Safe Time With A Vinyl Picket Fence
A front yard enclosed with a white picket fence is the stereotypical suburban home, as seen in many TV shows and movies over the years. But the fact is, picket fencing can come in many different shapes and colors, and even the materials they're built from have changed over the years. Instead of building a fence from scratch with wood, a vinyl picket fence can save you a lot of time and maintenance. Let's look at what you need to know before buying one.
Vinyl picket fencing is basically molded into shape rather than each picket being cut and attached to top and bottom rails, like a traditional wood fence. Vinyl fences are sold in panels, generally 8 feet long, that simply need to be attached to posts & caps to build your fence.
These panels will vary in cost, depending on the pattern, height and finish. For example, Husker Vinyl sells their Town & Country close picket style fence for $70, for a 4' x 8' panel. This can be a little more expensive than wood, but the easy of installation and durability of vinyl is often worth it. And with the cost of wood constantly increasing, the difference gets smaller all the time.
There are many different designs of picket fences. The traditional style is open pickets with pointed caps, but they can also be open pickets with square caps, closed pickets or even alternating styles. Open pickets are those that are mounted on the outside of the top and bottom rail and generally extend beyond each, versus closed pickets which are held in place between the top and bottom rails.
If you've looked for any information on how to build a picket fence, you've probably seen how much work can go into doing it yourself, especially if you want to cut the pickets into a scalloped pattern or some other unique design. Getting a pre-formed vinyl fence will save you a lot of time and effort in comparison.
Vinyl fences are also less work to maintain over the life of the fence. Because the vinyl is molded in whatever color you want, whether white, beige or something a little more eye-catching, there is no painting or touch-ups necessary. This isn't good if you want a rustic look, but if you prefer a clean, nicely-finished fence, vinyl is going to look that way for years.
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