Vinyl Privacy Fence

So you are looking into fence options but you are stuck on what style of fence to choose. There are so many styles and options to choose from, if you landed on this page you are most likely looking for a privacy fence. Privacy fence is needed for many different applications. It can be used as a dog run, a property border, it can be used to hold in your kids and pets, keep kids and pets out, offer security to your property, close you in your yard and offer privacy from neighbors. No matter what your need is, privacy fence is crucial to accomplishing your goal.

There are many different styles of privacy fence to choose from, you must narrow down your options by your needs and budget. Are you looking for full privacy or semi privacy? Solid privacy or privacy with a decorative top? It all depends on your wants and needs. A five foot tall privacy vinyl fence with a 1′ decorative top looks nice but it doesn’t offer full privacy, is full privacy important to you? Semi privacy lets air flow thorough the fence taking away the stress wind can cause. It also allows you to see light which offers a feeling of not being boxed in but it also allows others to see into your property. These options must be weighed out.

Semi privacy and decorative top privacy fence will add significant cost to your project, on top of cost it takes longer to get the materials in and ready to ship or be picked up. Knowing this will help in your planning. This will allow you to plan your budget, it will also help you in planning the time it will take to receive your fence so you can have it installed.

Vinyl privacy fence is one of our best sellers. This product is the best bang for your buck. It is stocked in most of our locations nation wide, this means lower wait times on receiving your product. Since it is a best seller we can discount significantly. When you are planning your fence it is best to calculate your entire project and purchase it at one time. By doing this you will save money because you will get a higher discount by purchasing more and you will cut down on freight cost. Planning is crucial when it comes to buying fence. This is how you save money!

There are many different materials to choose from when it comes to purchasing a privacy fence. Let’s take a look at some options and compare cost. I have been fencing my entire life, I started when I was a kid with my father (who is now 60 and still working by my side 🙂 Prices have changed and products have changed.

Cedar Fence

When I was younger a cedar privacy fence could be installed for $4 per foot! Now you can’t get the materials for that. These days a cedar fence with treated 4×4 post, 3 – 2×4 runners and a premium cedar picket cost more to install than vinyl! In Idaho our installation company Buetts Fence installs cedar for $30 a foot. You can purchase cedar fence from a big box store for around $14 per foot. Cedar looks great the first year, after that first year it goes down hill quickly. It ages, warps and falls apart. To keep it looking nice you have to stain it annually. A average yard generally has 250′ of fence. To have someone stain that fence you can expect to pay $4 per foot per side which is $2000, if you do it your self you can expect to pay $500. That’s a lot of money. Let’s say you stain your fence every year for 15 years, you just spent $7500!

Iron

This is hard to put into a privacy category but there is still place for it here. There are aluminum panels you can find that will create a beautiful iron fence. I personally built a custom iron fence at my house, using 1×3 rails turned horizontal with a 1/4″ gap. It is beautiful but extremely expensive. The fence ended up being $250 a foot! It is 3 years old, all the parts were powder coated, I chose this option because it is stronger and will have less chance of rusting. After 3 years there are several rust spots that have formed, if not treated properly they will grow in size and eventually degrade the fence and fall apart.

There are also iron panels which are powder coated, these pre assembled panels are easy to work with, they come in different heights from 4-6′, you can add 2-3 rails, point tops or flat pool tops, they have 1/2″ pickets with a 3” gap so there is absolutely no privacy but they are extremely strong. With all iron you must maintenance areas that develop rust, this is done by wire brushing the rusted area and spraying with an anti rust paint once a year. Cost can vary from $15-30 per foot for materials. We do offer these panels but we do not market them.

Chain Link

Most residential customers are not looking at chain link fence. It creates a look and feel of being in a compound. It doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for it though. Chain link itself offers zero privacy but there are options in creating a privacy look by adding vinyl slats. Here is the catch, when you add slats to a chain link fence you have to upgrade all the post and rail because it is now catching all the wind. When installed correct a chain link fence with slats will last a lifetime. It does not offer full privacy, it offers 75% privacy so keep that in mind if you are looking at this option. Cost on materials for a 6′ chain link fence with slats is around $17-22 per foot for materials, depending on the application. That young man in the picture is me when I was 16-18 years old. Oh where have the years gone! I’m now 37!

Vinyl Fence

Vinyl fence hit the market back in the early 90s. Before we started distributing vinyl we installed it. We had to test it and see how it would stand up over time. When vinyl first came out it was extremely expensive, materials were $20 per foot which would be closer to $35 per foot today. Vinyl has definitely caught on and is now a national standard in fencing. It is relatively inexpensive when comparing to other materials and it last a very long time. We brought the first vinyl fence into our area here in Idaho and those fences still look good to this day. Notice I did not say they good as the day we installed them? If I said that it would be a lie, they have aged, the colors are not as vibrant, just like a quality vinyl siding it will change over time. With that being said, if you compare the vinyl fence to a cedar fence there is not comparison as to which product stands up to the wether best. A 6′ Vinyl privacy fence can be purchased between $13-18 per foot. One problem with vinyl is there are a lot of manufactures out there, I can think of 10 just off the top of my head. Each manufacture uses different techniques in creating their vinyl. Some use old standards, some are continuing education and development and striving to make a better product, some try to cut corners bringing down the price but making the customer pay in the long run. It can be very hard trying to find a reputable vinyl fence source, believe me, we have used many manufactures throughout the years. Some went out of business, some offered a terrible product, some the product was really nice but too expensive for the general population. It has taken us years to find a quality company that offers a superior product at an affordable price. When you buy from us you get exactly that.

Vinyl has so many benefits, it is pretty, it comes in different color options, it is virtually maintenance free and it will last a life time. I did not say it will look as good as the day you purchased it for a life time but it will look nice and it will hold up to the elements. We have sold to the deserts of Arizona and install in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, after years of exposure to extreme elements our vinyl fence still looks good to this day.

Trex or Composite Fence

Composite fence came out about 10 years ago (don’t quote me on this) but it hasn’t really taken off in the fence industry. I really like the deck material, its look and longevity. Much like vinyl fence it is maintenance free and is supposed to last for 25 plus years. One problem with the trex fence is the material is not rigid, it is soft and floppy, to build a quality fence it requires lots of bracing just like a deck, this increases cost and makes it hard for the general public to justify expense vs performance. If you are looking for a wood grain like fence it is a good option if you purchase quality materials and have it installed correct. These fences can range from $30-45 per foot for material, quality material that will last as long as vinyl.