8 types of fences that are popular now

8 Types of Fences with Styles That are Popular Today

Last Updated: 2021-08-12By

On Point Remodeling has decided to gather information on 8 types of fences you can install inside or outside of your home with comparison in prices, installation and other components.

We had requests from our subscribed visitors to discuss options of fences for backyard separations and how much the costs area. After some research we came up with 8 most popular types of fences installed on backyard, in front of the house and inside.

Here are the types of fences we will be discussing and comparing:

  • Wood Fence
  • Metal Fence
  • Glass Panel Fence
  • Concrete Fence
  • Aluminum Fence
  • PVC Fence
  • Vinyl Fence
  • Trees and bushes

If you are looking for material supplier or contractor to install your new fence, our team can help you find reliable and cost effective solution in your area. Contact On Point Remodeling by email for more information or write to use through social media messaging.

1. Wood Fence

There are many types of wood you can use for fencing inside and outside of your home. It can be bamboo, hickory, maple or anything else that sells in your region but two most popular options are pressure treated wood and cedar.

Pros:

  1. The most common type of material for fencing is wood because it is easy to work with. It does not require very tons of skills and the best material for DIY Project.
  2. Pressure treated wood is one of the most affordable materials to use for your fence. It will not break your pockets like different types of fences could.

Cons:

  1. Wood has the smallest lifespan out of all materials. Expect your fence to be in good condition for 15 years. After that the weather will help it come closer to its serving time expectancy. Covering fence with exterior paint or stain will expend the time of use.
  2. Maintenance is needed when you make your fence with wood. Constant chip offs and fading in time can be maintained with new painting or staining.

Cost: Pressure treated wood fence costs between $35 and $55 per linear foot. Cedar planks fence costs exactly the same for installation but materials will run 30% more.

2. Metal/Iron Fence

We see more and more popular exterior property fence made with iron. Luxury homes tend to customize their metal surrounding and top spikes. It is definitely not for everyone, but we definitely recommend exploring the option of metal fence if your budget allows.

Pros:

  1. When you select metal as material for your new fence you think lifetime. If properly maintained with rustproof you can have it there literally for almost a century.
  2. The iron work can get very custom and unique. Yes we understand that any material can have different layouts and patterns but with metal you can make something extraordinary that no one else has.

Cons:

  1. This types of fences is very delicate and custom work, therefore the biggest downside of it is the cost. It is one of the most expensive selections that are on our list of materials.
  2. Time of production and installation is very time consuming for metal fence. For average around the house metal fence you are looking at least 4-5 weeks manufacturing and several weeks to install.

Cost: up to $40 per foot for chain link metal types of fence. Purchased metal fence is $60-$70 per linear foot with installation. Custom iron fence starts from $120-$160 per linear foot.

3. Glass Panel Types of Fences

Glass fence installed at home

Sleek looking modern glass fence.

Another popular material for fences in expensive homes is glass. There are fences that you can purchase and install by yourself with little effort, but in most situations it requires custom manufacturing and installation by professional contractor.

Pros:

  1. Glass fence is very modern and stylish. It creates open concept look and makes the property look bigger than it actually is. If you want to modernize and remodel you place, than glass separation or fence will be on your list of upgrades.
  2. Another benefit of glass material being used in new fence is that it doesn’t block pretty views. There are homes with tremendous views that you just want to keep by all means. It includes homes by water, on top of hill and other properties with astonishing view.

Cons:

  1. Even toughest glass is fragile. There is tempered glass that is much stronger, but it is still far away in strength comparing to metal or concrete fence. We suggest using it as separation within your property or inside home.
  2. Cleaning issues with glass has always been there. The main purpose of glass fence is to be see-through and with little dirt or dust it ruins entire look. Glass fence requires constant cleaning to make it look perfect all the time.

Cost: Glass being very expensive in manufacturing for fence and installation has the cost of $200 per linear foot. It also depends on size of it and specific features added (tempered, blasted, frosted)

4. Concrete Fence

In southern regions On Point Remodeling team sees more home owners lean towards their fences being constructed from concrete. Mostly because everything else is made of concrete and it withstands temperatures similar to actual house next to the fence.

