Frisco Fence Company owner Sean Eubanks, President of Texas State Fence Co. offers some ideas for privacy fencing.

In our modern crowded urban and suburban world often means that our outside living area, the back yard, is too close to neighbors and therefore we desire to have the added privacy that a well built and placed fence can provide. A quality fence can be a valuable part of your landscape. A good fence can actually add value to your property, and can enjoy the added benefit of having an asset that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional.

One of the first things to think about when considering a privacy fence is whether to use traditional stand-along fencing or to use a combination of landscape elements such as trees and shrubs along with the fence. A privacy fence is usually a style of wood fence that offers a visual screen. Good choices include a board-on-board fence or a stockade style fence. Based on the unique aspects of your yard’s layout it may or may not be that you need to install the fence along the entire property line to achieve your desired level of privacy.

Some landscape elements such as trees, shrubs, earthen berms, and other naturally occurring elements can be factored into a traditional wood fence build out plan to create a truly unique space. It is not a question of needing to ‘hide’ from prying eyes, but more a matter of providing a level of personal comfort that is in keeping with the needs of your family and within the bounds of the local zoning or home owner association rules. Always check HOA rules before embarking on a construction project such as a privacy fence.

Constructing privacy fences out of wood or vinyl or masonry provides nearly instant privacy and has the additional attribute of being almost maintenance free. If you include a fence in your landscape plan you may not have to wait for plants to grow to their mature size. Additionally, you have to maintain fences like you do plants. No need to water them, trim them, nor treat them for insects, etc.

Constructing privacy fences primarily out of landscape elements is considered by some people to be more environmentally friendly, however, this comes with a cost of maintenance. Maintenance over the years, along with the issue of growing the plants to maturity, can increase the cost of adding landscape elements. Should you spend the extra money for larger plants now to give the immediate screening benefit or should you save money now at the cost of waiting for a longer period for the plants to grow together and provide the screening you want? That is a great question. A good option may be to include traditional ‘hard’ fencing elements with ‘soft’ landscape elements.

Frisco Fence Company owner Sean Eubanks, President of Texas State Fence Co., installs new fencing, repairs and maintains existing fencing, and designs integrated fencing systems for both residential and commercial clients in the Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, Plano, Carrollton, Coppell areas of North Texas. As one of the largest and most established fence companies in Dallas, Texas State Fence offers a full range of fence services, products and options. For more information please call 972-898-1307.