lose focus if we are gardening or grilling if not careful.

the fence company we're using for the dog park recommeded a tension wire at the bottom and boarder plantings to discourage diggers, but it sounds like your pooch is going the other way. the other option would be to install an electric fence under your existing fence.

als1982 · March 2015

simplyelise said:
Not a homeowner, just sharing my opinion!

I think chain link fences look fine at 3-4ft. That is pretty much the norm in my area. But if you want 6ft, I think it starts to look a little prison yard-ish. Are you wanting that high because of pets?

This.

Also, I think chain link vs. wood or plastic is dependent on what's consistent in your neighborhood as well as the style and size of house.

hoffse · March 2015

Honestly, I think that by the time you've paid for the chain link and then bushes or hydrangeas to cover the bottom bit, you might have been better off going with something higher end at the outset. Those plants aren't cheap. H and I priced out doing some low ground cover for part of our yard that slopes into the street so that he doesn't have to mow it, and it was going to be so much money that we just tabled it for a year or two. It's also an awful lot of work. If you don't want to dig the holes to install the fence yourself, I can't see you guys being super stoked about digging dozens of holes for plants.

I'm going to be 100% honest - I would probably pass on a house with a 6-ft chain link fence. 4-foot is the "normal" height, and that I could live with if the look was consistent with the neighborhood. But 6-ft is something that would stick out at me, and it's not something I would want to look at every day while I was saving to upgrade. If I did make an offer on a house with a 6-ft chain link fence, I would (at minimum) subtract the cost of replacing that fence from my offer.

Xstatic3333 · March 2015

hoffse said:
Honestly, I think that by the time you've paid for the chain link and then bushes or hydrangeas to cover the bottom bit, you might have been better off going with something higher end at the outset. Those plants aren't cheap. H and I priced out doing some low ground cover for part of our yard that slopes into the street so that he doesn't have to mow it, and it was going to be so much money that we just tabled it for a year or two. It's also an awful lot of work. If you don't want to dig the holes to install the fence yourself, I can't see you guys being super stoked about digging dozens of holes for plants.

I'm going to be 100% honest - I would probably pass on a house with a 6-ft chain link fence. 4-foot is the "normal" height, and that I could live with if the look was consistent with the neighborhood. But 6-ft is something that would stick out at me, and it's not something I would want to look at every day while I was saving to upgrade. If I did make an offer on a house with a 6-ft chain link fence, I would (at minimum) subtract the cost of replacing that fence from my offer.

Hmmm, interesting point. Perhaps I'll get estimates on both. I wish there was a wood fence that let more light in without having wide slats. I do agree that 6' chain link is a bit more imposing than 4'.

Digging for plants isn't a problem. I landscape during the summer at my job and have dug up to a cubic yard of dirt per day myself so I know what I'm in for. I can also purchase plants at wholesale which rocks! It's less than half of typical retail price. My hesitation about self installation is the other parts, mainly correctly constructing the fence so it won't fall over.

formerlyGDaisy09 · March 2015

Xstatic3333 said:

hoffse said:
Honestly, I think that by the time you've paid for the chain link and then bushes or hydrangeas to cover the bottom bit, you might have been better off going with something higher end at the outset. Those plants aren't cheap. H and I priced out doing some low ground cover for part of our yard that slopes into the street so that he doesn't have to mow it, and it was going to be so much money that we just tabled it for a year or two. It's also an awful lot of work. If you don't want to dig the holes to install the fence yourself, I can't see you guys being super stoked about digging dozens of holes for plants.

I'm going to be 100% honest - I would probably pass on a house with a 6-ft chain link fence. 4-foot is the "normal" height, and that I could live with if the look was consistent with the neighborhood. But 6-ft is something that would stick out at me, and it's not something I would want to look at every day while I was saving to upgrade. If I did make an offer on a house with a 6-ft chain link fence, I would (at minimum) subtract the cost of replacing that fence from my offer.
Hmmm, interesting point. Perhaps I'll get estimates on both. I wish there was a wood fence that let more light in without having wide slats. I do agree that 6' chain link is a bit more imposing than 4'.

