What are the Advantages of a Rail Fence?

Having a rail fence installed

A rail fence consists of vertical posts with holes and horizontal rails that are to fit into these holes. A fence system can be purchased at home and garden centers and depots or can be found online.

Rail fences normally rise four feet above the ground and may have two to three horizontal rails, depending on the home owner's need. Rail fence systems are priced according to the size of your property and whether you would go for the two-, three-, or four-rail type. This may be installed by a professional contractor or by any do-it-yourselfer who's willing to take on the task. Overseeing your own project would save you about 50% of the actual costs.

If you choose to have a wooden rail fence, the materials to be used are rails, wooden logs, gravel and tools. These tools would include stakes, string, a shovel, a tape measure, a post-hole digger and a carpenter's level.

Modern rail fence materials

New fencing materials such as bamboo are slowly gaining popularity. Instead of the rustic ambiance that wooden rail fences provide, bamboo rail fences give a Zen-inspired aura to the establishments or buildings they enclose.

Bamboo rail fences are now being used at Chinese or Japanese restaurants. Poles come from mature bamboo, which are believed to be stronger than regular wooden logs. For additional Oriental effect, black twine may be used to tie the rails to the posts. However, unlike wooden rail fences, bamboo rail fences need to be pretreated as they fade into an unattractive color when exposed to harsh weather conditions.