My job has required me to travel quite extensively over the last year and a half.  I am a fence contractor so naturally I seem to notice fencing wherever I go.  My most recent travels to Southern Texas got me thinking, why is there so much wood fence in southern Texas.  It looks great when it is first installed but over time gets warped, discolored, and starts to fall apart.  Being in the fence industry, I know there are other options, and yet, when I visited Texas, all I really saw was wood fence.  When the old fence would get bad, they would just replace the bad section with new wood and this process continues over and over again.

In Arizona, almost all fencing is block masonry fencing.  Other areas such as the east often have no fencing at all in their neighborhoods.  So what makes people choose the fence they do and why is one type of fence predominant in an area?

My thoughts are this; people often choose their fencing because it is what they are used to.  They feel comfortable with it.  I was raised with a father that drove a truck, that was my first vehicle to drive, and I feel comfortable in trucks.  Yes, you guessed it, I drive a truck.  I think fencing is the same way, people get used to a look and feel and change is sometimes hard to swallow, even if it is there are other options that may be more practical for their conditions.  I remember the first time I heard of vinyl fencing.  I said, what is this plastic stuff?  But it really grew on me after I installed it for a homeowner for the first time.  The more I was around it, the more I felt comfortable with it, and now I install thousands of feet of it each week.

In addition to what is comfortable, I believe people choose the fencing that is affordable in their area.  I’m sure that in Texas, wood fence is affordable and readily available, just as I know block fencing is in Arizona.  Each region has different products that are available and more affordable and I am sure this plays a part in why people choose the fence they have.

My observances of new products in new areas are that it only takes a few pioneers to lead the way and others start to follow.  So the next time you see an old wood fence, you will probably think, why did they choose that fence and think of this article.  I know I do.