With the existence of dozens of available options to choose from, selecting the right materials and designs for your home gates and fences is indeed a daunting task. However as a rule of thumb, always keep in mind that the selection process should be a balancing act between hospitality and security. This implies that your gates and fencing Oklahoma should protect your home and property from intruders while allowing your friends to feel welcomed. Here are some easy tips to help you choose nothing but the best design for your gates and fences.
1. Balance the Privacy and Other Purposes. As mentioned earlier, choosing the right materials and designs should be a balancing act. You must first determine the reasons why you want to install a gate and fence in the first place. Do you want to shield your private activities from neighborhood view? Then your gate and fences should be definitely taller and denser compared to those designed to protect your flower beds from pets or soccer ball. If you want to build a fence just to surround the play or pool area, it should be short yet sturdy enough to allow you from viewing the activities inside the area it encloses. Furthermore, if your primary purpose of setting gates and fences is to mark your property's boundaries, their height should be based on adjacent neighbors and properties.
2. Determine the Limits and Liabilities. Before choosing a gate and fence, it is highly advisable to check with your local building or planning department regarding the regulations on materials, placement and height. Normally, in most states, fences for privacy purposes should not be taller than six feet. However, you could always request a variance if this requirement is a problem in your property. Moreover, if a fence is to be built between two adjacent properties, an agreement between both property owners is normally required. Also, know the rules of maintenance for these property-line fences.
3. Draw Inspirations from your Home Style. Let the style of your home become the main inspiration in choosing a gate and fence design. Always remember that good home gate and fence designs are the ones that accentuate the home's architecture and visual aspect, not the other way around. For instance, a home with an Arts and Crafts or Victorian motif could be emphasized with a gate and fence that have a combination of squared-ornament posts and latticework design. If your house predominantly appears like a Western ranch, embellish it with low paddock fence style and a post-and-rail gate. For homes with large compounds and have a more contemporary style, they can be framed best with resin or wood panel-style fences. If you want these designs to have a more cohesive impact, make sure your fence and gate's style harmonize with each other.
4. Consider Other Appearance Factors. Even though your house should chiefly inspire your gate and fence designs, do not forget to also consider the other appearance factors such as your garden, surrounding trees or ornamental stones. If the exterior of your house stresses natural materials such as field stone or wood siding, a fence that is made of natural or stained wood would yield a more appealing effect on it compared to fences that are simply painted in white. In most cases, painting a pale fence to complement with exterior trim could certainly produce lovely results. However, you should also consider the usual weather condition in your place. For example, white-colored fences normally appear clean and snappy but in sunny places, they often create strong glares for the eyes, and also redirect lots amount of heat to nearby plants.
5. Gate and Fence Material: Metal or Timber? Once you have decided what design is appropriate for your gate and fence, the next step is to determine what material best fits the design. Metal and timber are the most popular materials for home gate and fence construction, so you would usually choose between these. Apart from achieving their own and exclusive appearance, these materials could achieve various levels of privacy. For instance, although gates made from metal are very strong, they normally feature open sections between scroll work and infill bars, allowing people and passersby to see your house through the gaps. Therefore, the privacy level of metal gates is not that great. On the other hand, fully-constructed wooden gates form a solid panel that cannot be seen through. Given this feature, gates and fences made from timber are best if you want to achieve a high level of privacy.
Although choosing the right material and design for your home gates and fences seems a scary undertaking, these tips will surely come in handy. They will not only help you have a good head start in erecting new gates and fences, but they can also serve as a guide if you want to renovate or repaint your existing ones.
1. Balance the Privacy and Other Purposes. As mentioned earlier, choosing the right materials and designs should be a balancing act. You must first determine the reasons why you want to install a gate and fence in the first place. Do you want to shield your private activities from neighborhood view? Then your gate and fences should be definitely taller and denser compared to those designed to protect your flower beds from pets or soccer ball. If you want to build a fence just to surround the play or pool area, it should be short yet sturdy enough to allow you from viewing the activities inside the area it encloses. Furthermore, if your primary purpose of setting gates and fences is to mark your property's boundaries, their height should be based on adjacent neighbors and properties.
2. Determine the Limits and Liabilities. Before choosing a gate and fence, it is highly advisable to check with your local building or planning department regarding the regulations on materials, placement and height. Normally, in most states, fences for privacy purposes should not be taller than six feet. However, you could always request a variance if this requirement is a problem in your property. Moreover, if a fence is to be built between two adjacent properties, an agreement between both property owners is normally required. Also, know the rules of maintenance for these property-line fences.
3. Draw Inspirations from your Home Style. Let the style of your home become the main inspiration in choosing a gate and fence design. Always remember that good home gate and fence designs are the ones that accentuate the home's architecture and visual aspect, not the other way around. For instance, a home with an Arts and Crafts or Victorian motif could be emphasized with a gate and fence that have a combination of squared-ornament posts and latticework design. If your house predominantly appears like a Western ranch, embellish it with low paddock fence style and a post-and-rail gate. For homes with large compounds and have a more contemporary style, they can be framed best with resin or wood panel-style fences. If you want these designs to have a more cohesive impact, make sure your fence and gate's style harmonize with each other.
4. Consider Other Appearance Factors. Even though your house should chiefly inspire your gate and fence designs, do not forget to also consider the other appearance factors such as your garden, surrounding trees or ornamental stones. If the exterior of your house stresses natural materials such as field stone or wood siding, a fence that is made of natural or stained wood would yield a more appealing effect on it compared to fences that are simply painted in white. In most cases, painting a pale fence to complement with exterior trim could certainly produce lovely results. However, you should also consider the usual weather condition in your place. For example, white-colored fences normally appear clean and snappy but in sunny places, they often create strong glares for the eyes, and also redirect lots amount of heat to nearby plants.
5. Gate and Fence Material: Metal or Timber? Once you have decided what design is appropriate for your gate and fence, the next step is to determine what material best fits the design. Metal and timber are the most popular materials for home gate and fence construction, so you would usually choose between these. Apart from achieving their own and exclusive appearance, these materials could achieve various levels of privacy. For instance, although gates made from metal are very strong, they normally feature open sections between scroll work and infill bars, allowing people and passersby to see your house through the gaps. Therefore, the privacy level of metal gates is not that great. On the other hand, fully-constructed wooden gates form a solid panel that cannot be seen through. Given this feature, gates and fences made from timber are best if you want to achieve a high level of privacy.
Although choosing the right material and design for your home gates and fences seems a scary undertaking, these tips will surely come in handy. They will not only help you have a good head start in erecting new gates and fences, but they can also serve as a guide if you want to renovate or repaint your existing ones.
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