Adding a fence to your landscaping scheme can transform your outdoor living space and enhance the style of your home. A redwood fence creates a pleasing backdrop to a garden, an awkward hillside lot is transformed with the addition of a deck and a privacy fence. Consider the following to find materials that suit your style and budget:

Cedar and Redwood

Redwood can be expensive in higher grades, but it makes an outstanding fence material. If this type of wood is not available in your area, it usually can be special ordered. To protect your investment, select a heartwood; sapwood is prone to rot quickly, and heartwood is less likely to succumb to disease and insects. When selecting redwood, construction heart, construction common, merchantable heart or merchantable grades are most optimum for fencing. Merchantable heart, construction heart select heart, or clear all heart should be used for posts and any other part of the fence that touches ground.

Untreated Spruce

Untreated Spruce pickets and cross rails are most commonly used in prefabricated 4 X 8- or 6 X 8-ft. picket and stockade-fence sections that you find at your local hardware store. These are then installed between pressure treated posts. As with pressure treated wood, treating spruce with a water repellant or water repellant stain is essential to prolonging its lifespan. If left exposed, deterioration will begin to occur within three to four years, but if treated, your investment should double its lifespan or better, depending on the climate in which you live.

Pressure-Treated Pine

The economy wood of choice for fences is pressure-treated Southern yellow pine. Coat pressure-treated lumber with a water repellant stain to avoid warping and checking, but never use a latex paint. Unless the wood is kiln-dried after being pressure-treated, you'll need to wait several weeks before applying a water repellent. You can test the wood by sprinkling water on it. If the wood absorbs water quickly, it's ready to be sealed. If the wood doesn't absorb water, let it dry for several weeks before sealing. Pressure treated may not be the best-looking of the wood fence options, but it is more resistant to rot and insects than any of the others. For wood that will come in contact with the ground, use ground-contact-rated pressure treated wood (0.40 as instead of 0.29 lbs./cu. ft. chemical retention).

Dry Rot on Wooden Fence

Dry rot is a living fungus that penetrates damp wood and consumes the cellulose, leaving a structurally unsound skeleton.

Barbed Wire Fences

Barbed wire is an inexpensive fencing option, commonly used for pasture areas to keep livestock confined to specific areas...

Chain Link Fences

Although some people find chain link less attractive than other fencing options, it is extremely durable...

Invisible Electronic Fences

Electronic fences are used primarily to keep dogs from roaming outside property boundaries.

Wrought Iron Fences

Wrought iron fences give a very formal impression and can be used in conjunction with masonry or brick pillars for a sophisticated look.

Metal Fencing

Whether you're selecting new fencing around your home or replacing a worn-out fence, metal fences in aluminum and various alloys should be a consideration.

Picket Fences Add Charm

Picket fences can be a pleasing way to create a sense of privacy without blocking out the world.

PVC Fence Basics

Vinyl fences do not rust, fade or rot, and they last much longer than wood fences.