{"id":1081,"date":"2019-02-01T11:46:11","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T16:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ironfenceshop.com\/blog\/?p=1081"},"modified":"2019-02-01T12:04:26","modified_gmt":"2019-02-01T17:04:26","slug":"the-pros-and-cons-of-wrought-iron-fence-and-wrought-iron-gates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ironfenceshop.com\/blog\/the-pros-and-cons-of-wrought-iron-fence-and-wrought-iron-gates\/","title":{"rendered":"The Pros and Cons of Wrought Iron Fence and Wrought Iron Gates"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Our<\/a>
Our 3ft Tall Classic Style Iron Fence in Traditional Grade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We live in a day and age\u00a0of various\u00a0options both online and in stores.\u00a0 While choice is good, trying to figure out the best fence option to go with can be dizzying.\u00a0 \u00a0Personal preferences, project budget and availability can all weigh down on the decision making process when buying a fence.\u00a0 I thought it may be beneficial to put together a list of pros and cons for\u00a0choosing a wrought iron fence and share them with you.<\/p>\n

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Let’s start with the pros of going with a wrought iron fence:<\/p>\n

PRO #1 – STRENGTH AND DURABILITY<\/span><\/h3>\n

When it comes to a strong a durable fence, wrought iron is hard to beat.\u00a0 The steel and iron construction when coated properly (like we do with our galvanization and high quality powder coating) should outlast you!\u00a0 Many other types of fence degrade over time and while they are cheaper, you are replacing them every 5-10 years.\u00a0 A quality iron fence should last for decades.\u00a0 That’s why many iron fences built back in the late 1800s and early 1900s can still be found in existence today.<\/p>\n

PRO # 2 – A TIMELESS AND BEAUTIFUL LOOK<\/span><\/h3>\n

Many types and styles of fence have come over the years, but wrought iron fence and gates have been around for well over\u00a0200 years at this point and have never really gone out of style.\u00a0 Even the most modern looking home can be accented with an iron fence and gate in the proper style.\u00a0 The look of wrought iron fence fits the look of older historic homes like a glove.\u00a0 Nothing looks worse than a beautiful turn-of-the-century home with a tacky vinyl fence in front of it that looks completely out of place.\u00a0 Wrought iron fence is very versatile for the type of applications and styles of home it can be used around.<\/p>\n

PRO# 3 – SECURITY<\/span><\/h3>\n

This sort of goes hand-in-hand with strength, but it really\u00a0merits a separate Pro because of how well iron fence and gates can help act as a security barrier.\u00a0 The strength helps prevent simple destruction\u00a0that vinyl and cheap aluminum call fall prey to.\u00a0 The upright picket and rail construction makes climbing the fence harder unlike chain link and many wood fences that can give easy hand and footholds.\u00a0 The steel and iron construction also allows for optional welding of the panels to the post for an extremely strong and secure fence.\u00a0 Lastly, the open and see-through design of most iron fences gives a greater view.\u00a0 A solid wood or vinyl privacy fence may keep people from seeing in, but it also provides a hiding spot for an intruder once they are on the inside of the fence.<\/p>\n

PRO #4\u00a0– A HIGHER END APPEARANCE<\/span><\/h3>\n

While I may be a bit biased, iron fence and gates give an air of sophistication and beauty that many other types of fence do not.\u00a0 While fence types like chain link, vinyl and wood do provide a barrier, they are more functional than nice looking.\u00a0 In some instances, those fences can give a lower end look to a home whereas an iron fence can compliment and make a house much more attractive with better curb appeal.\u00a0 We sell just as many iron fences to folks wanting to aesthetically improve and compliment the look of their home as we do to folks wanting a barrier for pets and kids.<\/p>\n

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As with anything in life, there is often a downside to every upside.\u00a0 Here are some of the cons to be aware of when using a wrought iron fence:<\/p>\n

