If you have your heart set on a quaint white picket fence surrounding your home, you may very well be setting yourself up for a big disappointment in the future. While it may look like something from a Norman Rockwell painting for the first few years after installation, a wood fence will create a lot more work and expense for you than a chain link fence. The following benefits of chain link will likely convince you to pass on the picket and opt for something more lasting and useful, instead.
1. Safety
Feeling comfortable with your kids and pets out in the yard is a great relief, but if you can't see beyond your fence, such as is the case with wood fencing, you're not going to feel at ease. The see-through chain link allows you full vision of your entire yard's perimeter, which means you're able to monitor in panoramic view. A chain link fence is better than wood, especially if you're protecting a pool, because you want to be able to see in the area, as well as around it.
2. The Scenery
Your landscaping can be seen from behind a chain link fence, if that's your preference. Whereas with wood, all that can be seen is the fence. A white picket fence also only looks really nice if the paint is perfect and that's only going to happen after a fresh coat.
3. The Privacy
If you're interested in creating a private area in your yard, you have that option, as vinyl slats can be installed in any given space. That one particular area will not be visible to people passing by, but the rest of the fence can be left bare, for those advantages.
4. Less Maintenance
Other than corrosion prevention, which is easily accomplished with a rust-inhibitor, there's very little work involved with maintaining a chain link fence. You can ask your fence contractor about materials that resist rust to begin with, eliminating even more work for yourself. Although beautiful, that white picket fence will need painting and re-painting, not to mention replacement with rotting.
5. Strength & Durability
Chains withstand strong gusts of wind, as well as the contracting and expanding of freezing and thawing. The same cannot be said of a wood fence, particularly for bearing the burdens of a Winter climate.
6. The Ability to Customize
The aforementioned vinyl slats come in a variety of colors, meaning you could coordinate with your home's exterior or even opt for green to blend with the landscape. There are even hedge style slats, which offer the appearance of bushes growing right through the links. Slats are narrow or wide, to accommodate your preferences and self-locking styles, like the feather and wing slats, make installation a breeze.
7. More Sunshine for People & Gardens
Planting a garden along the inside of a fence is a popular option among homeowners; however, with wood fencing, the sun can't shine through the way it can with chain link. The same applies to people lounging around the yard who crave the rays (protected by sunscreen, of course). Choosing the links means a minuscule blockage of sun you can barely notice, that won't impact sun-hungry plants or people.
8. Insurance Breaks
A high chain link fence provides a major obstacle for would-be burglars and the minutes they'd spend climbing your fence would increase the chances of them being seen and reported to police. This added layer of security may earn you a break on your homeowner's policy, so speak with your agent about it, especially if you have a pool.
While a white picket fence may look good in paintings, it's more of a high-maintenance prop than it is a practical, functional part of your property. Consider the many benefits and strengths of chain link fencing, to really get the most from the time and money you invest in your yard. To get started, contact companies like Elrod Fence Co.
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