Pros:

  1. Unlike other fences, concrete structure creates complete privacy with possible safety features on top. There is no person that will be able to see through concrete fence and none should try to go over it.
  2. Benefit of concrete fence on your property is durability. You can literally hit it with a car and it will be somewhere intact. Concrete is very strong and you will have this fence standing for a very long time if it’s don’t properly.

Cons:

  1. Making fence out of concrete is not cheap by any means. There are many stages in this process and they all cost tons of money. You need some sort of footing or foundation, concrete forming and pouring, finishing with details and painting
  2. Building and demolition complications definitely may have you rethink selecting this material. It is like a big construction process when building fence with concrete. If in future you will change your mind, taking it down will require tons of work and money.

Cost: with all work that is required to build concrete fence the total costs can be as high as $150 per linear foot. This is based on fences and barriers that are at least 6-8 feet tall.

5. Aluminum Fence

Aluminum green fence structure

Painted green – Aluminum fence example.

We do not see much of custom fences with aluminum material. Usually its prebuilt sections of fence or standard pickets put together between posts. For those who want to build fence by yourself you can buy sections on amazon or at local home depot store.

Pros:

  1. Good think about aluminum fence is rockability. This is what we call the ability to install such fence in many positions, ways and options that will be unique from similar product.
  2. On Point Remodeling team has done research on 8 types of fences and aluminum selection is very easy to install. Get the sections of aluminum fence with attached instructions for DIY projects at home.

Cons:

  1. There will be no security or feeling of privacy with aluminum fence in your backyard. Even kids with ease can climb this fence. Aluminum pickets and posts are not thick and do not prevent from by walkers seeing through this barrier.
  2. This is definitely not your forever fence because it can be easily damaged. Aluminum bends without need of a lot of pressure. Just with your body weight you most likely can make dents on it.

Cost: Aluminum material is known to be expensive, but because fences made of aluminum are hollow, the actual cost to install this types of fences is only $40 per linear foot

6. Different PVC Types of Fence

Just like few other fence materials, this comes in sections already premade or in parts to be assembled. They are available throughout the world and you can probably install it by yourself simply by watching youtube videos and following instructions. Many people confuse PVC fence with vinyl, but it actually is totally different material.

Pros:

  1. We see PVC fencing everywhere. The benefit we wanted to underline is that it comes in many different styles, shapes and colors. Manufacturers have expended options they provide for home owners in most hardware stores.
  2. If you are trying to save money, but do need fence at home than PVC prebuilt fences are the right choice for you. Online stores should have options with free delivery to your door.

Cons:

  1. Everyone knows that PVC is very weak material. You can damage it, scratch it, bend it or simply rip it apart if you really wanted to. Disadvantage of this type of fence is its durability.
  2. The looks of PVC fence are not the best and we put this as the biggest con for it. Simply because of its accessibility and affordable costs, you can spot PVC fence on properties that are on cheap side of the city.

Cost: definitely the cheapest solution for building new fence with price tag of $10 – $15 per linear foot. Hardware stores that sell product can recommend installer for very low cost.

7. Big Store Vinyl Types of Fences

Vinyl fence set up at backyard

Section built vinyl fence in white color.

To satisfy the need of home owners to build different types of fences on budget, manufacturers came up with vinyl as the material to solve these problems. The material is not environmentally friendly by any means but it serves the purpose and does come with multiple options of styles and colors.

Pros:

  1. Similar to wood material, vinyl fences are relatively cheap. For those home owners who are on tight budget, this fence may be a good match.
  2. Availability of this material is one of the greatest benefits. You can find prebuilt fences in almost every city now. You can buy it from Home Depot, Lowes or even online.

Cons:

  1. Fences on the market with vinyl material are not the greatest for privacy purposes. They are more like separation barriers and railings.
  2. The appeal of this fence will look exactly for the money you spend. Vinyl fence is one of the least attractive from all the mentioned styles.

Cost: similar to fence described above, vinyl products cost $20 – $30 per linear foot and can be purchased online as well. Hiring handyman or contractor to install vinyl fence will add several hundred dollars on top.

8. Trees and bushes

The cleverest and our suggested material to create a fence separation at your house is to build it with actual trees and bushes. If the purpose of fence for you is creating a barrier and separation that you cannot see through, it is easily achievable with large plants and trees.

