Before I spend an hour at Home Depot trying to decide which type of fencing (chain link, Pressure treated, cedar, etc.) is more bang for the buck, I thought I’d pose the question here.
I am having a pool installed and will need to fence the perimeter. I can do the installation myself. Which is least expensive? I need like 220 feet of fence! Aye carrumba. I don’t think this will be cheap.
IANA home repair guru, nor have I ever had to fence in a pool, but isn’t chain link automatically out, unless you’re going to make it 6 foot high with barbed wire at the top? I thought that when fencing in a pool, you’re required by insurance and laws and whatnot to make it not an “attractive nuisance”, so doesn’t the pool have to be basically invisible from the street, and the fence unclimbable and child-proof? Which lets out chain link. Every six-year-old I ever met could scale the average 4-foot high chain link fence in about two minutes flat, especially if there was a swimming pool on the other side.
We installed a chain link fence once ourselves, and the best advice I can give you on installing fencing is to hire someone to do it if at all possible, because the amount of sheer physical labor involved is a bastard.
Yeah, my question would be similar to DDG’s.
The only place where i’ve had any exposure to pool fencing laws was in Australia, but over there you have to follow pretty strict guidelines when erecting a fence around a swimming pool. There are rules about height, the absence of horizontal structures that might assist in climbing, and about particular types of latching and locking mechanisms to keep small children out.
Have you checked out the rules for pool fencing in your jurisdiction?
Chain link is allowed where I am. The only requirement is that the enclosure is 5 feet tall, and that the gate is self-latching. My wife and I also laughed about the fact that any kid could easily climb it. Where we are – in the country – we’re not concerned about wandering kids climbing our fence.
I prefer epees.
In a nutshell:
Cadged from a few websites (warning – these are rough estimates; for all I know you Canadians get a big discount on rough-cut lumber):
Chain link: $6/foot
4-foot wooden picket fence: $9/foot
6-foot wooden privacy fence: $14/foot
PVC: $20/foot and up
Wrought iron: $20-30/foot
Chain-link is mighty cheap to maintain – it seems that the main complaint about it is that it’s “ugly” – but maybe in your case you actually DO want to see what’s on the other side (ie, the woods and not your neighbors’ ugly little kids and offensive patio furniture). Of course, I have no idea how hard chain-link is to DIY. I’ve installed wooden fences and it’s pretty time-consuming, and no cinch getting all your posts straight.
I doubt the maintenance costs of a cedar fence will be that much over 30 years, if you want to add in that to the estimate. Although the manufacturer’s insist its not true, I’m convinced (for no good reason, mind you) that all PVC fences will fall into pieces after a few decades in the sunlight.
There is a fencing project estimator here that for some reason does not require you to give them any personal information so a salesman will call, before they’ll give you an actual estimate.
Hey, thanks Dubist. I wouldn’t think lumber would be any cheaper in Canada. We seem to find ways to increase the costs of everything here: domestic or not. I guess I need to add about 20% to your costs (currency and taxes) but it’s a good starting point.
And yes, chain link would actually be good where we are due to the view, but I might want to add some foliage on one side to gain a bit of privacy from one neighbour. We’re on 2 acre lots.
Thanks DDG. I already found that, and used an Ogdensburg NY Zip Code!
I’m really hoping their costs include installation. Otherwise I’m screwed!
Chain link is almost, but not quite in the realm of DIY - you’ll need to buy, borrow or rent a tensioner so the “fabric” doen’t flop around loose. This page gives a decent overview and has a link to a much more detailed PDF near the top of the page.
OTOH, the posts do not need to be anywhere near as precisely spaced as for wood fencing, and a chain link installer might cut you a deal if you set the posts first so they can just come in and install the fencing.
Redwood or cedar fencing is a lot more DIY-friendly, needing no exotic tools, but if you’re using prefab panels, your posts have to be dead-on perfect. If this is your first fencing project, I’d recommend not using them. If you’re stick-building, you can set the posts an inch close and trim the stringers to fit perfectly to accommodate minor errors, but you can’t trim prefab panels. If you go with panels, you will find it best to dig holes and set posts one at a time, otherwise, a measuring or placement error of a quarter inch may sound trivial, but ten posts later, you’ll be off by nearly three inches and completely screwed.
As for lifespan, around here, a good service life for redwood fencing is 15-20 years. Chainlink is close to forever, as long as the posts are set properly.
Great. Thanks gotpasswords. The PDF file will be helpful. I think chain link is looking like the best bargain at this point.
Naturally, you must expect me to attack with Capo Ferro…
Sabres are more cost-effective. You can maim someone more quickly, thereby getting more slash for the buck. 