West Bend Fencing Installation

A to Z Quality Fencing LLC of  Kewaskum, WI completed a cedar dog-eared privacy fence in West Bend, Wisconsin last week.

I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about the choices in wood fences.  Your first decision to make in purchasing a new wood fence is what height of fence you need.  There are several factors to making this decision.  Reason for fence, placement of fence, style of fence and of course city/town codes and or subdivision by-laws. You would also need to pick the style of fencing. Lastly but not least would be the type of lumber to use.

The reason for the fence may be the most important.  If you are wanting privacy then a 5′ or 6′ fence is probably the way to go.  If you are containing dogs, kids, or just out lining property lines then the 4′ fence may suit your needs. Your local building code may dictate what height and where you can go with your fence.  For instance in West Bend, Wisconsin  You can only go 6′ tall if you stay 6″ off your property line.  In Hales Corners, Wisconsin  you can only go 6′ if you stay 2′ off your property line.  In Wauwatosa, Wisconsin area  they only allow you to go 4’6″ tall unless you get a special permit.  None of this includes your subdivision by-laws.  Most places like Milwaukee, Grafton, Mequon, Port Washington, and Germantown allow you to go right to the property line with a 6′ fence as long as you are in your back yard.  Most front and side yards allow 4′ (many times 4′ privacy with 2′ lattice is allowed. )  As you can see there are many variables to what you can and cannot do based on city codes.  It really isn’t that complicated but it  is best to seek the advice of a good contractor like A to Z Quality Fencing of southeastern Wisconsin for sound advice and placement of your fence.

Now that you have the reason for your fence and the needed height for your fence nailed down, now it is time to look at the style of your fence.  As a salesman I make it my job to give yo all the options and give you my opinion as to what would work well and what would not work well.  In some cases a certain type of fence will make your yard seem extremely small or boxed in while other styles will open it up and can actually make your yard appear larger.  I always suggest customers take their time in choosing both style and height.  Sit in your back yard and imagine what it will look like.  Don’t settle on something you’re not sure about.  If there is something you do not like about a certain style ask to see if it can be altered.  A to Z Quality Fencing LLC custom builds all wood fences and can alter almost anything to your liking.  The last thing I always tell my customer is be sure this is what you want…you have to look at it for the next 15- 20 years.  Styles to choose from would be a basic dog eared picket, a country picket (pointed top), Scalloped (concave or convex), Lattice top (1′ or 2′) as well as our privacy estate (solid privacy with more trim work).  You also need to choose from an open picket fence (spaces between pickets), privacy fence or a shadow box (pickets on both sides of fence alternated).

Now you must choose the type of lumber to use on your fence.  The main choices are White cedar, Western Red cedar and treated lumber.  A to Z Quality Fencing uses Northern white cedar as our main wood product.  Northern White and Western Red Cedar has most of the same qualities except that Red will generally be a darker red wood.  Some of the differences of white cedar and western red cedar is that due to the shrinking supply of Western Red Cedar the mills keep producing thinner and thinner materials.  Example:  Our Northern White cedar picket Is a full 3/4″ thick while the standard Western Red cedar is called a 5/8″ picket but if you measure it it is really only 1/2″.  Our 2x4x8 are actually 1-3/4″ x 3-3/4″ while western red is 1-1/2″x 3-1/2″.  As you can see your getting more fence from a white cedar.  The other thing that sets White and Western Red apart is the number of knots on the boards.  Western red depending on the grade will have many knots of varying size while white will have fewer and smaller knots. The other lumber out there is treated lumber.  Treated lumber is usually pine (the cheapest and most available lumber) that needs to have a chemical treatment in order for it to last more than 3 years.  With the treatment they use today, I give the life of a treated fence as 7-10 years.  Due to the amount of chemicals they must add to the lumber to treat it, treated lumber can be very prone to warping, cracking and splitting.  All lumber is can due this but treated has a much higher rate!  For these reasons we offer White Cedar as our main product at A to Z Quality Fencing.  We can and do offer the other two lumbers to those who insist but most take our experience and recommendation on the white.

I have not gone into installation technique of our wood fences and will do so on a latter blog.

Please feel free to contact me at 414-235-0173 with any questions on wood fence or any other fencing.  I would be glad to help you.  Also check out our web sites for all of our fencing at www.atozqualityfencing.com and our vinyl products at atozfencesupplies.com.

Thanks,

Aaron Smith
A to Z Quality Fencing
American Manufactured Vinyl Fence
MdBarnmasters of Wisconsin