What To Consider Before You Pick A Chain Link Fence
Chain link fences have many benefits, but each fence performs best when it is customized to your needs. Fortunately, there are many ways to make that fits your property best. You will just have to ask yourself a few questions before ordering one. Here are a few things to consider.
What Is It For?
This is the question that will determine everything else. You will get a taller, longer fence if you mostly want to keep people out of your yard. You might want something shorter if you are looking for something that blends into the landscape, and you might not need a very long fence if you merely want to fend off prying eyes.
Where Is It Going?
The location of your fence will affect both the dimensions and its purpose. For instance, a fence on a hill can be shorter as the land’s elevation does some work for it. A short one will protect your privacy very well if the thing you are fencing in is well above a pedestrian’s line of sight, but you will need something taller if it will be at the street level. You might also want your fence to be taller if the ground on your side of the fence slopes upward and you don’t want anyone jumping over your perimeter.
What Height Do You Want It?
The standard height for chain link fences is 4 feet, but some other common heights are 3 feet, 3.5 feet, 6 feet, and 12 feet. You can order any height, ultimately, but hewing to standard heights keeps it simple when you want to extend the fence or replace it.
6 feet is a good height for keeping prying eyes off of your backyard because most people aren’t over 6 feet tall and the ground will give it a few extra inches. Anyone who feels like peeking over it will stand out. You might want something only 4 feet tall if you are trying to keep your pet in the yard or you don’t want to block your own view of the horizon.
What Will It Be Made Of?
Most chain link fence is made with 9 or 11.5 gauge steel wires that are woven together into a diamond pattern. These steel wires can be coated with a vinyl covering or galvanized. Both methods are meant to protect the steel from rust and corrosion.
Galvanizing generally means that the wires are topped with zinc, and this covering will stop scratches. This will keep it looking shiny for a long time, but it may eventually need to be re-coated with oil-based paint, and it might need to have debris scrubbed off with a wire brush and power washer.
Vinyl coatings will add to this protection by literally keeping the elements off the chains. This coating means that it is nearly maintenance-free since the vinyl can be simply wiped down with soap and water in order to remain beautiful.
In either case, the fence will last roughly 20 years. The big question that you want to ask yourself when picking a material is what you want it to look like. Vinyl coatings come in a range of colors so your fence can blend into the background or look fancy. Galvanized steel looks shiny and silvery.
As you can see, picking the perfect chain link fence for you is all about the interaction between purpose, construction, and place. Fortunately, Security Fence & Construction has many years of experience in putting up all kinds of fences, including chain link. If you have any questions about this or any other fence-related thing, contact us.
