This article is about the structure. For other meanings, see Fence (disambiguation).

{|align=right A fence is a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary. It is generally distinguished from a wall by the lightness of its construction: a wall is usually restricted to such barriers made from solid brick or concrete, blocking vision as well as passage (though the definitions overlap somewhat).

Fences are constructed for several purposes, including:

• Agricultural fencing, to keep livestock in or predators out
• Privacy fencing, to provide privacy
• Security fencing, to prevent trespassing or theft and/or to keep children and pets from wandering away
• Decorative fencing, to enhance the appearance of a property or garden

Some of the technologies developed for fencing include:

• Barbed wire fence
• Chain link fencing
• Electric fence
• Hedgerows of intertwined, living shrubs (constructed by hedge laying)
• Palisade
• Picket fences, generally a waist-high, painted, partially decorative fence
• Post-and-rail fencing
• Rock fence, generally agricultural
• Split-rail fences made of timber, often laid in a zig-zag pattern, particularly in newly-settled parts of the United States
• Stake-and-wire fencing
• Ha-ha (or sunken fence)
• Turf mounds in semiarid grasslands such as the western United States or Russian steppes
• Wood-panel fencing
• Snow fence

Alternatives for a fence are a hedge or a ditch (occasionally with water, that is, a moat).

A balustrade or railing is a kind of fence to prevent people from falling over the edge, for example, on a balcony, stairway (see railing system), roof, bridge, or elsewhere near a body of water, places where people stand or walk and the terrain goes steeply down, and so on.

Requirement for fences

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The following facility types have to be fenced in:

• facilities with open high-voltage equipment (transformer stations, mast radiators). Transformer stations are usually surrounded with barbed-wire fences. Around mast radiators, wooden fences are used to avoid the problem of eddy currents.
• railway lines (in the UK)
• plants with dangerous mobile parts (for example at roundabouts on entertainment parks)
• explosive factories and quarry stores
• most industrial plants
• airfields
• military areas
• prisons
• zoos and wildlife parks
• open-air areas that charge an entry fee
• domestic swimming and spa pools (in New Zealand)

Legal issues of dividing fences

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Fences can be the source of bitter arguments between neighbours, and there are often special laws to deal with these problems. Common disagreements include what kind of fence is required, what kind of repairs are needed, and how to share the costs.

In some legislatures the standard height of a fence is limited, and to exceed it a special permit is required.

Quotes about fences

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"Good fences make good neighbors." - Robert Frost

"A good neighbor is a fellow who smiles at you over the back fence, but doesn't climb over it." - Arthur Baer

"There is something about jumping a horse over a fence, something that makes you feel good. Perhaps it's the risk, the gamble. In any event it's a thing I need." - William Faulkner

"Fear is the highest fence." - Dudley Nichols

See also

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• Wire obstacle
• Separation wall

References

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• Encyclopedia Britannica (1982). Vol IV, Fence.

Fences

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