Photo by Justin Veenema on Unsplash.

This piece on garden fences was written by freelance contributor Sally Perkins. Check out her website www.oudoorartpros.com.

Safe Garden Fences for Dogs

Dogs love being out in the garden, playing, sniffing, digging and exploring their environment. A good doggy garden needs to be secure so you are certain that your dog can’t get out, or into the neighbor’s garden, where they might not be welcomed visitors. Investing in good quality garden fencing is essential. You might also want to put smaller fencing round flower beds or vegetable patches to make sure that your dog keeps out of areas you want kept beautiful. 

Dogs that love digging

Some breeds of dogs are notorious for digging, huskies and spitz dogs create earth bowls to roll and sit in to keep cool. Terriers love to go digging to search for vermin and rodents and this can cause damage. Beagles and basset hounds commonly dig under fences to try and get to prey like squirrels. Younger dogs are often the culprits when trying to make a bid to escape under garden fences. Installing vinyl or PVC fencing that goes below ground level, protecting your dog from getting into any mischief. 

Strategic planting for safety

Some dogs are not diggers, but acrobats – they love to jump over the fences. Rather than putting up fences that are too high and obstruct the view out of the garden, it is a good idea to plant large, bushy shrubs in front of your fences. This will be a deterrent to dogs that are high leapers. Boxers are famous for this. When you are creating your dog friendly garden, just make sure that the shrubs you plant are not of a spiky variety. 

Using safety mesh

If you already have slatted wooden picket fencing around your home, using wire safety mesh is a good way of keeping small dogs from escaping the garden. Chihuahuas and toy breeds of a similar size can easily slip underneath fences. Look for a galvanised metal that doesn’t rust. Using mesh is a cost-effective way to ensure that your dogs is kept safely in your garden and can easily be taken up or down using heavy duty tackers and staples. It is unobtrusive and won’t detract from the quality of your picket fence. 

Dogs are true members of the family and keeping them safe is important. The garden is somewhere that dogs can run around and enjoy being outdoors, and a good quality fencing means that they can be secure and happy.

We are excited to release our new Quick Quote feature of our website! This tool enables you to draw your fence using Google Maps and will immediately give you the cost of your fence project. It’s a way to get instant fence quotes.

To check out this feature, click here to get your instant fence quote.

We are open to feedback, so please contact us with comments or questions.

Why Quick Quote?

The biggest question people want to know when they are thinking about a fence for their yard is, “How much will this cost?” Pricing a fence can be a tricky process because of all the extras required like posts, caps, and gates. Our Quick Quote feature is designed to make this easy. By simply drawing out your fence project and selecting your desired style of fence, you will immediately get a good estimate of your cost in the form of an instant quote. While this software has been tested extensively, there still may be a few quirks so we encourage you to provide us with feedback on your experience.

How to Use It?

To use our Quick Quote feature, you simply type in your address. Using a Google Maps API, you will be able to draw your desired fence lines on your property and add gates. If you mess up and want to restart, you can easily delete your existing fence run and start over. You can play around with multiple styles of fence and choose different kinds of fence styles and materials. Once you are satisfied, you click to finish and you’ll get a price for the fence you selected.

Get an instant fence quote has never been easier with our software. Go ahead- give it a try!

Why No-Dig Fence Works Well in Frost

Many moons ago, Clever Joe was a frustrated fence installer in Western Canada. The frost conditions are so bad up there that no matter how deep he dug his cement footings, they would still occasionally heave out of the ground. When a cement fence footing heaves out of the ground, it is virtually impossible to fix and can make the entire fence look bad.

