Points To Consider When Buying Aluminum Fences To Secure Your Home

By Ida Dorsey


Wrought iron fencing has been used for centuries for establishing the boundaries of a property in a elegant-looking manner, and while strong, iron can be expensive and time-consuming to maintain. Many homeowners today are switching to aluminum fences, as this alternative to iron offers many of the same classic styles, comparable strength, and has the advantage of requiring basically no maintenance once installed.

Categorized according to its grade, aluminum fencing is available in commercial, industrial, and residential grades. Urban properties are most often fenced with residential grade materials, but many landowners in the country opt for a stronger grade to keep animals like cattle and horses off their property.

The thickness and strength of the fence is determined by the gauge of the metal used. It's always safest to select fencing which has panels that have been joined using welded seams. If they have assembled with spot or tack welds or rivets they may not be as strong and will therefore be more likely to break down sooner.

The standard design for most aluminum fencing is a row of vertical pickets which are held in place by two horizontal rails that run parallel to each other. The pickets may be curved, scrolled, or straight and their ends can be either decorated or plain. Posts join the panels and vary in weight according to where they will be placed, the heaviest ones flanking the gate, ends, and corners. Some people purchase decorative end caps for these posts. The gate matches the fence and permits one to enter. A special finish is applied to the metal to eliminate the need for maintenance, and several colors are available such as black, bronze, white, green and more.

Besides creating a timeless classy look, this versatile fencing provides good security and is suitable for almost any property be it a gated community, place of business, a school, or someone's private residence. There are several heights to choose from to match one's security needs, many homeowners choose aluminum fencing to meet municipal requirements for enclosing an on-site swimming pool.

There is a large choice of manufacturers, so it pays to do some comparison shopping when looking for the best match. Each product may differ from the rest in several ways, and all will likely claim to be superior to the others so it's a matter of which features are most important to the buyer. The next step will be finding local distributors that sell this particular make.

When purchasing the fencing, the buyer should be supplied with a lifetime warranty from the manufacturer. Although the metal has been treated in such a way that it is unlikely to peel, chip, or crack, it still pays to have this added reassurance that any problem will be covered at the manufacturer.

The installation of the new fence can be handled by either a crew managed by the distributor, a private fencing contractor, or the homeowner, as long as he or she is familiar with this type of work and has sufficient knowledge and skills to do it successfully. In general, it is not hard to install, but care must be taken to space the panels and posts with a high degree of precision.




About the Author: