03/03/2024
Wooden vs Steel and Reused Metal Fence Detail Comparison
These drawings compare two materials for fences - wood, arguably the most common residential fence material in the US, and steel & reused metal. I've been considering fireproof fence materials for several years since wildfires occur frequently in Eastern Washington's shrub steppe. One such fire years ago was visible from my house, and I've realized that even a house that doesn't directly abut shrub steppe habitat may still be close enough to wildfires to be at risk. Beside metal, fence materials I've considered are gabion and cob. Both of these methods take much more work to construct, which is why I've depicted metal here. Metal can get very hot in the summer, so using another material such as wood for gate handles is a good idea. I hope this comparison can urge designers and homeowners working in fire-prone areas to explore fire-proof fence materials or at least protect buildings from fire by putting metal flashing between wooden fences and buildings. I’ve seen some creative fence designs with reused metal, which I think should be feasible to source, but the image shown here most likely doesn’t depict a reused metal fence, just a corrugated metal fence.
Details made in AutoCAD by Miguel Symonds Orr. Isometric made in Rhino 7. Textures and photos from Fitzpatrick Fence & Rail, Project Construction LLC, Jan Dvorak, MILO TEXTURES, Deposit Photos/Sutichak, Freepik, Arthur Hidden. The fourth image is from Project Construction LLC.