Aluminum vs. Wood Fence: Why Choose Aluminum?
Fences are widely used in our production and daily life, such as garden fences, highway fences, municipal fences, etc. Especially in Europe and America, there are a lot of private villas and courtyards, so using fences to divide or protect privacy areas is popular.
The fence has three parts: fence board, horizontal stripboard, and fence column. In tradition, wooden boards are mainly chosen before installation. Also, the shapes of these fences are various. However, nowadays, another material has become sharp in the area of the fence. That’s called aluminum fences.
Anything existing must be reasonable. Why are the aluminum fences instead of wooden fences? Just thinking, how do you choose between aluminum and wood when installing a new fence? Many people will consider traditional wooden fences are suitable and common. Wooden fences have a long history because the wood is easy to be shaped and maintained. The most important is that wooden fences have been used for many years, so a lot of people have experience using wooden fences.
However, compared with wooden fences, aluminum fences have more advantages. So it is the one of the top competitors. Next, we will analyze the advantages and disadvantages of aluminum and wooden fences, from five key aspects: cost, maintenance, installation, privacy, and style.
The total cost of wooden fences and aluminum fences
The price of the fence depends on the material and labor costs, as well as the overall size of the fence. If you want to install a fence, you should calculate the number of fences you need, pick up the materials, and connect with workers.
Wooden fence
Wooden material is more expensive for sure. Based on the scale of your wooden fence and the type of wood used, the cost is different. However, you can not avoid the special wood means a special price. Also, the fences need to be maintained after using a period. The ongoing maintenance and repair fee is higher than any other materials because the wood is easy to be broken or rotten in a disaster situation. Finally, you may have to replace the wooden fence with other materials.
Aluminum fence
The first time, the aluminum fence is expensive, because there are fewer factories to produce it. However, in these years, many aluminum factories come out and promoted a lot of different aluminum products including aluminum fences. Therefore, the cost of aluminum fences is getting lower. The labor cost of installation is cheap because you can install them on the ground easily. If you choose the high-quality aluminum fences, you do not need painting. As aluminum is one of the metal materials, it is hard to be broken. Thus, you do not need to pay more attention to fix or maintain. Usually, they will keep in a stable status. The total cost of aluminum fences is lower than wooden fences.
Here’s a comparison table between Wood Fences and Aluminum Fences based on typical cost factors:
| Cost Factor | Wood Fence | Aluminum Fence |
|---|---|---|
| Material Cost | $10 – $30 per linear foot | $20 – $60 per linear foot |
| Labor Cost | $15 – $25 per linear foot | $15 – $35 per linear foot |
| Maintenance Costs | $100 – $300 per year (painting, repairs, etc.) | $0 – $50 per year (minimal maintenance) |
| Installation Cost | $10 – $30 per linear foot | $15 – $40 per linear foot |
| Lifespan | 10 – 15 years | 30 – 50 years |
| Total Installation Cost (100 feet) | $1,500 – $3,500 | $2,500 – $6,500 |
| Initial Material Investment | Lower upfront cost | Higher upfront cost, but longer lifespan |
| Appearance | Natural wood, can rot or warp | Sleek, modern look |
Above all, many people think the aluminum fence price must be cheaper, but you can not think this way. The lower cost is not displayed on the price but is shown in the long run. If it is the same size as a wooden and aluminum fence, the purchasing cost is similar. But if you take the maintenance and repair fee or the decoration fee account, that will be a large money.
The maintenance cost of wood can lead to long-term costs of up to 40%! You do not need to pay more labor for it. In addition, the wood’s lifespan relies on the environment. The service life of wooden fences is approx. 10-20 years, but the aluminum fences can stand for 30-50 years. Which one is more cheap is obvious.
Maintenance of wood fences and aluminum fences
If you are in a suitable environment, the maintenance requirements of wood fences may not be different from the aluminum fences. But if you are in a strict environment, unfortunately, you may face a huge bill for maintenance.
