An Honest Contractor Assessment by Mulholland Gates
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In this article, we will consider the “pros and cons” of aluminum fence.
It’s pretty frustrating to research a fence project. Seems simple when you begin, but there’s a surprising amount of things to know! “What’s more important, privacy or security?” “How do I know I am getting quality for the money?” “Does it make a difference if I buy from China or from the US?” “What should a homeowner about installers?” Here we will take up, “What material should I use?” This might be the most important question of all.
Hello! I’m Avi Ben David, the owner, and CEO of Mulholland Brand. I’m also in my family’s second generation of being involved in home improvement. I’ve been helping people specifically with fences and gates since . My company has made thousands of gates and fences from all the conventional fence materials. We know what’s good about each one of these material as well as all of the drawbacks. We have hundreds of five-star reviews on Google and Yelp and other review sites that attest to our expertise.
You are in good hands.
In this article, we are going to discuss the pros and cons of aluminum. By the time you get through this article, you’ll have gained a lot of good knowledge about aluminum fencing, and this will be helpful in narrowing down your choices. You’re going to gain the confidence to help make subsequent decisions easier.
Now it’s best to be frank: I am a big advocate for aluminum. Aluminum is the core material that we work within our company. So, I lean in that direction. But, I don’t lean so far as to fall over! I can be objective about choosing fencing material and I’ll do my best to curb my enthusiasm for aluminum.
(Note: for easier reading, I will often use the word “fencing” as an embracing term to mean “gates and fences”.)
While aluminum solutions are amongst some of the newest products on the market, they are quickly becoming the most popular. Today we’ll outline some of the pros and cons of aluminum gates and fencing to help determine if this product is the best option for you and your home.
Aluminum is the most carefree, “get it and forget it” fencing material available. Unlike wood, it does not require re-painting or re-staining every few years. It also cannot rot or become infested with pests. Aluminum is not susceptible to rust like chain-link or wrought iron, so there is no worry of water damage. