Education, Prep & Planning
Fence Your Property – 9 Big Reasons for Fencing
Sep
Getting the right fence begins with you determining why you want to fence your property. Your purpose is the key to making the right choice. If you aren’t clear about this when you decide on your purchase, you could end up upset with yourself soon after your installation. And probably even more upset with the person who sold you the fence!
I’ve been in the fencing industry for over twenty-five years, and I’ve supervised the installation of miles of fencing and gates. I can give you down-to-earth information to help you figure out what’s the right direction to go in choosing your fencing.
Take the few minutes necessary to study this article and you’ll have key concepts in mind with which to begin your planning to fence your property.
Why fence and gate your property?
It all comes down to one or more of the following reasons.
Safety
Fencing and walls protect your family and your pets. Very young children aren’t at all aware of boundaries unless the boundaries are real and physical barriers. Older children might ordinarily know the boundaries, but can get so excited and caught up “in the moment” that they will forget about them unless “reminded” by the stopping power of an actual physical barrier.
Often we read about older family members suffering from forgetfulness and absent-mindedness wandering off. Adding barriers to your property can help with that.
Our cats will not pay much attention to our Fencing! We’ll just have to count on their speed and alertness to keep them out of trouble.
But we can safeguard our pet dogs and horses with fencing.
There’re many concerns outside of our properties. In rural areas there are forests, lakes, rivers, cliffs, and wild animals. By fencing your property, you diminish the possibilities of an accident through misadventures.
In urban areas, there is primarily the threat of criminals or traffic. fencing and walls make a barrier to both.
Security
Fences keep strangers off your property. Top of the list of undesirables would-be criminals, but they also deter rowdy teenagers and Saturday night drunks from visiting. Rurally, they can keep deer and other wildlife from dining in your garden or a midnight munch from your trash receptacles. There are some cities that still have problems seasonally with people pushing magazine subscriptions and other products at your door.
With fencing, these problems go away.
Fences Establish Boundaries
There may be many ways to look at fencing as a security measure. We see two primary reasons people secure their property. The first is psychological, and the second is physical.
Psychologically, all of us have experienced since we were crawling around in diapers that a fence means “stop”. Come to think of it, the side of a crib and the look of a fence panel are nearly identical!
It doesn’t stop there, does it? Everywhere you go in the city you see fencing and borders. And, pretty much always, people respect them.
There are many homes surrounded by picket fences that wouldn’t take much more than a little hop to cross. Yet, many homeowners remain safe on these properties, regardless.
Many, but not all! It seems some people need more “psychology” than others! A five or six feet tall, robust fence is probably enough “psychology” to stop just about anyone.
There Are Two Main Environments Where Ordinary Fences And Gates Are Often Not Enough.
These are at two ends of the financial spectrum: in the wealthiest neighborhoods, where an abundance of material goods excites envy, and in the poor neighborhoods where crime is nearby and pervasive.
Are you very concerned about your safety and your possessions? Do you live in a neighborhood where there have been break-ins or home invasions? Then you need more than a low-profile fence.
High-security fencing and gates work not only as a psychological deterrent but as very real physical obstacles difficult to surmount. They are generally taller, wider, and made from more robust materials. High-Security gates are fixed into the ground more thoroughly, with deeper and more substantial footers.
Privacy
In my experience, the most frequent reason for installing fencing and gates to a property is for privacy.
For many people, privacy is of the greatest importance. Their “business” is their own, and no one else’s.
The privately-oriented person is often safeguarding something that is special. This becomes more “special” to the degree the person has the urge to hide it away.
But it all makes sense. If you had a well-maintained garden and pond, a “secret place”, wouldn’t that be even more exceptional if just you and the people closest to you knew about it?
Even if you are amongst the most sociable people, you probably want to have at least some time away from the crowds. And socializing can be more pleasant when you can provide privacy for a social event.
The right fencing can fully make your property private, and is an enormous step forward in changing your home to your castle, and your back or front yard to your kingdom.
Curb Appeal and Increased Property Value
Although we primarily install most fences for reasons of security or privacy, once we plan for an installation, the appearance of your project becomes a primary concern.
Just because your fences and gates have important jobs to do, that doesn’t mean the whole installation can’t be beautiful.
Some homeowners fence a home primarily to increase the property’s curb appeal. If you’ve always dreamt of having an elegant old-world fence or a simple white picket fence, you can make that dream come true!
Not every property needs a shield or barrier; some owners “frame” their properties with fencing to make it look even more lovely.
There can be an enormous variation in the amount of actual security and actual privacy that a fencing system brings about, but the fencing system must ALWAYS be beautiful in the eyes of the homeowner.
Adding beauty to one’s life is a grand purpose all by itself!
There’s one thing that will always benefit a home, and a neighborhood – more beauty, and more order.
As a side note, increased curb appeal is one of the prime factors in higher-valued home appraisals! Fencing your property typically increases the value of your home by as much as 300% of the cost of the fence installation!
Wandering Weeds
Is your neighbor’s yard is filled with weeds that are “illegally migrating” to your property? Choose a “privacy fence”; a fence that is built as a solid pane of wood, vinyl, or aluminum that reaches all the way to the ground. This will stop most weeds.
Peace and Quiet
“Silence is a source of Great Strength.” ― Lao Tzu
Noisy neighborhood? Fencing your property can do a lot towards obstructing sound waves emanating from a noisy street or loud neighbors. A fence made from any material is going to stop at least some noise. You can buy special material as well to put inside or alongside a fence for more noise dampening.
Fencing back “Ugly”
Not so pleased with the appearance of your neighborhood? Is the chaos of your next-door neighbor’s backyard forcing you to look down at the ground when you go to your yard? You can block out all that “ugly” with a privacy fence.
Our homes are our castles, but what if it is your bad luck to be living next door to a real-life comic strip “Pig Pen” character? If pleas to the neighborhood councilman or other city officials go unnoticed, you can fence the offending neighbor out of your field of vision.
We have helped many people build their own oases of privacy and beauty in “mean street” neighborhoods. If you are in that a predicament, you need to fence your property to preserve your sanity.
So, there are the main basic “whys” to fence your property. You probably realized that most people have over one “why” and there are some who have all these reasons.
Your reasons will influence your planning and the fence you choose, so give it a lot of thought before you buy. What is my purpose? Why do I need a fence? What do I most want from a fence? When you can answer these questions, you’re ready to get started.
Please continue to look through our education center to learn more about gates and fencing. All of our products come with a protective warranty and are built in mind to last a lifetime. We are happy to help you plan a gate and fence project that completes your needs.
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