Homeowners have more choices with today's fashionable fencing

It seems there have always been fence-lovers and fence-haters in this world.

Some people want to look out the windows behind their homes and see wide open spaces. Others treasure their privacy and like to have their property clearly delineated. There is certainly no shortage of opinions on the subject.

Even a couple of famous writers have weighed in on the subject.

Benjamin Franklin wrote "Love your neighbor; yet don't pull down your hedge." Years later poet Robert Frost penned "Good fences make good neighbors."

Cori Mazukelli of Arlington Heights would definitely agree with Franklin and Frost.

"I am a big believer in fences," she said. "It is nice to have your property staked and it just feels cozier to me."

But she and her husband, Tony, actually made the investment in a cedar French Gothic picket fence because the electronic fence they had for their big dog just wasn't working as intended.

"Our dog didn't like to get shocked and after awhile, she just wouldn't go out anymore," Mazukelli admitted.

So the Mazukellis invested in a fence and discovered that it has more decorative value than they expected. In fact, they like the "new wood" color so much that they plan to treat it in a few weeks in order to maintain that tan shade.

Fellow Arlington Heights resident John Schulz replaced a small picket fence with a five-foot high board-on-board cedar fence - also because of a dog and his appreciation of privacy.

"My old fence wasn't very solid and my dog could see through it to bark at birds, animals and people," Schulz said. "With this board-on-board fence, he can't see through it unless he is at an angle to the fence, so it limits his barking because he doesn't see as much."

Schulz considered a vinyl fence, but didn't like the higher cost. He also preferred the natural and rustic look of cedar.

"The vinyl fences, even though they are supposed to last forever, looked too plastic-y to me," he said.

Schulz plans to let his new cedar fence weather to the gray color that cedar becomes over time.

"I like fences," he added. "I want privacy in my backyard because I like to use it a lot."

"Going into 2007 we were selling our most fences ever," said Randy Jaacks, owner of Bob Jaacks Rustic Wood Fence of Niles (www.rusticfences.com). "While 2008 and 2009 were bad, business has started to increase again this year."

The Jaacks family has been in the fence business in the same location since 1959.

Four basic types of fences are popular today, with lots of variations within each category, Jaacks said. The most popular is a wood fence, primarily made of some type of cedar. Then there are aluminum, iron and vinyl fences, too.

"We find that people buy fences primarily for privacy and security," he said. "After that the big reasons are to contain dogs and to secure swimming pools."

According to Jaacks, cedar is the best type of wood to use for a fence because it has a lot of longevity for the dollar and you don't really have to do anything to maintain it. But you can stain it if you wish.

"If you don't stain a cedar fence it will naturally turn a dark gray in the weather. But if you want it to remain that initial tan color, you must clear seal it every three to four years. If you choose to stain it, that only needs to be done every six to eight years," he said.

"You should get 25 to 30 years from a cedar fence, especially the high-end western red cedar that we sell," Jaacks said.

While sometimes posts placed in wetter areas do rot, Jaacks said, when that happens they are easily replaced without replacing the whole fence.

The next most popular type of fence is an aluminum or iron fence because people like how decorative they look and the fact they require no maintenance for their lifetime of about 20 years.

"But these types of fences don't give anyone privacy because you can see right through them. In addition, aluminum fences can be rather easily damaged. That is why iron fences are eclipsing aluminum in popularity around pools, for instance," Jaacks said.

The newest type of fence that is gaining in market share is vinyl, which can be made in any style - picket, split rail, board-on-board and so forth. But vinyl is also the most expensive fence option.

"No maintenance is ever necessary on the vinyl fences, however, as long as you purchase a high quality one," Jaacks said.

Despite the long life and lack of maintenance of vinyl fences, Jaacks said most people still like the look of wood fences and they definitely like the fact that such fences generally cost 40 percent less than a vinyl fence of the same style.

The height and type of fence allowed is regulated in just about every area community and permits for installation are generally required, Jaacks said. A very few municipalities even prohibit fences all together.