Digging for plants isn't a problem. I landscape during the summer at my job and have dug up to a cubic yard of dirt per day myself so I know what I'm in for. I can also purchase plants at wholesale which rocks! It's less than half of typical retail price. My hesitation about self installation is the other parts, mainly correctly constructing the fence so it won't fall over.

not to mention you could start with plants that multiply rapidly, I have asters and day lilies that need to be divided every few years. I started with 8 day lilies (less than $20 for dormant plants) and this year I'll be dividing them to have at least 16 clumps throughout our garden. I gave away a dozen asters last year.

hoffse · March 2015

Xstatic3333 said:

hoffse said:
Honestly, I think that by the time you've paid for the chain link and then bushes or hydrangeas to cover the bottom bit, you might have been better off going with something higher end at the outset. Those plants aren't cheap. H and I priced out doing some low ground cover for part of our yard that slopes into the street so that he doesn't have to mow it, and it was going to be so much money that we just tabled it for a year or two. It's also an awful lot of work. If you don't want to dig the holes to install the fence yourself, I can't see you guys being super stoked about digging dozens of holes for plants.

I'm going to be 100% honest - I would probably pass on a house with a 6-ft chain link fence. 4-foot is the "normal" height, and that I could live with if the look was consistent with the neighborhood. But 6-ft is something that would stick out at me, and it's not something I would want to look at every day while I was saving to upgrade. If I did make an offer on a house with a 6-ft chain link fence, I would (at minimum) subtract the cost of replacing that fence from my offer.
Hmmm, interesting point. Perhaps I'll get estimates on both. I wish there was a wood fence that let more light in without having wide slats. I do agree that 6' chain link is a bit more imposing than 4'.

Digging for plants isn't a problem. I landscape during the summer at my job and have dug up to a cubic yard of dirt per day myself so I know what I'm in for. I can also purchase plants at wholesale which rocks! It's less than half of typical retail price. My hesitation about self installation is the other parts, mainly correctly constructing the fence so it won't fall over.

Xstatic3333 said:

Xstatic3333 said:
In your pics your yard looks pretty big. It looks much bigger than our back yard. Most of our back yard gets full sun all day long based on the way its oriented. Actually, getting shade back there has been an issue for us.

Xstatic3333 said:
Which rooms in your house face the back? For us it's the kitchen and laundry room. I loooove the privacy fence because then my neighbors can't see when I hang out bras and stuff to dry in our laundry area. I can also do a last-minute steam or ironing of my clothes before work without having to worry about what I'm wearing (or not wearing) in our laundry room. We also tend to do some projects on our back patio, and we don't feel the need to keep it pristine so as to not annoy the neighbors (ie: we spray painted our vent grilles last weekend and left them out to dry for more than 24 hrs). If that fence wasn't there, I would always be worrying about what our neighbors can see.

Xstatic3333 · March 2015

The only room that faces back is H's office. It's good to hear that you get plenty of light even with the solid fence!

Thanks to all of you for weighing in! You've given us lots of good considerations to discuss. I'll have to brainstorm with H at home tonight.

hoffse · March 2015

Yeah the light is going to depend a lot on the way your house is oriented. If I were you, I'd take some rocks or something and spend a day (when it's sunny) tracking the sun's progress each hour. It could be that the fence would cast huge shadows, or your house might be like ours where there is plenty of light where you want to plant veggies most of the day. Our fence really only casts shadows in the morning, and our back yard gets full afternoon sun. Even the "covered" area under our awning gets afternoon sun. I wish it were the opposite, honestly. Our climate is too hot for that.

Xstatic3333 · March 2015

hoffse said:
Yeah the light is going to depend a lot on the way your house is oriented. If I were you, I'd take some rocks or something and spend a day (when it's sunny) tracking the sun's progress each hour. It could be that the fence would cast huge shadows, or your house might be like ours where there is plenty of light where you want to plant veggies most of the day. Our fence really only casts shadows in the morning, and our back yard gets full afternoon sun. Even the "covered" area under our awning gets afternoon sun. I wish it were the opposite, honestly. Our climate is too hot for that.

