Most everyone enjoys the privacy of their backyard. But they don’t necessarily like the maintenance of keeping up a privacy fence. Wood is the most common type of fence. They require a fair amount of upkeep. That’s why many people are making the switch to a vinyl fence.

The most common color for a vinyl fence is white, but they come in several colors including cream and grey. They also have pickets that resemble wood grain. Vinyl fences also come in a variety of styles and heights.

Vinyl fences cost twice as much as wooden fences. But customers say they’re willing to pay that price for the convenience. Most vinyl fences come with a lifetime warranty. You never have to repaint. The only maintenance is soap and water once a year to keep the mold and mildew away.

Because of the skill and tools involved, qualified professionals should be hired to install your vinyl fence. They will call the local utility companies to have them mark where the utilities are before they begin the installation.

One of the first steps involved in installing a new vinyl fence is digging post holes. That’s done with an auger. If you buy a 6 foot fence, they’ll dig down 24 inches. They’ll dig down 36 inches if installing an eight foot fence because the higher fence needs more stability. Once the holes are dug and the posts are in place, they’ll set them in concrete. After the fence is in place, they’ll put rebar in the eight foot posts and seal them with concrete for extra support.

Typically, they’ll start in a corner and once they establish the fence line they’ll lay a string line so they will know exactly where to put the fence.

Once the posts are in place, they’ll put the first bottom rail in. To do that, they’ll use a crimping tool and put some notches on both ends of the bottom rail, so it fits in the specially cut out slot in the post.

Then the pickets can go up. Most of the fences have tongue and groove pickets. Because of that, they don’t use nails and that speeds up the installation. It also creates total privacy.

After the pickets are attached to one another, the installers will put a top rail over them to hold them in place. Top caps will also go over the posts to give them a nice look.

Gates also come in different sizes, so you can select the size that best suits your yard.

The average cost for a six foot fence runs about $25 a running foot. An eight foot fence will run about $40 a running foot. That’s twice that of a wooden fence, but vinyl fences are low maintenance and should stay looking great for a lifetime.

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