Types of Fences Ideal for Winter
Introduction
The winter season is equally harsh on everyone. It’s harsh on plants, animals, and even your fence. Whether you want to upgrade your old fence or replace an existing one, you can search for a “fencing company near me” and hire professionals to build a sturdy fence for you. However, you need to choose the right kind of fence that can last through several winters. Let’s check out a few options:
The Types
- Wood fences with metal posts – The average wood fence that’s made from low or high-quality timber suffers from water absorption. In the winter season, this becomes a huge problem since the wood can get bloated. However, you can solve this issue by building a wood fence with metal posts.
You can use metal posts to hold up the fence. When you don’t depend on wood to hold up the fence the wood lasts for a longer time. However, you’ll still need to spend a lot of time on maintaining a primarily wooden fence. With proper care and maintenance, this kind of fence would last you for a few winters.
- Aluminum fences – Aluminum fences are some of the best types of fences you can have for the winter season. They are built well, affordable, and would last you many winters with little to no maintenance. However, they are also very lightweight and that becomes a problem when there’s a strong blizzard or storm. While they are affordable and easy to maintain, they don’t have a lot of strength.
Depending on the quality and the installation process aluminum fences are prone to denting. When they are bent, they can’t be beaten back to shape either. You need to heat, bend them back, or replace those aluminum pieces completely. Aluminum fences are also prone to a bit of corroding during the winter season if you live in a high salt environment like near a salted road. That kind of environment reacts with the aluminum fence and hardware to corrode it.
- Steel – Everyone likes wrought iron fences. They last for ages, look brilliant and grand, and need almost no maintenance. However, wrought iron was phased out of production since steel became cheaper to make and had the same qualities. Since then, steel was used to make fences that looked like wrought iron. These fences are steel throughout. Everything from the pickets and posts to the rails and tops.
Steel doesn’t suffer from any of the vulnerabilities of wood or aluminum. It doesn’t absorb water and it doesn’t contract or expand drastically due to temperature changes. The contraction and expansion are accounted for with the joints and the fittings. These fences also have spaced pickets that allow wind to pass through and not compromise the structure of the fence during a storm. However, there are several types of advanced steel fences in the market.
- Pre-galvanized steel fence – This is the most common type of steel available for outdoor conditions. Most steel that comes out of the mill comes with a thin coat of zinc. If you examine a chain link fence, you’ll see a mottled pattern on them. That’s crystallized zinc to protect the steel from corrosion. However, the zinc layer is very thin and gets removed around the cuts and welds during picket fabrication.
- Hot-dipped galvanized steel – If you pay a bit more money, you can get higher-quality steel for your fence. This steel is covered with a zinc coat after the fabrication process. Moreover, this zinc coat is much thicker than the one on pre-galvanized steel. That’s why it’s less prone to being chipped away and can last for a very long time. The zinc acts as the sacrificial coat that corrodes away and protects the steel.
- Electrophoretic deposition – This kind of steel has an e-coat and is a viable alternative to hot-dipped galvanization. In this process, the steel is coated with a non-metallic substance instead of zinc. The e-coat consists of particles that are oppositely charged to the steel and that’s why they bond smoothly to the steel surface.
This kind of coating is extremely durable and doesn’t get corroded from moisture. Unlike zinc, it’s a non-sacrificial layer that can also have a coat of paint or powder over it. This kind of steel is usually common in the automotive industry. However, if you have deep pockets, you can get a fence made out of this steel. It is the best type of fence you can get for your property during winter or any other season. With that out of the way let’s check out how you can make your winter fence last for a long time.
- Don’t pile leaves or snow near the fence – When you pile dead and dry leaves near the fence it may attract and trap moisture. This can warp and rot your wooden fence and rust or corrode your metal fence. When the dead leaves break down and decompose, they also attract all kinds of rodents and insects. That’s why you should avoid piling leaves near the fence.
The same goes for snow. Snow itself is water that constantly freezes and thaws with temperature swings. The moisture from the snow along with the snow-melting salt can do significant damage to your fence. Moreover, snow has a lot of weight that weakens the structure of the fence.
- Don’t delay repairs – Inspect your fence every week and after every major weather incident. If you can identify problems, you need to fix them quickly. A loose hinge may not seem like a huge issue. However, it gets weaker every day it is left unrepaired. When it breaks down you may have to replace the fence gate along with the hardware.
Conclusion
As you can see, you have plenty of options including aluminum, steel, and even wood that can last through the change of seasons including the harsh winter. If you want to replace or upgrade your fence, you can search for a “fencing company near me” and let reputed professionals build you a new one.