Are those less affluent neighborhoods building those fences now, or did they inherit them? All the fences around my house had to be built and paid for in this generation.
I think there’s just a cultural difference here. Tall brick walls around normal-sized houses wouldn’t make me think “wow, these fences look great,” but “wow, this neighborhood must be some shithole if people need to defend their homes with the Berlin Wall.”
Also, as a rule, home-buyers in the USA tend to prefer features that make the home look less urban. There are whole subdivisions built to advance the conceit that the community is “in the country.” Stone walls are not something you tend to see in rural areas over here.
I’ve had wooden fences - in fact I bought the 6’ redwood boards, and split out the 8x8 posts myself from trees that had fallen. the boards were alternated on either side of the stringers and looked wonderful as they weathered to a silver grey. Only the back yard was fenced and it gave us great privacy for our garden and patio.
I currently live in a house with no front fences, and “liver” colored cinderblock 6’ fences surrounding the back yard. Additionally there is a painted wrought iron 4’ fence surrounding the pool.
I prefer the appearance of the wooden fence, but the upkeep of the cinderblock and wrought iron fence are nice. If I lived in an area with no nearby neighbors, I would go for no fences.
By the way, the local coyotes and bobcats go right over the fences without any apparent effort.
JakeRS, you’re making an aesthetic judgment when you say that the types of fences you’re accustomed to are “a prettier type of a fence than just featureless wooden planks.” Many people would say that white wooden fences are prettier than brick or stone fences. And, again, just because you see them on American TV shows a lot doesn’t mean that white wooden fences are actually standard in the U.S. I have done a lot of online searching and I can’t find any statistics on how common are no fences vs. wooden fences vs. brick fences vs. stone fences vs. whatever else is possible. Come visit the U.S. before you make a statement about what’s common here. TV sitcoms are not a representative sample. Home makeover shows (so-called reality shows) are not a representative sample. In fact, like a lot of so-called reality shows, they are often scams.
I forgot to mention, there are also regional differences within the USA. Solid walls are pretty common in southern California, for example. I don’t know if that’s to do with not having to worry about the ground freezing or about fire safety (or both, I guess).
In the words of Robert Frost, “Good fences make good neighbors”.
Houses, not just fences, are made different in Europe too. Europe has much more stone or concrete (or something like that) and has a much more solid feel. The US seems to be happy with sticks and wallboard and doesn’t feel the need to live in a mini-fortress. I suspect some of this is cultural as to what ‘feels’ like a structural material, which is based on past history and resources.
There’s a very good reason that brick houses are rarer than wooden houses in California. There are significant numbers of earthquakes there. Brick houses are more likely to fall down in an earthquake.
I’d be interested in seeing a formal study on this (yes, I’m that much of a dork). Because I suspect house building trends are very much directed by the same forces that set standards for cars, food, electronics, etc. It has dookie to do with demand, and everything to do with maximizing profit. We have been trained to accept what is offered, and what is offered is what can be created in the greatest bulk for the lowest cost. Personally, I would VERY much prefer feeling like my house were carved out of stone.
And sticks may trump stones in earthquake territory (I honestly don’t know–there are some pretty tall concrete structures there), but does that mean sticks & gypsum are the best answer? There’s old wood stuff in Japan that is built specifically to withstand earthquakes. Do they feel wobbly & cheap?
I prefer chain link. You have very clear property boundaries and can still have an unobstructed view.
My mom’s new retirement home has a tiny backyard surrounded by a tall wooden fence. It’s like sitting in a cardboard box. Yuck.
Totally late to the thread party, but because of this thread I’ve mentally been taking a census of what fencing styles are popular in my working/middle class area of beautiful Long Island, NY (NOT Queens). Random sampling during my commute, Google Earth, and pretty much decades of living around here.
First, pretty much every property has boundary barriers, if just enclosing the backyard area.
The most popular arrangements that I see, in vague order is:
Chain-link fencing; the type with interwoven privacy slats is common, in fact one forms the South boundary of my home’s property.
Vinyl panel fencing - these really seemed to exploded around the turn of this Century, showing up where originally you’d have wood fences (or no fencing). White is the overwhelming favorite, with some beige and tans around as well.
Wood fencing - mostly either post & rail (as a boundary marker), or wood panel fencing (reasonably priced and readily available at the area home improvement centers, straight forward enough to install and treated to prevent insect and rot damage so low maintenance).
Hedges - either several hedges along the boundary as markers (and to look nice), or reasonably solid hedge rows for do-not-pass barriers.
Brick - Usually brick walls encompass the entire property, and often have a iron fence component such that you have a pillar/iron fence section/pillar/fence etc. Brick fences often seem to attract the attention of delivery trucks which then proceed to knock down a section or two.
Misc. - stones, slabs, snow fence, metal security fences, heck even rows of planters…oh, yes, and this sort of evil creeping over from Queens :rolleyes:
As an aside, outdoor swimming pools in NY state must be fully surrounded by a separate barrier (I guess a fence can serve as one of the sides) of 48 inches or more.
In the southwestern states, many people use century plants and/or cacti. A bit ugly, but excellent for a do-not-pass barrier. 