Choosing Fencing for Snowy Weather Conditions

Read on for help choosing the best fencing material for the potentially snowy weather conditions we get in our area.

This area sees an amazing variety of weather conditions, from beautiful temperate springs (and the pouring rain they bring) to scorching summers and crisp falls. But this time of year, the thing on everyone’s mind is snow. We do get a pretty good dose of snow most years, and occasionally we get a winter that gives us way more than enough. While it is impossible to predict how much snow a year will actually deliver, we can predict how well your fence might survive the season. Read on for help choosing the best fencing material for the potentially snowy weather conditions we get in our area.

Choosing The Material

The material that you choose for your fence requires careful consideration. When you’re thinking about snowy weather, metal cannot be beat. Metal will not absorb water like wood can, making it a better choice in wet weather. Metal also needs less maintenance than wood fencing – if you aren’t maintaining your wood fence, you are setting it up to fail. Metal also tends to be sturdier than other choices like vinyl. Vinyl is a great fencing material, but it will bend and break before metal will. If metal is outside of your budget, vinyl is the next best choice for winter weather resistant fencing. Modern vinyl is often reinforced, making it extremely durable.

Choosing The Style

While the potential for snow should not be the end all be all of your fence style decision, it should contribute. When we get a lot of snow, it is often the very wet, very heavy variety. Our snows don’t tend to be light and fluffy. And heavy, wet snow is the type that can do the most damage to a fence. A privacy style fence can be perfect for a lot of reasons, but it also provides a solid surface for snow to land on and freeze to. All that snow building up on a privacy fence does make it more likely to come down. Rails or pickets provide less surface for this action to happen on, as does chainlink style fencing.

Choosing Professional Installation

Finally, when it comes to withstanding the harshest conditions of winter, the way your fence was installed matters. The posts need to be buried deep, below the frost line. This way, they are protected from the expanding and contracting action of the freeze-thaw cycle. If you must DIY your fence installation, make sure that you are doing it right and don’t skimp on the depth of those post holes.

The post Choosing Fencing for Snowy Weather Conditions appeared first on Hercules Fence.