One of the best parts about home ownership is having a yard. From having an area for pets and kids to run around to having a great outdoor entertain space, making the most of the land your home sits on can really make a house feel like home. However, a fence is a big part a complete yard. Typically in the back yard, a good fence can provide privacy, security, and even add an aesthetic accent to the yard.
There are lots of things that you must consider when installing a fence. First, you have to decide what type of fence is best. After all, a fence is meant to offer privacy and security and can also improve the aesthetics of your home.
After you choose the type of fence, you would like for your yard, and you’ll have to take the time to measure your yard to know what supplies you need to get. This is very important because otherwise, you could end up not getting enough and having to make another trip to the hardware store, or you could get too much and have extra supplies that you don’t need.
In this article, we’re going to explore how you can decide the best type of fence for your yard, and then we’ll explain the process of measuring your yard for a fence. This way, you can be sure that you and your family are safe- and you improve the aesthetic of your home, which can also improve the property value.
How to Choose the Right Fence for Your Yard
There are several steps to choosing the right fence for your yard. We’ll explore those below:
Understand Your Purpose
First, you need to understand your purpose for installing a fence. Some common reasons are to provide children and pets a safe place to play, keep wildlife out, privacy concerns, or aesthetics. As mentioned, sometimes, a fence may even increase the value of your property. Decide why you want a fence, which will help you decide what is best. Some materials are better than others.
Set Your Budget
When it comes to material costs, they vary widely. Take some time to decide how much you want to spend. Of course, this will require measuring your yard first- which we’ll get into later in this post. This will help you compare the costs of the various materials to decide how much you need to spend.
Choose a Material
The most common fencing materials are wood, vinyl, chain-link, aluminum, and wrought iron. Each has advantages and disadvantages. We’ll discuss some pro’s and con’s and include some inspiration along the way.
Wood
- Advantages: privacy, affordable, classic
- Disadvantages: maintenance requirements, short lifespan (10 to 20 years)
Vinyl
- Advantages: low maintenance, variety of colors/styles, durable
- Disadvantages: high investment up-front, can warp/crack in intense temperatures
Chain-Link
- Advantages: easy installation, affordable
- Disadvantages: not secure or private
Aluminum
- Advantages: low maintenance, secure
- Disadvantages: lack of privacy
Wrought Iron
- Advantages: nice aesthetic, low maintenance, durable
- Disadvantages: likely to rust, expensive
Check with Your HOA
If you live in a community with an HOA, there will probably be rules about the type of fence you can install. You will need to check to find out what is acceptable and not.
Measuring Your Yard for a Fence
Upon choosing a material and overall design for your fence, the next step is getting a good measurement that will allow you to starting get quotes for materials and any additional labor costs. This is important whether you are installing the fence yourself or hiring the professionals.
If you do decide to hire the pro’s, they will likely be able to come out and measure your yard to give you a quote for free.
The quote they provide will usually contain yard dimensions which could still be used even if you don’t end up hiring the group that provided the quote.
If hiring a professional seems like something you would be interested in, here are some great resources to find some local pros in your area.
However, if you do prefer to install the fence yourself, keep reading to learn more about how to measure your yard for a fence.
Determine Where Your Property Lines Are
The first step in measuring your yard for a fence is knowing where your property lines are. You need to know exactly where your property ends, and your neighbor’s begins. If you don’t already have one, you can get in touch with the county or city planning department to get a copy of your plan, which is the map of your property, or you can call a land surveyor to get a survey of your property.
You should never guess when it comes to property lines because if you end up putting your fence over the property line into your neighbor’s property, you will probably have to take it down.
This is a very expensive mistake to make, and- believe it or not- it happens quite often. If you take the time to determine this now, you won’t have to worry about it later.
Locate Obstructions and/or Utility Lines
If you have trees and/or other permanent features on or near the property line, you will need to consider them when measuring your yard for a fence. You will need to decide if the fence needs to go in front of or behind it.
In addition, you’ll need to know where any underground utility lines are, such as cable, gas, and electric. You can contact the utility companies individually to find out this information, or you can call 811 before you dig to learn about the location of utility lines. Then, someone will come out to your property and mark where they are. This is a 100% free service and will save you time, money, and hassle in the future because you avoid damaging the lines.
Steps for Measuring Your Yard for a Fence
Now that you’ve done all the prep work- things are about to get exciting now. It’s time to start measuring for your fence. Below are the steps for this process:
- Use stakes to mark the corners of the fence. This is where the panels meet at a 90-degree angle.
- Using the stakes as your guide, you can pull a measuring tape to find out what the perimeter of your property is in feet. You may need to get someone to help because the tape needs to be taut. If it’s loose, your measurement is likely to be off, and you’ll end up getting more than you need.
- If the type of fence you have chosen comes in panels, divide your perimeter measurement by the size of the panels. Most of the time, panel sizes are between 6 to 8 feet. The number you get from this calculation will help you decide how many units you need. If the fencing you chose does not come in panels, you don’t have to worry about this step. All you need is the total perimeter.
For a visual demonstration of this process here’s a super helpful video from YouTube
Once you have measured your yard, you’ll have a better idea of what you should budget for your project. As mentioned previously, you’ll also want to consider the type of fence you prefer when making your budget.
If you are planning to build the fence yourself, you’ll want to take some time to measure again to confirm the accuracy of your measurements. Once you start installing the fence, you will mark each corner and post.
To ensure that your fence is straight, you’ll want to run a string between your stakes. Keep in mind if there are curves and/or slopes that need to be considered, you’ll want to make sure your measurements are more detailed.
Hopefully, this post has helped you understand exactly what you need to know about installing a fence in your yard and given you the motivation to improve your property with a fence.
If you’re interested in more DIY and home improvement projects, check out our list of ideas here.
