If it’s been a while since you found yourself looking at the periodic table of elements, you wouldn’t be alone. While some people enjoy illustrious careers in chemistry and engineering, most people remember the periodic table from their time in high school chemistry and not much else. Many people don’t remember it at all, perhaps a function of their brains blocking out the traumatic moments in lab titrating solutions with partners they would never have chosen themselves. Regardless of your current understanding of the wide world of elements, this blog will bring you up to speed as they relate to fencing. Specifically, we’ll focus on how iron and aluminum stack up side-by-side as building materials.
Fence Cost
While aluminum fencing is more expensive to produce, as a fencing product it enjoys significant cost advantages over wrought iron. Overall, wrought iron can be more difficult to work with and maintain, increasing the costs of fencing dramatically. There are also times in which the upfront costs of aluminum fencing material can be cheaper than wrought iron.
Material Weight
Aluminum weighs about three times less than iron. This has a significant impact on the ease of installation, making aluminum easier to transport and implement. At Fencing Direct, we ship products to your door at a savings and we love aluminum for its ability to get from our warehouse and assembled in your yard quickly and easily.
Ease of Fence Installation
If you’ve ever visited the French Quarter of New Orleans, you’ve probably witnessed the enduring metalwork of Haitian artists in the wrought iron ornaments lining the famous balconies. Indeed, wrought iron fences often reflect the skill and determination of the craftspeople who created them. Yet, as a fencing product for home installation, wrought iron is much more rare. It doesn’t often come in kits, meaning that those looking to install wrought iron fences will need to do much of the design and calculations themselves. Beyond that, the lack of available kits provides little instruction or support for installing wrought iron fencing.
Aluminum, on the other hand, is widely available in kits. Fencing Direct provides fencing kits with comprehensive installation instructions and accessible professional support. Its density: strength ratio makes it perfect for moving around on a small, residential scale without any heavy equipment. Our staff is available to advise you from the planning stage up until you’re satisfied with the finished product. Browse our catalog of over 2,000 products for one suits that your needs and check out our Fence Builder software tool to design and order to your exact specifications.
Aluminum vs. Wrought Iron Maintenance
Iron’s chemical structure means that it is likely to give up electrons when exposed to oxygen. This process, oxidation, requires moisture and results in flaking and degradation known as rust. Taking care of wrought iron fences, then, can be an exercise in fighting off the inevitable. Often, paint, oil, or other products are applied in order to provide a protective barrier between the iron and oxygen. Still, these solutions prove temporary and are likely to degrade over time, exposing the iron and leaving it vulnerable.
Aluminum’s electrons, on the other hand, react with oxygen to form a thin oxide film that shields the aluminum from oxygen and oxidation. While aluminum can still rust, this process is much more chemically difficult and can take more time to occur. Given this, fence owners will spend much less time re-coating and maintaining aluminum fences than iron ones.
Design options
Aluminum offers very similar style options to wrought iron and our website has multiple options that look similar to their wrought iron counterparts. These accents can take a more minimalist design and enhance it with flourishes of old-world charm.
The alternating pointed picket on the Clearfield fence also provides an appealing design that can complement a variety of architectural styles. It features a protective bar over the points, making it the best of both worlds of safety and aesthetics. The Huntington design is an all-pointed picket fence for those less concerned about injury or hazard.
Pools and Water
Wrought iron’s main weakness is rust, which requires water and whose reactivity is increased in conditions of high moisture. For this reason, its durability will be drastically reduced around bodies of water and humid environments like coastal areas and pools. Aluminum will excel in these places given its less reactive chemical composition
Fencing Direct Aluminum Fences: A Solution for Every Need
Our value at Fencing Direct cannot be beat. We provide top quality product from the top manufacturers and ship it to your door at a savings. Aluminum fences are a key part of our inventory given their advantages over their counterparts, especially their strength and durability compared to iron and steel. Our service professionals are standing by to answer any questions you have about designing and implementing your fencing dreams. Give us a call today to discuss how we can be a part of making your home more beautiful and safe.
