What are the Different Types of Wooden Privacy Fences?

Wooden privacy fences are a great way to add a feeling of seclusion and privacy to a yard, and it can also keep unwanted pests out or small children safely in the yard. While other materials are available for privacy fencing — including vinyl and metal — wooden privacy fences are sturdy, aesthetically pleasing, and easier to install than fences made from other materials. Kits are available as well, making construction of wooden privacy fences even easier. The types of privacy fences vary depending on how much privacy the owner wants, as well as the aesthetic design the owner is looking to achieve.

The most simple wooden privacy fences are made from wooden fence panels of vertical slats secured with horizontal beams near the top and bottom of the tightly spaced slats. Such panels can be made from scratch, but more commonly, the panels are purchased pre-assembled from a lumberyard or hardware store. Pre-fabricated panels are much easier to install, and since they are made from wood, they can be customized or adjusted to fit the posts dug into the ground. Such fences sometimes feature a hinged door to allow access to certain parts of the yard, and these doors are constructed similarly to the other panels.

A sound barrier is another variety of wooden privacy fences that keeps out unwanted guests as well as overwhelming sound. These fences are generally quite tall, and they often border roadways and busy streets. Concrete can also be used to block out sound, but if the owner of the fence wants to balance noise control with the aesthetics of the yard, a wood fence is a good choice. The fence panels in this case may be made from solid sheets of wood rather than panels to eliminate noise creeping through gaps in the slats.

Wooden privacy fences are by nature solid structures with no gaps in them, but trellis fencing can be added to the tops of such fences to add a visually pleasing accent to the otherwise plain fence. Trellises are sections of fence in varying sizes that are made from thin slats of wood overlapping each other. They usually overlap in a grid pattern or a criss-cross pattern, and there are significant gaps between each slat. Trellises are usually contained within a wooden frame to hold the slats together, and smaller sections of trellis fencing can be mounted at the top of the privacy fence to add aesthetic appeal.