Just because you can tell wrought iron from chain link doesn’t mean you know everything about fencing. No, sir. Even we professionals are always learning something new. Technological improvements and innovative ideas also change the way fences are designed and built. This week, we’ll look at three unusual fence options that not everybody knows about.
Fences to absorb noise
For most 21st century Americans, the world is a noisy place. Highways, A/C units, construction, shrieking toddlers, swimming pool equipment – the hum of activity never stops, especially in summer when you’re more likely to go outside or have your windows open.
Sound-blocking fences can give you peace and quiet. Products on the market use various materials to dampen noise. These include rolls of mass-loaded vinyl, acoustic blankets, and fiber cement composite panels. Your noise solution could be as simple as building a wooden fence lined with noise-absorbing blankets around your A/C unit.
Whether you own a business that’s staying open during noisy construction or you’re tired of your next door neighbor’s non-stop partying, a fence professional can determine the best material for your noise situation and budget. Buzz offers noise abatement panels as an add-on feature for any fence style.
Living Fences
Living fences aren’t a new idea. In fact, Mr. George Washington himself tried to make them catch on. He used living fences at Mount Vernon to block out deer and marauders.
A living fence is a tight hedge or other type of plant matter that serves the same functions of a manufactured fence. You can also combine the manufactured with the living by growing vines over your chain link or lattice fence, or adding a line of bamboo in front of your fence. This looks attractive, provides privacy and serves as a wildlife habitat for bugs, bees, butterflies and other little critters. Other benefits include providing a windbreak, preventing against wind erosion and keeping soil more moist. If your yard is on a slope, hedges can help decrease rainfall erosion.
Elder, Chinese chestnut and Siberian pea shrubs all make decent fences. Washington favored honey locust trees planted them close together.
Purple Fence Panels
If you live in Texas, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, Maine, Florida, Idaho, Arkansas, Montana, Arizona or Kansas, pay attention: Purple fence posts mean NO TRESPASSING. We put that in all caps so our customers won’t get shot.
The Purple Paint Law allows landowners to signify stay out by painting a pole or fence post on the edge of their property purple.
Here’s an excerpt from Penal Code § 30.05. Criminal Trespass:
“the placement of identifying purple paint marks on trees or posts on the property, provided that the marks are:
(i) vertical lines of not less than eight inches in length and not less than one inch in width;
(ii) placed so that the bottom of the mark is not less than three feet from the ground or more than five feet from the ground; and
(iii) placed at locations that are readily visible to any person approaching the property and no more than:
(a) 100 feet apart on forest land; or
(b) 1,000 feet apart on land other than forest land”
If this is news to you, you might be surprised to know that Arkansas has had this law in effect since 1987. Time to build our time machine and go back 30 plus years to buy stock in purple paint.
Why is this law so important? Because many people get shot every year on their own land by trespassing hunters. Remember, purple means keep out.
Your own special fence
Do you have a noisy AC unit you need help quieting down? Would you like advice on how to combine a living fence with your existing less-than-beautiful chain link? At Buzz, we delight in helping our customers fill their fencing needs, whether you’re looking for a more mainstream fence or something truly unusual. Give us a call today.
