5 Things to Look for When Buying a Wrought Iron, Ornamental Steel or Aluminum Fence

If you’re in the market for a steel, iron or aluminum fence, you are probably overwhelmed by all the different choices and prices out there.

Let's go over 5 key things you should look for when buying an iron, steel or aluminum fence to help make you a more educated shopper.

Key Item #1: The Fence Finish

The first key item to look into is how the fence is finished. By finish, we mean the protective coating put on your fence pieces. When shopping online, it’s easy for every fence to look well-finished with nice, shiny pictures. However, a little research on your end will ensure that your fence remains that way for decades to come.

Regardless of it being an iron, steel or aluminum fence you want to ensure your final finish is a properly applied high quality powder coating. Just because a product states its power coated, doesn’t mean it will hold up to the test of time. We utilize a high-quality TGIC powder coating on all our products. This TGIC powder coating is more resistant to shrinking, cracking and spider–webbing. We also go the extra step of using a TGIC powder coat that has UV fade inhibitors.

In addition to the finish material, you also want to look into how its applied. Both our Stronghold Iron and Infinity Aluminum product lines are put through a 4-stage cleaning and treating process prior to our final finish is applied.

Key Item #2: Fence Construction

This is an area where manufacturing shortcuts can be made to offer a cheaper price, but can also severely drop the quality and longevity of a fence.


A quality iron, steel or aluminum fence such as your Stronghold Iron and Infinity Aluminum pieces here will have a punched rail with the picket fed through and attached. Steel and Iron fences that are riveted or screwed together often scrape and scratch the finish due to that movement.

If you are looking for a quality aluminum fence you want to look at your panel railing and its connection to the post along with if the piece comes fully assembled.

Some aluminum fence makers will advertise a lower price for an unassembled fence panel. This makes it easier for them to ship, but in the end you are only getting a slight reduction in price for potentially a lot of work and a lesser quality piece.

Another key element of a quality aluminum fence is the shape of its horizontal railing. With aluminum being a lighter and easier to bend material than steel or iron, you want to be sure that the pieces are built to withstand some abuse.

Lastly, look at how the aluminum fence panel rail connects to the post. Aluminum fence installs by having the fence panel rail fit inside a punch on the post. We do a routed punch in our aluminum posts that follows the shape of our fence railing. Our competitor’s posts utilize a large square punch.

Key Item #3: Fence Material Size and Thicknesses

The next key item is to research when buying a fence is to review the fence specifications to see the size and thickness of materials used. This is another area where a cheaper fence panel that ‘looks’ the same as a more expensive one can be hiding lesser quality. If you pay 10% less for a fence panel that is utilizing components that are 50% thinner, you’re actually paying more for less materials and quality.


Key Item #4: What Warranty Do They Offer?

Most fence companies will offer some sort of warranty, but you want to make sure you understand how long the warranty is good for and what it covers. Our Stronghold Iron warranty is the longest in the industry at 25 years and our Infinity Aluminum comes with a limited Lifetime Warranty.

Just as important as the length of the warranty, you want to be sure to make sure there are no hidden stipulations. Our Stronghold Iron and Infinity Aluminum warranties can be downloaded any time from the Specifications section of our Knowledge Center on the website.

Key Item #5: Who Am I Buying From?

This one can be a little trickier. Especially when shopping online. Everyone likes to say they have excellent customer service and that their company can be trusted. However, do they have anything to back that up? We are an A+ rated member of the Better Business Bureau and our Testimonials page within the Knowledge Center of our website shows many glowing reviews and completed project pictures from satisfied customers across the country.

I hope this video has helped educate you on what to look for in a quality iron, steel or aluminum fence. There are a lot of options out there and you want to be careful to not shop on price alone. Saving a couple hundred bucks now on a poor quality fence will actually cost you more in the long run when you have to replace it 5 years down the line rather than buying a quality fence that will last you a lifetime.

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