Introduction
You need to consider plenty of factors while building a new fence for your home. The size, the material, maintenance, HOA rules, and many more things need to be held into account. The height of the fence is a big part of that equation as well. Once you’ve figured out the height and other factors, you can install the fence yourself or hire professionals by searching “fencing company near me”. Let’s check out how you can choose the correct fence height for your home:
The Details
- Purpose of the fence – Fences are a significant outdoor expense both in terms of upfront cost and maintenance. That’s why they all have a purpose. Some people like to protect themselves from trespassers with tall sturdy fencing while others fence their property to keep away deer and critters to munch away at the garden.
Others like to keep their pets and kids within the boundary of their property and build a fence for that purpose. For some it’s landscaping and for the rest, it’s all about aesthetics. Whatever it may be, your purpose decides the height of your fence.
For instance, a privacy fence needs to be very tall, at least much taller than you to block off inquisitive strangers and neighbors. The same holds for security fences whether you want to keep things in or out. You want to make it tall enough to discourage trespassers and hinder the jumping power of your dog. If it’s an ornamental fence, you can make do with a short height.
- Boundary fence – If you have a large property or just want your neighbors to know about your property lines, building a short boundary fence is an ideal choice. It prevents innocent strangers from trespassing into your property and prevents your neighbors from building something on your land.
You can make do with a short boundary fence that doesn’t exceed 6 feet in height. Boundary fences are typically shorter since they serve a visual purpose. Keeping the fence short lets you save money on materials and labor while you get your fence installed.
- Front yard vs Back yard – Fence height also depends on the location of the fence. For instance, if you’re installing a fence in the backyard for privacy, a tall structure that reaches as high as 8 feet is understandable. It prevents people from spying on you and usually, backyards don’t have an exciting view.
Things change dramatically when you build a fence for your front yard. Your front yard usually gives you a nice view of your neighborhood and people don’t usually try to peek into your life so blatantly from the front. That’s why you usually limit the front yard fence height to around 3 or four feet.
- HOA and City regulations – While you own the property and have the right to build your fence in all sorts of ways, there are certain restrictions imposed by the local authorities. Whether it’s your city or the local Homeowners Association, they will have certain restrictions in terms of the style of your fence, materials used, and its height.
For cities, it’s mostly due to safety and land regulation reasons. For instance, your side fence and the front yard fence can’t be too tall if your property is at a curb and obstructs the vision of turning cars.
On the other hand, the HOA imposes restrictions to maintain the relative uniformity and aesthetics of the neighborhood. For instance, if most homes in your neighborhood have short white picket fences and you decide to install steel barbed wire fencing at the front, it’s going to ruin the aesthetics and make your property stick out like a sore thumb.
When your property looks like that, it can bring down the value of your home and other homes in the neighborhood. That’s why HOAs have certain strict guidelines when it comes to the height and materials for your fence. If you don’t follow these rules, you’ll get slapped with a hefty fine.
- Fencing to restrict pets and children – While fences can keep out trespassers and animals, sometimes, you may need fences to keep your loved ones inside the property lines. You buy a home with a decent backyard so that you can relax and spend some quality time with your family. However, that’s not possible if you have to worry about the safety of your kids and pets.
You don’t want to keep a constant watch, so they don’t run off outside the gate on the busy street. In that case, you have to build a fence that will keep your children and pets inside your property. For such a fence, the height and lock mechanism of the gate are the most important factors.
You need your fence to be tall enough so that your pets can’t jump out of it. If you have a small dog with relatively less jumping power, a small 4 feet fence would be enough. However, if you have larger breeds who have bulging muscles in their hind legs, you may have to build a 6 ft or even an 8 ft tall fence.
- Pool enclosure – If you have a pool, you may have considered fencing it out of concern for friends and family. Pools create thousands of drowning victims every year and certain states have passed a law that requires you to build a pool fence.
The regulations also contain strict guidelines and limitations on the height, material, and shape of the fence. Typically, most states want you to build a pool fence that is at least 4 feet tall. Check the local rules and make sure you abide by them. You don’t want to waste hundreds of dollars in fines or lawsuits.
Conclusion
Now that you know which factors to consider while deciding on the fence height, you should get to the job and also finalize the fence material. After that, you can search “fencing company near me” and hire professionals to install the fence for you.
