An aluminum fence is the best when it comes to strength, beauty and durability. But they do have a bigger price tag as well. Aluminum fences can be custom designed to any ornamental style and powder coated with any color to give your fence the beauty and elegance it deserves. Aluminum fence is the king of fences, hands down.

Making an Aluminum Fence

It all starts in an Aluminum plant where the furnace melts and shapes molten aluminum into hollow pipes, angles, brackets, sheets etc. Aluminum fabricating companies like Ideal Aluminum, Ameristar, etc buy these pipes and other raw materials; shapes them, screw and weld them together to give it a shape of a fence or a gate. Once the structure is ready, it is passed through these big painting booths where they are actually powder coated instead of traditional paint. Finally it is passed through a baking oven and then a cooler before it comes out and is stacked and ready to be shipped to fence whole sellers. Most of the big manufacturer’s like Ideal Aluminum provide limited lifetime warranty on their products. They are pretty good and have set the industry standard for quality aluminum fence products. Now lets get into the details about aluminum fence pickets, rails, posts and panels. There is no industry standard or a naming convention when it comes to naming the different styles of fences. The bigger and the more famous company rules. So we will try to give dimensions instead of names or we could give both.

Aluminum Fence Tips

When you plan to buy an aluminum fence, first try and study the landscape of your property. If you have an uneven ground, then you will want to buy a fence that is rackable, or else you will end up having a stepping fence. If the pickets on an aluminum fence panel are welded together and not screwed, then installing such a fence on an uneven ground will create a stepping effect from panel to panel. So for uneven ground, it is best to have pickets screwed to the rails and post so that they can be aligned and racked to give the fence line an even look.

The strength of the metal frame depends on the quality of the aluminum and it’s thickness. Most of the manufacturers follow some basic industry standard by grading their products into three:

  • Residential
  • Commercial
  • Industrial

The residential being the thinnest and industrial being the toughest.

Aluminum Fence Color

Although aluminum fence can be powder coated with any color, when custom ordered, but the most frequently ordered colors are, Black, White, Bronze and Hunter Green.

Aluminum Fence Size

The residential grade panels are generally 6’ wide by 5’ high with 2” posts, .5” pickets and 1” rail. Where as the commercial and industrial vary a little from manufacturer to manufacturer. Usually with panels taller than 6’ and wider than 6’ and with 2.5” posts, .5” pickets and 1.5” rails.

Gates and Aluminum Fence

It is possible to build all kinds of ornamental gates with aluminum. You can custom order any design gate to enhance or match the accent of your home or building. Some of the manufacturers, who fabricate aluminum gates, also build steel gates, if the need was to arise. The manufacturers usually stock or have a catalog of design to choose from. But with aluminum, you can design your own gates and have it custom ordered. Pickets and rails in a gate are usually welded together to make it more impact resistant. You definitely do not want to have a gate with pickets and rails screwed or riveted on. It must be welded.

Aluminum Gate Types

There are three main types of gates

  • Single Swing
  • Double Swing
  • Slide Gate
  • Estate Gate

Each estate gate is designed and engineered for every application. Every estate gate is fully welded with heavy framework to eliminate deflection and sagging. The manufacturers also provide walk gate to match the fence style. Walk gates usually have the same look and style as the fence itself. They might just be welded instead of screwed on or riveted. All welded frame allows for strength and durability while not compromising the look. In addition to the standard walk gates you can design your walk gate with an arched top, rings, finials, and scrolls to accent your entrance.