History proves this: When you least expect it, the need for a fence arises.
Example 1: It`s 246 B.C. and the neighbors in Mongolia are starting to get restless, so the northern Chinese make a decision. They build a monumental fence 1,500 miles long and up to 50 feet high.
Example 2: It`s A.D. 122, and the Scots start acting up, so Emperor Hadrian builds a wall from Solway Firth near the Irish Sea to the Tyne River to protect Roman Britain from the Scots.
Poet Robert Frost`s ”good fences make good neighbors” sentiments aside, the lesson seems actually to be this: Good fences keep neighbors out of your yard.
When you purchase a home, there are tasks and additions that you know about upfront, and there are other items that spring up as you go along. Fences fall into the latter category.
Nobody ever plans on owning a fence. The need just sort of arises. Kind of like when you receive a new toy with the package marked ”Batteries not included.”
”Fence buyers are impulse buyers,” says Bill Schenke, owner of Full Service Fence Stores in Chicago. ”Few people sit back and dream of the day they`re going to buy a fence. Either they just acquired a dog, or the kids are toddlers and they`re running around the yard. Maybe a neighbor moved in that they don`t care for or they bought a pool. Or, a lot of times, they were recently broken into. Something in their life changed.”
Do any of those scenarios sound familiar? If so, you may have already decided you need a fence, but haven`t quite figured out where to start. Maybe you`re perched on the proverbial wall, unable to decide what fence will best suit your boundary needs. Or perhaps you can`t decide whether you should build it yourself to save money or pay twice as much to hire a fencing contractor who`ll save you the aggravation.
Whatever barriers may exist between you and the fence of your dreams-or at least the fence of your reality-are easily surmountable with a bit of practical planning and assessment.
What`s your fence going to be worth? While some appraisers will add as much as $1,000 to a property`s value for a good fence, you probably won`t recoup the total amount when you sell, according to Don O`Connor, owner of a North Side appraisal firm that bears his name. It`s more likely that a fancy enclosure will add to the ”curb appeal” of your property if and when you put it on the market.
A national treasure
But that doesn`t stop people from laying out the cash for a new fence. Ever since Tom Sawyer took brush and whitewash in hand, middle-class Americans have treasured the fence, especially the white picket variety that provided the starkest of contrasts to the black, wrought-iron fences of aristocratic Europe.
Today Americans spend nearly $5 billion annually on pickets, links, planks and wrought-iron bars-still expensive, though new tubular models have brought costs down-to mark property lines, enhance the yard`s beauty and keep strangers from carting off the television and stereo. It`s a booming industry that`s been helped by the notion that fences, especially the wood variety, are one of the easiest do-it-yourself projects, requiring just a few basic skills and tools. The increasing availability of prefabricated fence panels-the off- the-rack alternative to custom-built designer fences-have also reinforced the do-it-yourself trend.
Still, getting the fence from your mind`s eye to the front yard remains a mystery to many.
”Most people only buy a fence once in their lifetime, so they don`t know what to expect,” says Schenke, whose company both installs fences and sells fence materials to do-it-yourselfers. ”We`re often dealing with people who say, `Well, I saw (TV handyman) Norm Abram build one and he did it like this.` Or they go to the library and take a book out on fences that was drawn up by some crazed architect who says everything should be down to the eighth- inch, and everything should be milled and smooth, and the nails should be recessed and puttied. It`s ridiculous. In reality, fences aren`t built that way,” he says.
The first step in getting the fence built the right way is choosing the right fence, a task that will require you to take a long, hard look at substance before you can begin to envision style.
Step 1 in choosing a fence is to clarify your needs. Put aside form for a moment and ask yourself a few questions about function. What is the fence`s purpose? What problem do you want it to solve? Are you looking for privacy or are you more interested in enhancing the overall look of the yard? Is security a major concern?
Once you`ve determined the why of your fence, figure out the where by drawing a site plan. Keep this in mind: Good fences may make good neighbors, but cross over into the yard next door and the wicked pickets might end up making good kindling. If your fence is on your neighbor`s property, in many places he`s free to do with it what he wants.
Finding the proper boundaries-the lines where your property ends and a neighbor`s begin-can be tricky. Check with the lending institution that holds your mortgage or your municipality`s building department. Or try working from the description on your property deed.
If all else fails, try to negotiate an agreeable fence line with the neighbor, and put it down on paper. It`s best to get such a shared agreement in writing for yourself, the neighbors and future owners of the properties.
While the guy or gal next door won`t have anything to say (legally) about the style of fence you choose, the community you live in probably will. Most communities have well-established building codes that outline the basics of fence design and construction.
In Chicago, no permit is needed for fences less than 5 feet tall. If you want one any higher, you`ll need to apply for a permit through the City of Chicago Building Department (744-3489).
Suburbs have their own fencing fiats, such as the so-called ”openness requirements” that prohibit solid fences-so much for privacy-or provisions that limit height. In Skokie, the local ordinance clearly states: ”No fence shall be allowed on any part of a front yard.” Period.
