One of the most popular choices for marking a boundary, fences offer instant privacy and security. They are less expensive to construct than a wall and need less maintenance than a hedge. There is a huge selection of fencing styles in a range of different materials, including various woods, metals and plastic, so you should have no problem finding a style that will enhance your garden.
In the front garden fences with a more open structure are often used. Examples include picket or post and rail fences, ranch style fences and post and chain fences. They do not provide privacy or much security, but they are an attractive way or marking the boundary.
In most back gardens, a boundary fence should recede from view, so choose something robust enough to support climbers and wall shrubs that will help disguise it. However, in certain circumstances you might want to make a feature of a fence. Painting with a wood stain used elsewhere in the garden or to coordinate with a nearby planting scheme will emphasize its presence. The most popular type of fence is the ready made panel, which comes in various forms, including horizontal lap, vertical lap and interwoven.
They are also available in several heights including 4 feet, 5 feet and 6 feet. Fencing panels are very cheap and easy to put up between regularly spaced, well anchored posts. Most fencing panels are rather flimsy and have a lifespan of less than ten years, even when regularly maintenances. For a better quality and longer lasting wooden fence, opt for the close board fencing. Here, a structure of posts with two or three cross members, call arras rails, is constructed before cladding with wooden strips. These are sometimes thinner along one edge than the other and are overlapped when nailed to the arras rails.