Pros:

  1. Instead of cutting trees to use for new fence, this method is the opposite and actually promotes helping our nature with planting more trees as parts of fence structure.
  2. Local bylaws could have restrictions on how high or wide your fence should be. When planting trees as a barrier or view separation on your backyard you will avoid all these restrictions and can do whatever you want.

Cons:

  1. To make your entire fence or separation barrier from trees and bushes takes a long time. There are grown trees that you can purchase and plant as is, but in most situations they grow on your property into something larger to create fence like separation.
  2. In natural habitat ants and animals will be interested in your new fence. They may eat it; create nests there; casual visit from time to time for snacking on flowers or whatever grows on it.

Cost: the range of fences made with actual trees and bushes is very high. It can be cheap bushes that cost to plan $50 – $100 ever 5 feet or so, or it can be expensive and exotic trees that cost few thousand dollars each.

Conclusion

Tons of different fences exist on market with selections to serve all purposes. All home owners have specific budgets in mind to spend on their fence projects. Some want the most expensive product there is to stand out or maybe increase the home value before sale; some just need some type of separation fence and are looking to build it themselves with most reliable material.

If you have other suggestions for materials that can or should be used for fences, please contact our team by email and we will be happy to add your ideas.

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Each building has some sort of driveway or at least should have. The main reason is for vehicles to come closer without need to walk all the way. Some homes are residential with small driveway for their car to come in and park before garage or front entrance, and others can be large commercial buildings with loading docks, delivery entrances and casual parking entrances. On Point Remodeling was asked for suggestions on residential driveway for new home construction, and we decided to write detailed article for all our readers. Using this guide you can select the material for your driveway and see what works for your budget. Here are the materials for driveway we will be discussing in our guide:
  • Asphalt
  • Concrete
  • Paver Stone
  • Crushed stone
  • Brick
  • Seashell
  • Gravel
To find good contractor for your driveway, you can either ask our team by email or try to find someone local that worked with neighbors or nearby buildings.

Installation process of any material surface on your driveway

a) Demolition and Excavation – Before anything is done, your contractor will get heavy machinery and scratch off old layer of driveway. They need to go down at least 5-6 inches to insure proper layering before your final layer of material is installed. b) Material Purchase and Delivery – At this point your contract is signed and you already know how the surface will look. Contracting company purchases necessary materials and delivers them to site. Double check if material is correct and not damaged. c) Preparation of Sublevel – Whatever you place as final material, it cannot just be installed directly on top soil. Gravel is the first choice of material that goes down at this stage. Other preferred material is screen sand that can go on top of gravel and works better with stone and bricks. d) Compaction of Ground – To prevent your driveway from moving and changing shapes, all the layers from bottom up have to be properly compacted. Do not leave any spot untouched while doing this or you can get small holes and cracks in driveway after installation. E) Final Installation – This is when all the magic happens. After all preparations and dirty work the final installation is made literally within hours and you can enjoy new driveway. Stone and brick is set up by hand, while other materials require some sort of machinery with manual labor to even out surface.

1. Asphalt

Probably the most used material for road top surfaces as well as driveways is asphalt. This is a mix of gravel and sand that is mixed in and combined by asphalt cement with crude oil. Pros of Asphalt Driveway
  • Very popular and easy to find materials/contractor
  • Completed in 1 day and you can drive on it after
  • Patches and small holes can be fixed fast
Cons of Asphalt Driveway
  • Easy to damage and cracks appear in few years
  • Almost everyone else has same surface
  • Oily surface and chemicals used in mix
Prepared for asphalt driveway will cost you around $5 per square foot to finish. The contractors that take care of entire process from taking out old driveway surface, install subsurface and compact the ground with new asphalt on top, will charge on average $5500 per regular size driveway at single home property.

2. Concrete

What we call concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, aggregate as well as sand with gravel. Suggested thickness of concrete for driveway is 6 inches. The mixture needs to cure without being touched or driven on top for several days. Pros of Concrete Driveway
  • Durable material for large weights
  • Long lifespan if installed properly
  • Winter and summer friendly
Cons of Concrete Driveway
  • Has marks and stains over time
  • Hard to repair without replacement
  • Super hard to DIY
To hire contractors for concrete driveway it will cost around $7-$9 per square foot. This will include site preparation with gravel spread and new concrete installation. They will order full truck of concrete (or several for larger driveways) to pour inside forming. Smoothening and curing is required after installation.

