An Overview to Property Fencing Options

As most contractors know, market trends easily change from year to year. Even for property fences! So, keeping up is important. With that in mind, here is an overview that includes some of the most popular property fence trends of the last couple of years. We've included a blend of classic fencing options and new spins on enclosing property. And to help you get the job done, two great options to consider are BECK’s Fence Stapling System and BECK’s LignoLoc® Wooden Nails. But first, let’s review your fencing options.

Popular Fence Materials

Fences can be made out of nearly any material with moderate strength. They rarely need to sustain much weight and since they’re mostly for decorative and/or privacy, you can be flexible on materials—unless serious security or animal enclosure is needed. Here are some essential materials in use today.

Cedar Fence

Cedar is a softwood that can be expensive due to its fine finish and other qualities. Interestingly, despite its lack of hardness, the natural antiparasitic properties of cedar make it very resilient to decay. Because of this, cedar fences, aside from looking attractive and being easy to cut, can last for 3 decades or longer if cared for reasonably well.

Pine Wood Fence

The classic, inexpensive, and easy-to-handle softwood is pine—and it makes for an excellent choice for many styles of residential fencing. Pine can be easily treated for a longer lifespan and painting it can create attractive finished results.

Oak Fence

Despite being a hardwood, oak is an excellent choice for extremely strong, long-lasting fences that offer fine grain. Oak fences can also be made to look quite elegant with the right kind of finish. It’s important to note to your clients, however, that oak fencing can run on the expensive side.

Vinyl Fence

If you'd like to save on the environmental costs and messiness of cutting wood fences into place, a reasonable alternative for inexpensive fencing is vinyl. The color options and finished look of vinyl can be a bit drab to some homeowners, but this plastic PVC fence-coating material is extremely resilient, tough, and fairly long-lasting.

Ornamental Metal Fence

Metal fences made from a material such as aluminum are both light-weight, tough and can literally last a lifetime. This choice in fencing material is highly versatile in terms of ornamental finishes and though expensive, can save your clients money on long-term maintenance costs.

Composite Wood Fencing

Boards and posts made of sawdust and plastic mixed together and firmly compressed result in composite wood fencing. This material is reasonably long-lasting. It can be delivered in many colors without the need to paint it afterwards and looks very much like real wood. Composite fencing is however surprisingly expensive depending on the type you choose.

Popular Fence Styles

Fences can be made in many styles, most of which can be crafted from any of the above materials. The following all look especially good if made with natural wood.

• Picket: Classic, simple, and charmingly rustic, picket fences can be made out of any kind of wood, composite, or other material and always look good even if they offer little privacy.
• Rail: Even simpler than picket fences and lovely for large open properties, rail fences give a distinctly farm-like look to yards. Since these offer no privacy, they might be best for rural homes.
• Louver: Louver fences made of horizontal boards nailed to vertical posts can be a superb choice for many design variations and are great for privacy. They're also easy to maintain and treat or paint.
• Vertical Board: Classic, robust, and very private, vertical board fencing offers one of the strongest wood, or composite, fence designs out there.

New Trends for 2022

Fence designs and materials have undergone some particularly notable new trends in recent years. In 2022, these include some of the following:

• Horizontal alternating board thickness fencing: Imagine Louver fencing, but with boards of variable thickness being assembled to create a highly decorative, modern look. There are many possibilities with this.
• Outdoor fence lighting: Gentle cones of illumination from small lighting fixtures arrayed directly along fences can look absolutely beautiful at dusk or in the evening. This is a good reason for their growing popularity.
• Mixed material designs: Fences don't need to be made of just one single material. More recently, certain fence design trends have featured fences crafted out of a blend of wood and laser-cut metal pieces. The overall result can be durable and very elegant.

The Bottom Line

Building residential fences is largely about balancing between a mix of client budget constraints, space-appropriate style and basic needs such as privacy or enclosure. What you also need to ensure a smooth workflow and strong results are the right tools. BECK’s Fence Stapling System is a superb choice for many kinds of fencing, while the patented uniqueness of BECK’s LignoLoc® wooden nails lets you create beautiful, sturdy wood fences of all kinds without the visible marks of metal nails. To help you properly plan for your project, we have a guide that discusses all the tools and materials you’ll need for your upcoming fence build.