When Christopher Bartolini of Tinley Park decided to put up a new fence around his back yard in February, he weighed several options. He considered newer man-made materials, but thought they looked too sterile. Deciding the pond and waterfall in his yard called for something natural, he opted for cedar.
"I liked the character," he recalled. "With my pond, I thought the white cedar would be more rustic and add more character to the yard."
For Kim Anderson, the choice in new fencing was black ornamental aluminum, highlighted by stone columns that match the stone on her French country-style home in Hinsdale. "We have six stone columns that anchor the fence," she said.
"And we have had so many people tell us it looks like that fence has always been there — that we did a nice job of integrating it with the style of the house."
When selecting fences to match their homes and yards, homeowners like Bartolini and Anderson have found today’s options require more consideration than ever before.
Wood has traditionally been the preferred fencing material, but now it’s far from the only one. Man-made composite fences replicate the look of wood, but with much less maintenance. PVC fences are billed as no-maintenance. And particularly fast-growing in popularity are ornamental steel and aluminum fences, which impart the classic and classy look of ornamental iron but with less cost and upkeep.
There’s a lot riding on materials and styles, because the right fence can add considerably to a home’s aesthetic and financial value, said Carol Lee Cikanek, real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Hinsdale.
"I call it ‘friendly fencing,’" Cikanek said. "When you add friendly fencing, it has a unique ability to add value to the property, because you’re capturing your land."
She frequently counsels those she is guiding in the purchase of homes to add fencing around their yards if they intend to sell in a few years.
How much value can a fence add? Cikanek guesses $100,000 on a $1.7 million home.
"It makes the property instantly salable," she said. "Sometimes there are brick standards or hardscape and coach lamps, and aesthetically it adds a lot of value. It’s also prettier when you look out the windows of your home."
Given the broad array of materials options outlined below, it’s little wonder homeowners can wind up on the fence about the optimal enclosures for their yards.
Wood
While wood fencing has declined in market share, it’s still favored. About half of fencing sold through retail channels, whether at big-box stores or by dealer installers, is wood, said Dick Gauthier, vice president of marketing with Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Universal Forest Products, a manufacturer/wholesaler of building materials.
About 80 percent of all wood fencing is pressure-treated Southern pine, with most of the rest Western red cedar or redwood used in pricier applications, he said.
"The advantage of wood, especially pressure-treated Southern pine, is cost," Gauthier said. "It’s the cheapest material out there. Another is ease of application. It’s a very easy material to work with, and it requires no special tools. And many people like the natural look of wood, even when it does turn gray and weathers."
Most people put up fences and rarely if ever maintain them, Gauthier added. But wood fence is susceptible to warping, splitting and staining from corroded nail heads. To ensure a "new fence look" year after year, owners must stain fences over time.
More upscale wood fences are generally built of Western red cedar, often used in stockade, picket and 6-foot privacy fences.
Highland Park’s Fenceworks, a fence and playground equipment retailer, builds nothing but red cedar fences.
"It looks nice, and it’s consistent from one shipment to the next," said president Stan Ascher, who doesn’t consider pine a particularly good fence material.
Western red cedar is also the preferred choice of about 60 percent of customers of Riverwoods-based All American Fence Co., an 18-year-old company serving the north and west suburbs.
"It’s very affordable, and a great building material for this climate because it’s very stable," said John Homan, with wife Mary Jo the co-owner of the company. "It doesn’t warp, doesn’t cup and doesn’t twist."
Composites
Low-maintenance composite products made from wood pulp and plastics have surged in popularity among deck builders. Now they are available at retail for fencing applications as well.
These products are touted as having the aesthetic appeal of real wood, but much lower upkeep. And they are easier to ship and install than ever before, because makers are introducing air bubbles into the material during the manufacturing process to lighten the weight of planks. Veranda, offered at Home Depot, is among the better-known composite fence products, Gauthier said. Read More
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