Are you looking at a new front fence as part of a garden makeover or for a completely new garden? Are you wondering what style of fence would be for your home? Have you considered radical options like no fence at all?
Having spent 30+ years designing and landscaping gardens for people all over Melbourne, we know how much people tend to love their front fence. But if you haven't ever had to install a new fence, there are a few tips and tricks to them that it can be worth knowing in advance.
We'd like to share some of our insights with you in this article to help save you time, money and perhaps some stress and/or regret.
You will find this article contains some ideas about fencing you might not find anywhere else in the landscaping industry.
Why do you even want a fence for your home?
Among all your thoughts about what type of fence you want to put up, have you asked yourself a more basic question like "why do you even want a fence in the first place?"
It's funny that we often tend to just jump into doing things because that's what we think "everyone else does". Or we think it's what's expected of us or normal or whatever.
Now if you ask most people why they want a front fence, many will say things like "for privacy, security or to feel more safe". They might also say they have a dog with no-road sense or a two-year old they don't want wandering off onto the road. These are all very good, very valid reasons for a fence, although some of these can be tackled by having a side fence only, not a front fence.
But a front fence can also be a feature of your home, creating a statement in its own right. It can be very aesthetic too. Some people think a front fence "finishes" off a home and feel that a property can feel unfinished without one. A front fence will provide more security than a side fence as it prevents people even entering your property, whether criminals or just wandering drunks!
If you don't have a garage and park your car in your driveway it also adds extra security for your vehicle as well.
What style of fencing might suit your home?
When it comes to fencing, most people feel they should match the style of their fence to the style of their home. So for example if you have a Heritage-listed home like the one shown below, then choosing a picket fence seems a rather obvious choice. It co-ordinates well with the house and can be painted to tonally match the house as well.
If you have a more modern, Hamptons-style home then the type of fence shown below would tend to be in harmony with it.
How to add street appeal with a fence
The type of fence you choose can say not just a lot about your house but a lot about the people who live in your house.
If security and privacy are your biggest reasons for having a front fence then you will probably want something quite tall. Very high fences that completely block others from seeing into your front garden offer the highest level of privacy. If you want your kids or yourself to enjoy a completely private space to play and relax in then this could be your best choice.
But putting up a very tall fence hard against the footpath can also feel like you are creating a barrier to the outside world. (If that's what you want, then it's OK!)
However some really tall fences can make the whole house look like a high-security prison. As if the people inside are saying "go away, don't come in, I don't want you on my property". If that's the vibe you want, maybe this will suit you.
But if you don't want your front fence to yell "stay away" to everyone who passes by, you can opt to choose a fencing style with a less intimidating look. If you do, it can add a significant amount of beauty to your home in its own right.
An alternative way to create privacy with a fence
High fences do block out the view of others seeing into your front garden. If you want the front garden to be a space for your kids to play in you might want as much privacy as possible. But where possible, allowing others to see some of your garden is a way of contributing back to your local community.
(Ask yourself, what would you rather walk past, a paling fence at head height that blocks you seeing everything or a picket fence with a lovely garden on view?)
One way to create privacy for you, while also giving your house better street appeal is to offset your fence line by setting your fence back from the street a little way. This can also allow you to soften the appearance of your fence by planting in front of the fence. The plants themselves can act as a privacy screen while not being as confronting as a big, solid fence. They also tend to draw the eye of passersby to make them look at the plants rather than try to look through the fence into the garden and house.
You can see this style of set-back fencing we created for a client in the image below. Over time the plants will grow fuller creating even more privacy while adding more beauty to the street view of the house.
Reasons NOT to have a fence
So many people seem to have already included a fence in their thinking and planning for a new garden, that it can sometimes come as a complete shock to them when we ask them to consdier "Why do you want a fence in the first place?".
Sometimes we find clients showing a small grin of embarrassment as they "umm and ahhh" trying to work out if a fence is really important to them or not. Or if they've just automatically assumed they should have one.
We try to make a point of being a bit of a devil's advocate in this regard, not to be contrary but just to open up the point for discussion, especially during a design consultation.
So we like to find out if privacy or security is the main issue. If it's just privacy then sometimes a hedge can be a much better alternative (and much cheaper) than a fence. It's also softer, more organic and projects a different feeling to the world about your house, and you, than something made of solid brick, stone, concrete, steel or even timber.
Creating a more inviting entrance at home
When thinking about a fence for your property there is another way you can make the entrance to your place more inviting for guests without compromising your security or even your privacy.
Compare the two examples of a gate shown below.
- Here the gate is right up to the edge of the footpath with the fence extending either side:
- Here the gate is set back a few steps from the footpath, so it's actually inside your property:
This small but important change can make a big difference to how your guests feel when they arrive at your home. Instead of being left standing out on the footpath feeling uncomfortable after they press the intercom button, with a recessed gate, they actually already feel like they are inside your property. So they feel welcomed even though they haven't yet stepped through the gate. It also makes them feel closer to your home instantly. It's a subtle distinction but many people find it an important one.
Considering how the local environment may affect your fence
When considering which style of fence to create for our clients, we often look at the local environment surrounding their house to see if we can come up with any innovative suggestions to solve a problem caused by the local environment.
For example, we had a client several years ago in Surrey Hills whose house was very close to the local railway station. She was doing a complete garden renovation and mentioned to us that her existing front fence had been vandalised several times by kids spraying graffiti on it. We took that on board and designed a brush fence for her that is virtually immune to being sprayed. She loved it.
You might have noticed when driving around that some properties are located in a very exposed location to local traffic. They may be at a roundabout or at the end of T-intersection where the adjoining street is a steep hill. In such a case we would tend to recommend to a client to get a very strong, solid fence of brick or concrete to act as a safeguard and protect the house and its occupants against car accidents.
If you live on a rural or semi-rural property, with a dust or gravel road, we would take this into account when designing your fence. We tend to choose a surface that not only masks the dust but also allows it to easily wash off in the rain.
These are just some of the factors we would take into account when designing your garden fence.
Adding an automatic gate to your fence
These days, it seems almost every time we design a garden with a fence, most people want an automatic gate for their driveway. It is, after all, the most convenient and secure way to enter and exit your property by car.
When considering an automatic gate, the two most common options are the swing gate and the sliding gate.
All swing gates tend to open inwards into a property. When considering inward swinging gates always keep in mind to allow for the space between the gates and any garage or carport, or whether there is no garage at all. You have to allow enough room for the gates to swing inward and not make contact with your parked car.
Where there is not enough room for the gates to swing open and still have a car parked in the driveway or in other situations of limited space, the only option sometimes is a sliding gate. If you live on a hill this can be a real challenge because generally sliding gates need a very level area for them to slide open across.
A note on fence footings
An important thing to consider when planning out a front fence, especially one built from from solid brick with inserts, is the footing.
Most fences like the one shown below are designed to have a concrete footing running under the driveway to ensure the end pier is stable and connected to the rest of the fence. In this case, the driveway had already been poured, so we had to cut and remove a section of it to allow us to excavate and pour the new, continuous footing for the end pier.
We hope you found this article on fencing informative. And we hope it opened up some things for you to consider when choosing to fence, or not to fence, your new garden.
If you have any more questions about fencing in general or if there is a particularly tricky issue regarding fencing on your property, please feel free to reach out and contact us by phone or email.
We are happy to give you some advice over the phone. Please feel free to contact us here.
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Or if you'd like to have a more in-depth discussion about your plans for a new garden, including a new fence, please feel free to book a no-obligation consultation with one of our designers. It's completely free of charge and allows you to explore some options and perhaps get a feel for indicative costs.