3. Paver Stone

The most luxurious material that you can use to create driveway path with is paver stone. It is made out of natural stone with uneven rough shapes that have different line patterns. Paver stones are very heavy and are perfect for weights on top of them. Almost every city in Europe has roads and walks made out of stone that were installed centuries ago. Pros of Paver Stone Driveway
  • Creative designs can be done
  • Personal looks, can match the house
  • Can replace single stone in minutes
Cons of Paver Stone Driveway
  • Weeds growing through
  • Stone can move over time
  • Most expensive material
There is wide selection of stone that can be purchased for your driveway. On average we recommend settling with $17-$20 per square foot for stone with installation included. Working with this material is very intense labor and we recommend hiring professionals that do this type of work every day.

4. Crushed Stone

Our readers sometimes mistake crushed stone with gravel, but this is not the same material. Crushed stone material is achieved when machine is mechanically crushing larger pieces of unused stone for this specific purpose. It is larger than gravel and can have smooth finish. Crushed stone can also have a mix of colors, which is much pleasant to eyes than gravel. Pros of Crushed Stone Driveway
  • Low maintenance required
  • Fits rural area style
  • Can be reused for other purposes
Cons of Crushed Stone Driveway
  • Gets very hot during summer
  • Can be messy after many drives
  • Hard to remove snow and ice
Buying crushed stone and installing it on your driveway is as easy as it gets. Similar to other rough materials discussed in this post, only small tools like shovels, dolly and buckets are required to spread it on the road. The cost of crushed stone driveway is between $4 and $6 per square foot from professional local contractors that can finish the job in several days.

5. Brick

The same brick we see being used in wall construction can be installed as top driveway surface. Brick is manufactured by compressing clay with plastic mass. It is heated to extreme temperature and dried up to become as solid as you know it. Pros of Brick Driveway
  • Variety of selections in shapes and shades
  • Bricks are recyclable
  • Slip resistant with rough top part
Cons of Brick Driveway
  • Needs regular maintenance
  • Change color over time
  • Old fashion looking
Installing brick on driveway costs $10 per square foot, which is not too far from masonry brick laying as part of the wall. To save money you can use or purchase old brick, that was part of a wall before. Do not mix these two jobs and contact landscaping professionals instead of masonry contractors that work with bricks.

6. Seashell

This material is popular on the coast line where shells can be found near the water. Construction companies use seashells to add in other materials as well as spread them on driveway in rough condition, without adding anything else. It usually comes in white or pearl color and darkens within year because of mixing with sand and dirt. Pros of Seashell Driveway
  • Environmentally friendly
  • Has natural drainage
  • Creates worm vibe of beach house
Cons of Seashell Driveway
  • Break and crack under light weight
  • Sharp and very hard to walk on
  • Gets stuck in shoes and tires
To deliver and spread seashells on driveways costs below $4, which is only slightly more expensive than rough gravel. As you go further from coast line, cost of material increases due to delivery. This material is elegant and very soft. We recommend adding edge lines with darker color landscape material to create visual path.

7. Gravel

This material is used in other construction mixes and underlayment systems. It’s literally fragments and small crushed stones that are put on top of soil. It is easily spread out by hands and anyone can do it. Pros of Gravel Driveway
  • Cheapest of them all
  • Easy DIY Job
  • Can install another material on top
Cons of Gravel Driveway
  • Needs to be graded very often
  • Will mix with dirt and leaves
  • Washes up with heavy rains
It is rough material and can be purchased in bulk (by metric tons or cubic meters). The cost of driveway with gravel should not exceed $3 per square foot, but you can save tons of money by purchasing materials and doings installation by yourself. You do not require specific tools or heavy equipment for the job and delivery of gravel can be arranged directly to your project.

Conclusion

To properly finish any and all of these driveways requires skills and experience. There is no way you can complete any of these projects without heavy equipment and tools that regular home owner’s just store in their garages. Most of those who will read this post will prefer to install asphalt driveway, because of its popularity and low costs. We want to encourage home owners to go for personal preference and what matches your house, rather than getting the most affordable and popular items. Driveway jobs have to be completed fast; otherwise you will need to park elsewhere while the project is running. To not overpay, ask us for quotation sample on material you prefer in specific region where the work need to be done and our team can provide some numbers.

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