Did you know that the return on investment of refurbishing your home’s exterior and landscape is between 200-400%? This is because curb appeal is so vital to a home’s selling price: when someone pulls up in front of your house looking to buy, they’re going to start judging it immediately–and if you have the wrong fencing material, it’s going to immediately turn off potential buyers (or home appraisers).
The truth is that the best fencing material enhances the beauty of the home, can provide privacy for the home, can make your home more secure, and will increase the value of your home. But these things don’t happen with just any old fence. It needs to be the best kind of fence, made from the best fencing material. So, the question is: what makes fencing material “the best”?
What should you consider when choosing your fence material?
When you are selecting your fencing material, there are going to be a lot of choices. And while nearly every type of fence can be right in the right application, only certain fencing materials will be right for your home. So how do you choose which fencing material is the best for your home?
The Best Fencing Material Should Offer Beauty
You want your fence to be beautiful, and we’re going to talk about specific styles of fences a little later on, but a few things need to be looked at up front. For example, will your fence get dirty and how difficult is it to clean? Will your fence discolor in the sunlight? Will your fence be in constant need of repainting? How about wood chipping and splitting? Can your fence withstand damage
The best fencing material will be fencing that will be easy to clean, will maintain its color, will never need a paint job, and won’t get wood rot. This is why, in almost every situation, an aluminum fence will be the most attractive fence for your home. They are stylish, sturdy and sophisticated.
The Best Fencing Material Should Offer Privacy
Privacy of a fence can come in two different forms: it can be the privacy that comes from a fence that isn’t see-through, in which case you would want a good solid vinyl privacy fence, or the type of privacy that comes from simply keeping people out of your yard. An aluminum fence stands sturdy and strong and is not something that the neighbor kids will simply hop over to grab their baseball, and the narrow slats will keep most animals from running in and out of your yard.
The Best Fencing Material Should Offer Safety
A strong fence is a safe fence. There are all too many sad stories of neighbor children wandering into someone else’s yard and falling into their pool with dire consequences. A strong fence is essential in these situations. But a strong, safe fence is also a fence that will keep out intruders, the type of fence that no burglar will want to scale and no hooligan will want to break and vandalize.
Nothing looks more imposing to a potential burglar than a tall aluminum fence with a pressed point spear top, or some other form of pointed finial. These fences are attractive during the day–some of our most beautiful and ornate fences–but when a burglar comes around in the middle of the night they will not see an attractive fence, but a row of spikes that they definitely do not want to scale.
What is the architectural style of your home?
The style of your home will lead to natural decisions about the best fencing materials you’ll want to use. Different home styles call for different aesthetic choices. So which are the best fencing materials for your home?
Ce Cod
This is a good place to start because anyone who is familiar with a Cape Cod style house–a low, single-story home with a gabled roof and very little ornamentation–the most traditional form of fence for this style is a wooden picket fence. In fact, a Cape Cod house would look strange to have anything but a wooden picket fence. So why do we bring it up when we’re talking about aluminum fences? Because the type of fence you use in the front of the house to match the aesthetics isn’t necessarily the type you’d use in the back to keep your yard and pool safe. So, for a Cape Cod house, the best fencing materials would be wood in front, and aluminum in back.
Ranch
A ranch home, which makes up almost 70% of all the homes built in suburban America, is a remarkable architectural style because it can really accommodate a variety of styles. Fifty years ago a ranch style home would be surrounded with wood or chain link, but nowadays, aluminum is becoming far more common. And it’s because aluminum fences look so good, are easy to maintain–which is important to the suburban homekeeper–and are secure.
Colonial
Now this is a style of home that is meant to have a metal fence. A colonial home, which is marked by its two or three stories, its gabled roof, its brick facing, and its iconic silhouette, was originally made (in colonial times) with wrought iron fences. In modern times, we know that wrought iron rusts, is expensive, is hard to install (because it’s so heavy) and is in constant need of maintenance. So, get the exact same look as the wrought iron of two hundred years ago with aluminum fences. They can be stately and plain, or ornate and decorated.
Neoclassical
A neoclassical style house is crying out for a metal fence. Classical architecture relates to Rome and Greece, and neoclassical architecture is the modern take on that look. (Think: most buildings in Washington DC.) A neoclassical house almost always has a metal fence surrounding the entire thing, typically black, with the intent of looking strong and powerful.)
Spanish Revival
Found all throughout the Southwest, Spanish Revival homes have arched windows, stucco walls, and terracotta roofs. This style hearkens back to times of Spanish colonization, and those homes were surrounded by adobe walls. Today, the adobe walls are replaced with aluminum fences.
What other factors should you consider when choosing a fence?
But there’s more to picking the best fencing material than just the aesthetics, the safety and the privacy. There’s also the price, HOA guidelines, and making sure you match your other trim and structures.
Price
When it comes to fencing–especially metal fencing–there is nothing that beats aluminum. And when it comes to aluminum fencing, there is no one who beats Aluminum Fences Direct. We cut out the middleman–you won’t be buying our fences at the big box home stores, you’ll be buying it directly from us. The fencing itself is inexpensive, the installation is far cheaper than what you’re going to get paying someone else to install your fence, and the lifespan of the fence (which definitely involves price) is much longer than what you’ll get with the alternatives.
HOA Guidelines
Now, we can’t speak for every HOA. All of them have their own rules and HOAs are known for being persnickety. But in our experience, the clean and safe look of a good aluminum fence is almost never rejected by an HOA’s committee. If the HOA balks at the idea of the aluminum fence, give them our website and let them look through the galleries of fine-looking fences. They may very well change their minds.
Matching Your Other Structures
When picking a fence you want it to match the trim of the other structures in your yard. You don’t want the fence to look out of place. For this we simply say: black and clean goes with everything. Your home’s fixtures (rain gutters, mail boxes, ornamentation) all fit in well with the black finish of an aluminum fence.
Conclusion
The best fencing material should be chosen to accommodate the beauty of your home (including the architectural style), the privacy of your yard, the safety and security of your property, and it should come at a terrific price.
Aluminum Fences Direct makes more than a dozen designs of fencing, with additions of fixtures, finials and caps. They can be made to match any style of home, and they will last a lifetime. And you can’t get a fence for a better price.
