The White Picket Fence: Deceptively Simple

While the white picket fence is the most common type of picket fence, some homeowners elect to leave their fences in their natural wood appearance. Traditionally, these fences are made from wood but, more and more, it's not unusual to find plastic fences that imitate wood. While the white picket fence has come to symbolize the negative characteristics of suburbia in recent years, it is still considered the most American of all fences and remains among the most popular fence we choose to install.

The Real Purpose
Many people think of fences as defining a property's boundary and maintaining a homeowner's privacy. While a fence can serve these functions, the more common reason people choose a picket fence is to enhance the beauty of your yard. The fence expert is the landscape designer not the home security contractor. Pickets are often best used in conjunction with flowers, bushes, or vines. A white picket fence will allow a number of color combinations with different floral palates. The nature of this fence is to give your home an unassuming, country feel to your home that will welcome your neighbors. Many homeowners also think the picket fence is perfect in combination with their stone walls.

Installation
Installation of your picket fence is closely related to its function. Just like any installation project, there are common pitfalls the do-it-yourselfer must avoid, such as digging holes into wires, pipes, or sprinkler lines, properly racking panels for ground slopes, and precisely plumbing and surveying fence posts. If you do decide to take on this project by yourself, make sure the wood you use has been pressure-treated.

That said, while the typical do-it-yourselfer should have little problem installing a basic, functional picket fence, hiring a landscaping company is best to optimize the beautifying effect of your fence. The do-it-yourselfer will most likely use standard, preassembled fence panels. A landscape company will be able to provide advice and proper installation of more ornate and undulating fences that will soften the lines of your home and help catch the eye of your would-be admirers.

The Post and Rail Fence
A very similar fence is the post and rail fence. Perhaps the simplest fence one can choose; posts are joined by one, two, or three horizontal rails. Like the picket, the post and rail fence is primarily decorative, but unlike pickets, a post and rail has significantly more open space. In other words, if you're looking for a fence to enhance and frame a garden or certain landscaped area, this might be the fence for you, but if you're looking for a decorative fence that still provides a certain amount of privacy and seclusion, you'll want to stick with the picket.

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