CON #1 – DEALING WITH RUST<\/span><\/h3>\n

I hesitated to add this one to the con list\u00a0since how the iron fence is coated makes a WORLD of difference in how much rust you will encounter over time.\u00a0 However, in all fairness I wanted to include it since folks are often concerned about rust when going with a wrought iron fence.\u00a0 We have had fences standing for over 25 years with no finish issues and only minor touch up maintenance over that time period.\u00a0 I have also seen cheap iron and steel fence completely rotted through with rust in less than 2 years.\u00a0 It really comes down to doing your homework on how the pieces are coated, the warranty tied to that iron fence line and the company standing behind the warranty.\u00a0 I tell folks that with our Stronghold Iron line, its best to think of the fence in terms of a car’s paint.\u00a0 If you get a rock chip to bare metal on your hood, you have to touch it up.\u00a0 Every style of fence of the market can suffer from some kind of degradation whether it be old brittle vinyl,\u00a0corroded\u00a0and pitting aluminum or rotting wood.<\/p>\n

CON #2 – COST<\/span><\/h3>\n

If the price of a wrought iron fence seems too good to be true, it probably is.\u00a0 There is no denying that a properly built and coated wrought iron fence or gate is going to cost more than a discount aluminum, vinyl or wood fence.\u00a0 However, when you weigh the strength and longevity of the iron fence and gates, that price gap over time really isn’t as wide as you think.\u00a0 However, if you are on a tight budget a quality iron fence or gate\u00a0 at a low price can be tough to come by.<\/p>\n

CON# 3 – INABILITY TO FOLLOW GRADE<\/span><\/h3>\n

While the welded solid construction of an iron fence does wonders for how strong it is, that can also limit its use in hilly or heavily graded yards.\u00a0 While a mild slope can easily be handled with a stair-stepped installation of iron fence, steep slopes may present an issue without customization.\u00a0 Some companies have made ornamental steel panels that will rack\/ bias\/ angle to follow grade, but they all end up compromising strength and often lead to rust spots on the pieces where the panel bends or pivots.\u00a0 We chose to stick with the welded solid construction that wrought iron has always had rather than a quick fix that could compromise the fence down the line.\u00a0 A hilly yard isn’t a deal breaker for using iron, but you will have to make some extra considerations.<\/p>\n

CON #4 – AVAILABILITY<\/span><\/h3>\n

Those of us still making quality wrought iron fence and gates are getting harder to find by the year.\u00a0 This is due to the fact that a lot of the factors that make iron fence great also make it more costly and labor intensive to produce.\u00a0 I can throw a rock and hit\u00a020 companies making aluminum fence to only one or none making iron fence.\u00a0 Is this because aluminum is better and more desired?\u00a0 Not really.\u00a0 Its because to become an aluminum fence maker you only need an extruder and some cheap labor.\u00a0 Its easier to sell lots of cheaply made\u00a0aluminum fence than sell a higher quality wrought iron fence at a higher price.<\/p>\n

——<\/p>\n

I hope these pros and cons of using wrought iron fence and gates\u00a0assists you in your search for a new fence.\u00a0 As always, if you have any other questions or concerns about using iron fence and gates, don’t hesitate to drop us an email or give us a call.\u00a0 We’re here to help!<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We live in a day and age\u00a0of various\u00a0options both online and in stores.\u00a0 While choice is good, trying to figure out the best fence option to go with can be dizzying.\u00a0 \u00a0Personal preferences, project budget and availability can all weigh down on the decision making process when buying a fence.\u00a0 I thought it may be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,11,10,3],"tags":[369,370,375,374,367,366,365,373,372,371,368],"class_list":["post-1081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buying-fence","category-iron-fence-vs-aluminum-fence","category-things-to-know-before-buying-fence","category-iron-fence-gates","tag-buying-iron-fence","tag-buying-iron-gates","tag-fence-comparisons","tag-gate-comparisons","tag-iron-fence-comparison","tag-iron-fence-cons","tag-iron-fence-pros","tag-iron-gate-comparisons","tag-iron-gate-cons","tag-iron-gate-pros","tag-iron-pros-and-cons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ironfenceshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ironfenceshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ironfenceshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ironfenceshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ironfenceshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1081"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.ironfenceshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1347,"href":"https:\/\/www.ironfenceshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1081\/revisions\/1347"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ironfenceshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ironfenceshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ironfenceshop.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}