Fences That Are TOO EXPENSIVE But Look Great

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This photograph came from Outdoor Structures' website. This fence is a custom style. It is shadowbox cap and trim with a gothic picket top. They used 6x6 posts. The cost of this fence is likely around $50 per foot. This is NOT a practical fence and more than 99.9% of people interested in purchasing a fence would likely pass up this fence solely because of its excessive cost. One problem with this fence is that it was stepped. This could have been avoided, it is unclear if the homeowner requested it to be stepped or if Outdoor Structures chose to step the fence. It did not have to be stepped it could have flowed continuously. If our company would have built this fence, we would have chosen not to use the step method. Their is nothing wrong with using the step method aside from the fact that most people find the step method aesthetically unappealing due to the variations in the different heights of the steps, however small the steps may be. It is not the preferred method of fence builders. The average fence is about 200 linear feet. The cost to do an entire yard in this custom style of fence would be about $10,000 more than FOUR TIMES the cost of a standard 6 foot privacy fence.

I decided to plunge deeper into their website photographs. I found many more fences that clients asked me about. This photo below is another fence that more than likely cost a ridiculous amount of money. It is constructed professionally and looks great, for now. The problem I forsee with this fence design is that they pickets are 1x1's. These are the same size of pickets that were used for your deck railings. I imagine that this will experience significant warping in the future. Are you deck railing pickets still straight? Water sealing, weather proofing, and/or staining this fence is a MUST.

Here is another custom fence that you most likely will not find on any other fence company's website. All of these custom fences were found on Outdoor Structures' website. They are absolutely beautiful, however they are not necessarily the best value for your hard earned money. This cap and trim fence is similar to the one at the top of this article. The amount of labor that has to go into such a detailed custom fence can double or triple the price of it. There are many more similar common styles of fence that look just as good. Visit our photography gallery for ones that are much more reasonable and practical as far as costs go.

In this last photograph, this fence again uses 6x6 posts. Despite what other fence companies and their salesman may tell you, 6x6 posts are NOT any better than 4x4 posts when it comes to fence installations. A salesman will probably sell you on how a bigger post is going to be better. That is absolutely NOT true. This would be true if we were discussing a deck. There is no weight bearing on the posts with a fence. Even using a 6x6 for a gate is going to have NO ADDITIONAL benefit than using a 4x4. The depth of a post is what determines the strength of the fence, NOT the thickness of the post.

Remember it is a salesman's job to SELL YOU on THINKING that their company is better than the other companies. The other problem is that the rails are built between the posts. Although it is not a workmanship defect, it is still not a very good practice. Why is that bad? Well, look at the other photograph next to this one and decide for yourself. Notice that the 2x4's (also called rails), have pulled away from the posts over time, and are barely secured to the posts. They 2x4's are much more secure when they are nailed to the face of the posts. Outdoor Structures is a reputable company who has been around for quite some time. We are meerly pointing out that the cost of some fences far exceeds the benefit.

Unfortunately, we would not build any of these fences featured above. If you wanted any of these custom designs built, we will give you a price, but you would be better off saving your money for your kid's college fund. However, if you have come to the realization that these fences are not economically practical, then feel free to check out our photograph section for more fence options.

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