Wood fences maintenance
Wood is not resistant to wind and rain. Sunlight and rain can cause the wooden fence to bend and warp, and excessive moisture can easily cause the wood to rot. Although the paint on the surface of the wood can protect the wooden fence for some time, these paints will gradually disappear in sunlight, snow, and rain. Most importantly, wooden fences are also more likely to become a home for pests. Therefore, for wooden fences, maintenance is necessary in the short term and indispensable.
Aluminum fences maintenance
The characteristics of aluminum are light and durable. It is metal, so it is not affected by insects and mold. The key is that the coating of aluminum can maintain its color better in sunlight and rain than the paint of wood. The maintenance fee is lower.
Installation of wooden fences and aluminum fences
It looks like the installation of wooden and aluminum fences are the same, but the truth is they are different from installation difficulty.
Wooden fences installation
The installation of wooden fences requires more time. If you are a customized wooden fence, once there is a problem, it often takes longer to adjust. More labor is needed for installation and matching.
Aluminum fences installation
Basically, aluminum fences are fixed patterns, so the installation speed of aluminum fences is often faster. For professional installers, it is easy to directly fix the fence board to the post, and it is difficult to damage other parts of the fence as a result. After installation, there will be relatively less installation junk and cleaning will be easier.
Privacy of wooden fences and aluminum fences
In general, the privacy of wooden fences and aluminum fences do not have many differences. Many standard fences have space in the middle, which reduces privacy. This is corresponding, because if you want to see the scenery from the yard, you must have space, but space will inevitably affect privacy.
Therefore, it depends on the quality of the materials and space the fences can give. For that standard mode, wooden fences are better for privacy. However, if you want to get more privacy, you can require customized aluminum fences.
Appearance of wooden fences and aluminum fences
Most people prefer the appearance of wood. It also looks more environmentally friendly. But if the wooden fence is not well maintained, it will look very worn out. The paint on the outside will peel off, the printed patterns will fade, and gaps or even damage will appear on the wooden fence. Therefore, subsequent maintenance is quite important. Of course, if you want to avoid a lot of maintenance and repair costs, you can choose a relatively ordinary style and try to minimize colored pigments.
Compared to others, the appearance of aluminum fences often lasts longer. The key is that as long as there is a mold, there will be many different designs to choose from for aluminum fences. And the color pigments on metal often last longer. Of course, even if there is a need for unique styles, you can try customized services.
Many people think that wooden fences are more natural. It is true, but now aluminum fences can be designed as wooden fences with some special paintings. These fences have the traits of aluminum, with the appearance of wood. The homeowners can get all the advantages.
Which one is better? the wooden fences and the aluminum fences
Combined with the above reasons, we can clearly understand that aluminum fences are better than wooden fences. The total cost of aluminum fences is lower than that of wooden fences. The maintenance frequency of aluminum fences is lower than that of wooden fences, and it is the aspect that shows the cost of aluminum fences is cheaper. The durability of the aluminum fences is longer than the wooden fences. Of course, the wood has many benefits, such as environmental protection. If you do not care about it, you can pick up the aluminum fences. It depends on the customer’s requirements.
The key to picking up the proper aluminum fence
In recent years, there are more and more aluminum extrude manufacturers in the market. It is a sign to show that aluminum production is becoming more popular. The aluminum fence, as one of the aluminum products, is being instead of the wooden fences. How to pick up the proper aluminum fence?
A suitable aluminum extrusion manufacturer is important. An experienced factory-Hugh Aluminum can help customers choose the right mode and size aluminum fences. Also, they can support more customized services to fit the unique customer’s requirements.
Hugh Aluminum has a designer group to contact the customers intimately to deal with any problems during the design. The larger the manufacturer is, the more products will be supported. So they have more samples to supply. Even if you want to get privacy, you can connect with the designers to make the aluminum fences mode more private.
No matter what you choose, the aluminum fences or the wooden fences, it is based on your requirements. However, an excellent aluminum fence manufacturer can give you more choices in decoration.
