Which Iron Fence or Aluminum Fence Height is Best for My DIY Project?

As you begin shopping for a fence, you may be wondering which iron or aluminum fence height may be best for your project. So, today I wanted to go over some considerations when choosing a fence height and review each of our standard offerings.

To give you a frame of reference, I’m in the photo and I stand 5’9” tall.
Both our iron and aluminum fences come in standard 3ft, 4ft, 5ft and 6ft tall heights. I’ve added a base under our stands that adds about 2” to the height.

If your project calls for a fence height taller, shorter or in-between our standard heights don’t fret. We can make a custom height fence for you. We’ve done pieces as short as 1ft and as tall as 8ft.

Now let’s go ahead and take a look at each standard height individually to give you a better view of each one.

The first one is our 3ft tall fence. This height is often used in more decorative ways with smaller yards, patios and gardens. It’s also a great height for use on top of masonry walls built of brick, stone or stucco. 3ft tall is good if you are looking to mark or block an area off, but don’t want the fence to be obtrusive on any view into our out of the yard. This fence height is short enough that most people and larger dogs can usually get over the fence with some effort. 3ft tall shines as a decorative accent for smaller projects, but if your goal is keeping animals and people out, or if its being used to block off any sort of drop off, you will probably want to go with a taller fence height.

Next we have our 4ft tall fence. This height is by far the most popular one we sell. It’s tall enough to make getting over it more effort for a person and it should keep in most dogs unless they are very large and agile. You can still walk up to a 4ft fence, put an elbow up on it and have a conversation with someone on the other side. At this height, you won’t be blocking any views from a standing or seated position and it won’t give any kind of an enclosed feeling even if its installed very close to the house. It works equally well installed at yard height or on top of shorter masonry knee walls. If you are looking for the best ‘all-around’ fence height, you really can’t go wrong with 4ft tall.

Up next we have our 5ft tall fence. At 5ft tall I can still see over the fence, but it’s beginning having more of a barrier or enclosure feeling to it. 5ft is tall enough to keep just about any type of dog from jumping over it. It’s also tall enough that someone trying to get over it is going to have to put some significant effort into it.
A 5ft fence is a good compromise of wanting to keep people and animals in or out without being so tall that you cannot clearly see over it.

Lastly, we have our 6ft tall fence. At this height, I cannot see over the fence. You will be talking through the fence rather than over it to another person. 6ft tall fence is good if you want to send more of a ‘stay out’ security message with the fence. It’s also good if you want to make a larger area feel more enclosed and cozy. We sell quite a bit of our 6ft tall fence in the heavy-duty Signature grade as a security perimeter fence.

Some factors to consider if you were still unsure which fence height would be best are the style of your house and the fence’s proximity to it. A taller 2 or 3 story house may dwarf a shorter fence height, whereas a single story home may make a taller fence look more imposing than you intended. The proximity of the fence to your house will play a role too. The further away from your house the fence will be, the more a shorter fence will tend to disappear into the landscape or look smaller than intended whereas a taller fence may look more in scale. As an example, a 6ft tall fence hundreds of feet away from a single story home may look fine whereas it being 50ft away from the house may not.

I hope this has helped illustrate the different fence heights and how they look in relation to a person. If you want to see some more examples of how different heights look, be sure to visit our Photo Gallery in the Knowledge Center on our website.

If you have any other questions about our standard fence heights, or a potential custom fence height, give us a call at 800-261-2729 or shoot an email to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!

Jason Kauffman
Iron Fence Shop®
800-261-2729 Toll Free
[email protected]
www.ironfenceshop.com