Want Fence Opinions

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I am having somebody out to my house sometime this week to give me an estimate on a new fence and would like some opinions. My current fence was there when I bought the house and is frankly a piece of crap. I have had to plug multiple holes to contain my dogs. It is missing the top rail along section, one gate hardly closes and the other is missing a hinge. It's bent out of shape in several areas. I am looking at replacing it with a wood or vinyl fence. Something that will hold up to wear and tear (and the occasional lawn mower). These are the material options I am considering:

-Copperwood
-Cedar
-Vinyl

I hate the look of weathered wood that has gone gray, so I am interested in the long term upkeep of the two types of wood. I was told by the company (Guier Fence) that Copperwood needs less upkeep, but I'm not sure I like the look of it.

The style of fence I am considering is the cut drape picket (note, images are ones from Google as the ones from the company website can't be posted, so they are just a general idea) :

or a traditional picket:

The main purpose is to contain my two dogs. Both are about 20 lbs. Eragon is a good old fashioned mutt who stands about knee high to me. Matthias is a dachshund/jack russell hybrid, and my little Houdini. I am looking at a 4 foot fence which is what I currently have. So far they have not shown any inclination to jump it, Mattie likes to go under it.

Here are some pics of the dogs for reference:

Mattie (sorry, the only pic of his current size is from the back)

Erie:

I would love any opinions on your fencing materials/style/ability to contain your dogs, etc.

I would love to do vinyl, but I'm not sure it will be worth the extra expense.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

OMG vinyl is soooo worth the extra expense.Now we have the black aluminum because of our HOA rules but I would have much preferred a nice pretty vinyl fence.

Staining a wood fence is probably going to cost you 300+ each time you do it, which at first you need to do it maybe 2 yrs in a row and then about every 3yrs after that.

Wood fences (while pretty) are the hugest maintenance headaches out there. Trust me. I don't care what line they fly at you, wood is wood and it is high maintenance.

 

[mom2aredhead]

OMG vinyl is soooo worth the extra expense

I have to agree. We have vinyl. No staining, no rotting, no bugs. Its been up for 5 years, and the only maintenance we've done (other than occasional hosing off) was to clean one part with a Mr Clean Magic Eraser and water to remove some marks left by berries falling from the neighbors tree...or possibly digested berries falling from passing birds.

The previous wood one needed to be stained/sealed about every other year and we had to replace 2 posts and 1 gate due to dry rot.

 

[golfgal]

White vinyl fencing can be blinding in bright sun so if you can go with another color I would investigate that.

We have a cedar fence that is stained. We stained the outside of it last year, took about 40-50 hours, staining the inside this year, it will take about 30 hours. We used 15 gallons of stain on the outside and are estimating 10 on the inside (the fence is backwards so the "good" side is in-it was here when we bought the house). That is about $550 just in stain-not including the brushes. We have a pretty big yard though.

Personally I would look into Trex (or whatever brand) of plastic fencing. It will be much more expensive but last significantly longer with no upkeep.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I definetly like the white one. Be prepared to pay ALOT though. Fences are very expensive. I was amazed and my husband was even doing the installation.

 

[Best Aunt]

My yard looks flat, but it really isn't perfectly even. I had a fence put in which is similar to the 6 foot picket fence panel you show. But on mine, the pickets stop at the piece along the top, they don't go over it.

In some places, the bottom piece of the fence is about an inch off the ground. In other places, the bottom piece is a good 8 or 10 inches off the ground. Your dogs would definitely be able to go under it.

I don't have dogs that I was trying to keep in, but I was hoping to keep my neighbor's dogs out.

My advice is - make sure the installers know that you are trying to keep your dogs in, and you want that bottom piece as close to the ground as possible.

I got white vinyl. It has turned green in a lot of places. I don't know if that's from weeds and other vegetation, or something else. I haven't gotten around to trying to clean it.

My neighbors used to climb over it, which upset me because it didn't look like it could support a lot of weight.

Also, I think the posts sink in the winter or something, because I have constant trouble with the gate. I have to literally lift it up to get it to latch. They have fixed it several times, but every spring it's the same story. Try asking if they will charge you if they have to come back to fix this type of problem.

 

[nmmom95]

We have a vinyl fence. It's totally worth the extra cost. We used to have wood, but the upkeep was a pain. The vinyl has ZERO maintenance.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

I too would favor the vinyl because of the low upkeep.
BTW, your dogs are totally adorable!

 

[MommyJack]

I have a Vinyl fence as well. It is too high off the ground in most places and my dog can get under it.

I got white vinyl. It has turned green in a lot of places. I don't know if that's from weeds and other vegetation, or something else. I haven't gotten around to trying to clean it.

The green stuff comes off real easy. Just a mild detergent and a vinyl siding brush is all you need to clean it.

Also, I think the posts sink in the winter or something, because I have constant trouble with the gate. I have to literally lift it up to get it to latch. They have fixed it several times, but every spring it's the same story. Try asking if they will charge you if they have to come back to fix this type of problem.

This is probably the hinges, which are easily adjusted.


Vinyl looks nice and is pretty much maintenance free (except for cleaning the green stuff off). We have vinyl in the front where it showes the most and black coated wire on the sides. Other than the fact that it doesn't keep the dog in, I really like the vinyl.

 

[Disney Doll]

Vinyl draped picket.
Vinyl is worth the extra money due to little upkeep.

Any wood is going to require more upkeep and will eventually look weathered.

 

[PatsGirl]

I have a welded wire fence around the perimeters of my property. I picked this type because I wanted it to blend into the landscape which it does very well. My property has lots of oak trees and is fairly wooded and the fence doesn't intrude on the natural surroundings. It is 4' high and was meant to keep both kids and animals in but...

funny story...within two hours of the fence being installed for a mere $2500 or so about 20 years ago I saw out my front door my toddler and new puppy walking down the street NO LIE. The dog dug under and the kid climbed over. Shoulda just burned the money

 

[princessmom29]

I would price it out before getting my heart set on vinyl. Here it is more than double the cost of wood fencing and just out of our price range. It is definitely low upkeep and nice to have but VERY pricey!

 

[NHdisneylover]

Personally I would look into Trex (or whatever brand) of plastic fencing. It will be much more expensive but last significantly longer with no upkeep.

I agree with going with Trex (or a knock off brand) if you can afford it. We splurged for it on our large deck with railing in NH and it was sooooooooo worth the initial cost becuase it stayed looking fantastic with no upkeep whatsoever. Loved that deck
Fences are horribly expensive though--no matter what you build them out of. If you think you are not going to stay in that house very long (5 or 6 years only) then I would go with the less expensive wood.