Each community has its own quirks of the code, and many suburbs require a permit no matter what your plans, so be sure to check with your city or village hall.
Expert advice
With all those details out of the way, you`re ready to start selecting a style. If you`re thinking of hiring a contractor, now`s the time to call for a free estimate, which most of them will provide. Even if you`re planning to install the fence yourself, working with fence specialists has its advantages. They`ll calculate the materials you need, provide step-by-step instructions and even lend out tools like posthole diggers to do-it-yourselfers.
Chain link is the cheapest fencing option, but it`s also the least desirable (”It`s ugly,” says one fencer rather succinctly), and the least tolerant of novice installers.
”Chicago used to be such a chain link kind of town, but when you look around, you see more of the other stuff,” says one native South Sider, who perfected the art of ”fence jumping” in the back yards of Beverly. ”You just can`t get over those wood or wrought-iron fences like you could the 4-foot-high chain link,” he laments.
”Chain link is dwindling fast in the residential sector,” says Frank Crouse, vice president of the steel division at Tru-Link Fence Co., who notes that townships and new subdivisions have added restrictive covenants that prevent residents from putting up chain-link fences. In Ft. Worth, Texas, a homeowner in a neighborhood historic district was even forced to tear down her chain-link fence because it wasn`t ”historically accurate.”
Even so, most building supply and home center stores carry chain link, usually in 50-foot rolls, which cost about $30 for 12-gauge and around $80 for the heavier 9-gauge link. Corner posts, which cost about $8.50, are needed for the spots where the fence will turn `round the bend, and regular posts (about $7 each) need to be spaced every 10 feet.
Charlie Shirley, owner of B&B Fence in Chicago, calls the lighter, 12-gauge chain-link that most home centers stock ”something like a paper clip” and downplays its incarcerating capabilities. ”If you`ve got a small dog, like one of those chihuahuas, the 12-gauge fence will keep it in, but I`d hate to be on the outside of one of those light-gauge fences looking at a doberman pinscher in there,” he says.
Though you probably won`t find them in a home center, chain-link fences with green, black or brown vinyl coating are available through fencing specialists (Check the Yellow Pages under ”Fence”).
Into the wood
While the reign of chain may be on the wane, wood is becoming more popular. Moderately priced and user-friendly, wood has become the fence material of choice for many.
”In the suburban areas, wood fencing is going right through the roof,”
says Schenke. ”And we`re even starting to see a swing to wood in the city, where people are getting away from the old good neighbor fence where you could lean over and talk to the people next door. Instead, they`re going into the 5- and 6-foot-(tall) privacy-type fences.”
Unlike chain-link, wood is very easy to work with, requiring only basic carpentry tools and skills. Cedar, spruce and redwood are popular woods that are widely available. If you`re going it alone, avoid wood that is warped or split and be sure to use non-rusting nails. And never paint an untreated wood fence: That seals in moisture that can lead to rot. Plan on staining it instead.
Prefabricated wood fence panels, in standard 8-foot lengths, can be purchased for between $17 and $40 at most home and garden stores.
Comparatively, the same fence installed would cost roughly $30 to $60 per section, and a custom fence, built by a professional, might cost $18 to $25 per running foot.
If the fence fits. . .
Schenke advises do-it-yourselfers to custom-build wood fencing rather than buy panels. ”When you buy prefabricated panels, you have to make your yard fit the fence. When you build it piece-by-piece, you can make the fence fit the yard. You can go down slopes and step boards down or roll over a knoll in the yard and have the top of the fence follow the grade.”
The other advantage of the custom-built fence is that you waste less material. If you`ve got a run of fence that`s 60 feet, it will require eight 8-foot fence panels, leaving you with four feet of excess and an unevenly spaced fence. Custom building allows you to place your posts at intervals that suit the overall length.
If wood is the fencing of choice these days in suburbia, then wrought iron and its clone, ornamental iron (made of hollow steel or aluminum tubing), are quickly becoming the mark of gentrifying city neighborhoods. ”The rehabbers are all using wrought iron and ornamental iron for the excellent security and the beauty of it,” says B&B Fence`s Shirley.
Still, the cost is high. Decorative wrought iron might cost as much as $75 per lineal (running) foot, while a plain-picketed ornamental iron fence could sell for around $22 per lineal foot. Both types are also available in a cheaper, economy version in which the pickets are welded to, instead of punched through, the horizontal rails.
Finally, there`s a 6-year-old product on the market called Cladwood that`s warrantied not to split, crack or delaminate for 10 years, and it won`t turn silver or fall prey to termites like regular wood, according to Victor Wisniewski of Cladwood, a division of Smurfit Newsprint Corp.
The secret of Cladwood is that it`s made of reclaimed wood products, bonded together with phenolic resin, a heat-set glue often used on boats, which prevents it from breaking down or delaminating like particle board. What type of reclaimed wood products? Flat pieces of Douglas fir and recycled newsprint, which means this story could end up aiding some unsuspecting fencer after all.
