Family and home protection are top priority for all of us, but sometimes homeowners install a fence around their property without giving much thought to how well it does just that. After all, any fence is better than no fence, right? Not always! So how do you get a good security fence that will help protect your home and family? In general, you want a fence that doesn’t provide hiding places, is hard to climb over, and can’t be easily bypassed. Let’s look at those in a little more detail…
Doesn’t provide a hiding place
When shopping for a security fence for your backyard, think see-through. You want to be able to see people on the other side of it.
Hard to climb over
For a fence that’s hard to climb over, get one that:
- Is at least 8 feet tall. Really, the taller the better here, but some cities and homeowners’ associations (HOAs) have rules about how high a fence can be. Definitely check with yours before having a fence installed.
- Has few horizontal rails. Horizontal rails can literally give burglars a leg up when trying to climb over your fence.
- Is spiked or pointed at the top. You can get a fence with a spear top. One fence option is an ornamental fence with spear topped rails. These look great around homes and are a great deterrent to climbers!
Not easily bypassed
A security fence is no good if a burglar can easily go around it, under it or cut through it. So, to make sure that doesn’t happen, get a fence that:
- Is secured into the ground with concrete. Concrete footings along the whole length of the fence are your best bet here, but that can get expensive. So at least make sure posts are all secured in concrete.
- Cannot be cut through. Some common fence types are easier to compromise with inexpensive tools.
- Includes secure gates. Like your home, a fence is only as secure as it’s weakest point. So make sure your new security fence also has heavy-duty gates that match the security of the fence panel. You also may want to padlock the gates or get an access panel.
We understand that some homeowners may choose to have a shorter fence due to regulation restrictions, personal style, or cost effectiveness. You can still use a small, decorative fence around your front yard to improve your home’s security. The key is to pick a fence that is tall enough to be difficult to get over but not so high as to provide a hiding place for a burglar (or be frowned upon by your HOA!)
Shorter fences improve your home’s security by:
- Serving as a mental barrier. To burglars, your home looks more difficult to break into with a fence around it.
- Making it harder to go unnoticed. It’s easy to walk up to someone’s front door nonchalant. It’s much more difficult hopping over a fence. Neighbors will definitely be suspicious of someone attempting to come over the fence.
- Eliminating quick getaways. A fence around your front yard makes an easy get away much more difficult.
To be most effective, the fence should go around the entire yard and any gates should be locked. Otherwise, the fence doesn’t add as much security as it could. We are experts in provide fencing solutions that will help protect your home all while still being aesthetically pleasing! If you need help securing the rest of your home, please browse our photo gallery and then give us a call at 800-221-6425.
