BY PAM BURKE Robert Frost wrote, famously, “Good fences make good neighbors,” but they also make good personal space and good neighborhoods as well. While at their most fundamental level fences define property lines and keep in that which should stay in and out what needs to stay away, they can also add privacy, beauty and value to a residential property. In the rural state of Montana, by far the most common type of fence is barbed wire out in pastures and along roadways, but for residential space the better materials options are wood, vinyl, chain link and ornamental steel. Retailers and contractors might disagree on which product is cheapest or longest lasting, but Eric Wutke, owner of Great Falls Fence, said that ultimately, the customer decides what’s best based on their individual situation. Basically, “it has to do with the bud8 LIVING MAGAZINE July 2014
PHOTOS BY ERIC SEIDLE get, how it’s going to look aesthetically and what the function of it is going to be,” he said, “and based on that then you determine what it is they need.”
Wood vs. Vinyl
Rod Wagner, owner of Harlem Lumber, says he sells materials for more wood fences than vinyl. He can order the vinyl fencing, but he said he’s found, for his customers, the initial cost is mostly costprohibitive. “First off, vinyl looks the nicest, but it’s the most expensive,” he said, adding that there is a payoff for the vinyl in repair expenses, but “it’s quite a ways down the road. The initial investment is kind of staggering.” “A 6-, 8-foot section (runs) you around $200 – the wood’s going to run you under $100 in the same section, including paint or stain,” he said. But he’s realistic about the drawback of wood and chain link. “The other ones, the wood is not as expensive, but there’s a great deal of labor involved in digging the holes. Chain
link is probably a little more (expensive) than wood fencing, but it kind of has probably an industrial look that some people may not want.” Though he said he does sell some chain link fencing, he sells more wood fencing, especially dog-eared cedar planks. There’s more options with wood fencing than just planks, he added. “I would say the easiest one is probably the split cedar rail. It comes with three pieces – a post and two rails. You dig a hold, put the post in the ground, stick the rails in it and dig the next post hole.” The posts are installed one after the other because the tapered ends of the rails need to be slipped into predrilled holes in the post before the post is set. Lianna Heimbigner, co-owner of Big Sandy Supply, said that fencing material choice can only be based on the customer’s preferences and budget, but points out that the initial cost of the fence has to be compared to the cost over the long-run, too. H AV R E D A I LY N E W S