Today, metal panels and posts framing a front yard are most likely aluminum or steel that evokes the look of wrought iron—for far less. Here’s what you need to know to sort through the options
In Colonial times, only the wealthiest could afford to import wrought—meaning hand-shaped—ironwork for their fine brick and stone townhouses. By the early 1800s, however, as blacksmithing grew domestically, ornamental iron began to embellish the more varied house styles of the day. Such metalwork really peaked in popularity during the Victorian era, when foundries started casting and mass-producing elaborate pickets, posts, and scroll details.
These days, metal fences aim to suggest traditional iron using more-available steel or weatherproof aluminum, usually with hollow pickets made to resemble solid 5⁄8-inch square bars. The lighter-weight panels come together with fasteners, making installation easier. Even wrought iron’s classic glossy-black paint is upgraded with a longer-lasting, multistep powder-coating process that greatly reduces maintenance. When restoration projects call for true wrought iron, a craftsman has to rely on salvaged material that can be melted down to be reworked by hand, making genuine wrought-iron fencing prohibitively expensive. What is marketed as wrought iron today is often solid steel (though solid aluminum can also be found), dressed up with -machine-made scrolls and cast details, such as rosettes. A custom fabricator can mix materials and manufacturing methods, depending on the budget, pairing cast-iron details with hollow-steel pickets that save on material costs. Some high-end manufacturers use molds to cast iron fence panels that feature shapes found in Victorian-era ornamental ironwork catalogs, but the product comes at a price—$125 and up per linear foot.
Find out which type and style of fence will best flatter your house, while preserving your bank balance—and enhance the view from the curb.
Shown: The simple lines of this solid-steel fence echo the understated style of a brick rowhouse. Cast ball finials top each hollow post, while staggered cast details add a pleasing rhythm to pickets welded to rails along the top and bottom.
What do they cost?
Depending on style, a 4-foot-tall prefab fence panel in tubular aluminum runs $10 to $14 per linear foot, uninstalled. The same panel in hollow steel starts at $15; in solid steel, at $84; and in cast iron, at $125.
DIY or hire a pro?
If you’re an experienced DIYer, assembling and/or installing a hollow aluminum or steel fence is feasible, if you don’t mind digging post holes and pouring the concrete. Let a pro handle heavier solid steel or cast iron.
How much maintenance?
Not much, compared with, say, a wood fence. Scratches on steel or iron need to be recoated with paint to prevent rust. Rust-proof aluminum requires virtually none.
How long do they last?
Protect the finish and you can get 20 years or more from hollow steel. A solid-steel, cast-iron, or tubular-aluminum fence can last a lifetime.