That's a very good idea. Our yard is to the east of the house, which I think is good for light, but I have a hard time visualizing this stuff. I don't blame you for wanting plenty of shade in your neck of the woods!

formerlyGDaisy09 · March 2015

Xstatic3333 said:

hoffse said:
Yeah the light is going to depend a lot on the way your house is oriented. If I were you, I'd take some rocks or something and spend a day (when it's sunny) tracking the sun's progress each hour. It could be that the fence would cast huge shadows, or your house might be like ours where there is plenty of light where you want to plant veggies most of the day. Our fence really only casts shadows in the morning, and our back yard gets full afternoon sun. Even the "covered" area under our awning gets afternoon sun. I wish it were the opposite, honestly. Our climate is too hot for that.
That's a very good idea. Our yard is to the east of the house, which I think is good for light, but I have a hard time visualizing this stuff. I don't blame you for wanting plenty of shade in your neck of the woods!

the east side is going to get morning light, whatever fence is on the east end will cast a long shadow for a little bit in the morning, the south-side fence will cast a long shadow most the day.

ETA: so if you're planting I think you'd want to position a garden bed closer to the north fence sort of centered so the shadow from the fence in the morning and the house in the afternoon interferes minimally. our best garden beds are on the south side of our house, because the house's shadow covers the north side.

Erikan73 · March 2015

When we bought our house it came with a 6 foot high wooden fence with the shadow box design. It was rotted out & litterly falling over. Last year we replaced it with another 6 foot high fence but composite, We opted to stay with 6 foot high because we do like our privacy and with one of the neighbors big dogs, anything less wouldn't keep the neighbors dogs out. I can't remember the exact footage we have but it was a lot as we live on a double lot. We looked at wood, which was the cheapest to install at around $4,000. But the downside was that we would have to stain it every few years and we would really only be able to stain one side of it without having to go into 4 different neighbors yards and causing them inconvenice when we did it. Also the cost of stain every few years, we estimated $100-$200 minimum. And that would be every 2-3 years plus all the summer weekends it would take to do the work. Then we looked at vinyl, that was around $5,000-$6,000 for white, but with that much white fencing, it would have been blinding in our backyard when the sun was out. I've seen houses with white vinyl fences and if they have the privacy style, when the sun shines on it, it gives off lots of brightness. None of the contractors really wanted to quote us for other colors. We ended up going with composite which cost us $7500 but we love it. It looks like wood and we picked a color (cedar) that we liked. We went with a privacy style. Plus, we will never have to stain it. We will probably have to power wash it every few years, but that's a one day project, every few years.

noffgurl · March 2015

We prefer galvanized steel so it doesn't rust and is much cheaper (for us) than chain link- I would love to upgrade to chain link at one point. We wouldn't want to ever do the wood fencing because our dogs (one in particular) would eat it in no time. We have had to reinforce the galvanized steel for this issue as well- it's weaker than chain link so a dog can eat it or break it apart pretty easily.

noffgurl · March 2015

Another point, fencing is actually really, really easy to install yourself, though I have never tried installing wood. For galvanized, you just want a post pounder (maybe $30 at most) for the t-posts and some wire (we use the stretchy electrical for about $10 for a roll that lasts forever). For chain link, the expense isn't the fence itself- it's the concrete for the posts (easiest with a post hole digger, I'm not sure how much they cost) and a stretcher for the fence. The stretcher can run several hundred to buy, so personally we would rent from Home Depot, but even that gets expensive.

noffgurl · March 2015

I must be some kind of backwoods hick to all of y'all lol.
:-S

abrewer5 · March 2015

I wonder if you could do wood and then put a thick out door paint on it to keep it low maintenence.

Home Depot and I believe Rustoleum have a paint called "Deck Over" that is supposed to last 10 years before you have to paint again. It might be worth it check out. The paint is kind of expensive, but it might still be cheaper than doing composite.

PS: When I initially saw the title of your post I thought you meant fencing the sport, not the home improvement project... It's been a long week.

short+sassy · March 2015

noffgurl said:
I must be some kind of backwoods hick to all of y'all lol.
:-S

Oh, please! I only wish I was so handy .

I have a fairly large yard with wooden fencing all the way around it. A couple feet on one side never gets sunlight at all because there are neighbor trees shading it. But the rest of the yard is in full sunlight all day. If anything, it has too much light. I don't feel my wood fencing subtracts from the light at all. Also, I guess the wood is rustic/natural. I don't think it has any stain on it. I know I have never stained it. It's old and not that pretty, but is in good condition and functional for being (I'm guessing) over 20 years old.

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