Do You Need a Chain Link Fence?

By Texas Rural Fence, Inc. · Construction How-Tos and Fence Types

Chain link gets a bad reputation it has not earned. People picture a rusty silver fence around a lot in town. What we build most of is black vinyl-coated chain link that fades into the trees on a lake lot and holds a dog for twenty years without a day of upkeep. Chain link is the fence for a surprising number of jobs around Lake Livingston. It is not the fence for every job. Here is the honest sorting.

Chain link is the right fence when

• The job is holding a dog and the look is secondary. Four to six feet, bottom tension wire, done.
• The lot is wooded or on the water and you want to see through the fence. Black coated chain link disappears.
• The ground slopes. Chain link racks with the grade better than any panel fence.
• Nobody will maintain it. Rentals, second homes, commercial lots.
• It is a pool, a commercial lot or an equipment yard with a code or a security need.
• The budget has to cover a lot of footage. Chain link costs less than wood, ornamental or aluminum.

Chain link is the wrong fence when

• You want privacy. Slats help, but a wood privacy fence or R-panel does it properly.
• It is the front yard of a nice house. Ornamental, aluminum or picket will look right; chain link will not.
• The HOA says no. Many allow it in back only.
• It is pasture. Chain link is expensive per foot for livestock; field fence or barbed wire does the job for less.

The choices once you decide yes

Coating: galvanized (silver) or vinyl-coated (black, green, brown). Height: four feet for most dogs and yards, five or six for big dogs and pools, six to eight for commercial. Gauge: 11 or 11½ for residential, 9 for commercial and security. Mesh: two-inch standard; smaller where climbing matters. Extras: privacy slats, bottom tension wire, top rail, gates with self-closing hardware for pools. See chain link fence for how we build it.

What makes a chain link fence last

Posts in concrete, terminal posts heavier and deeper, fabric stretched with a come-along rather than by hand, coated framework and fittings, and sealed cut ends. A chain link fence built that way is standing in twenty years. One built on shallow posts with hand-pulled fabric is bellied in two. Metal fence compares chain link with the other metal styles.