A traditionally installed vinyl fence where the cement footing has heaved out of the ground due to frost

As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. Joe needed to find another way to install vinyl fence to avoid the chronic problem of heaving cement footings. This is what ultimately birthed no-dig vinyl fence. Once he perfected the installation method of driving pipe deep into the ground, his frost problems virtually went away for 2 reasons:

1. Cement footings create a “lip” that makes it much easier for frost to heave. A pipe anchor doesn’t have as much surface area so the frost has a much more difficult time heaving it.
2. If for some reason an occasional no-dig fence post did heave out of the ground, it was relatively easy to fix. One could easily dismantle the post and reset the leveling donut or even the pipe if necessary. It’s virtually impossible to fix a heaved cement footing but it’s very feasible to fix a heaved pipe anchor.

In short, no-dig fence works extremely well in areas with bad frost. WamBam’s no-dig fencing has been installed in some very cold climates with very few issues- from North Dakota to Winnipeg, Canada. While we can’t promise that a pipe will never heave, we can assure you that it will be fixable, which is not the case with a cement footing.

If you would like to discuss this in greater length with one of our fence specialists, feel free to call us at 877-778-5733.

Cleaning & Caring For Your Vinyl Fence Is Easy

The beauty of vinyl is that it’s maintenance free. Unlike wood, you will never need to paint or stain your vinyl fence which will save countless hours of time over the years. Having said that, once you invest in a vinyl fence you will want to take care of it to keep it looking fresh for years to come. Everything that is exposed to the weather and elements will start to look dirty and worn after a while if you don’t do some simple maintenance, and a vinyl fence is no exception. Here are 4 tips to help you care for and clean your vinyl fence.

1. A quick rinse with a garden hose

The easiest and quickest way to care for your fence is to attach a spray nozzle to your garden hose and give your fence a quick bath every month or two. This will rinse off surface dirt and ensure it doesn’t get caked on over the years. If you’ve let it go a little too long and have some especially tough dirt spots after rinsing your fence, keep reading!

2. A gentle bleach-based cleanser with a soft cloth

There may be some stubborn dirt spots that cling to your vinyl fence that need a little more elbow grease than a hose. In this case, a soft cloth with a mild bleach-based cleanser directly applied to the spot should easily remove it. Some brands we have used and like are SoftScrub and Mr. Clean. Varsol works well for extremely tough scuff marks, and a soft brush can also help with tougher stains. Just ensure that you do not use a stiff brush as it could scratch your vinyl fence. Please note that if you have a tan vinyl fence, you will not want to use a solution with bleach and we recommend testing any cleaning agent on a small, inconspicuous area of your tan vinyl fence to ensure that it does cause damage or discoloration.

3. The Magic Eraser

The Magic Eraser is a brand name cleaner that is like a sponge, and thus avoids the need for a cleanser and a cloth. Simply dampen the Magic Eraser and work away at your especially dirty spots. It works very well on eliminating the tougher stains and is safe for your fence. Please note that if you have a tan vinyl fence, you will not want to use a solution with bleach and we recommend testing any cleaning agent on a small, inconspicuous area of your tan vinyl fence to ensure that it does cause damage or discoloration.

4. Power Washing

If you have neglected your vinyl for some time and it’s in serious need of a bath, consider a power washer. The pressure from the water will be more effective in removing tough stains and dirt spots than a simple garden hose sprayer.

For Mildew:

In some parts of the country, mildew can be a problem with a fence. It will appear as black spots and usually begins to show up in areas where the rain doesn’t fall, such as under eaves and deck enclosures. For removal, try the following solution:

CAUTION: Greater concentrations may cause damage to the vinyl materials.

Mix together:
1/3 cup detergent (Tide, for example)
2/3 cup Trisodium Phosphate (Soilax, for example)
1 quart 5% Sodium Hypochlorite (Clorox, for example)
3 quarts of water

Wear some gloves and use this solution with a soft cloth or soft brush to remove the mildew spots. Please note that the chemical agents in this solution may be hazardous to the environment and your skin, so take care with both application and disposal.

With some simple maintenance, your vinyl fence will look fresh and new for many, many years to come. If you have any additional questions, please contact one of our fence consultants at 877-778-5733.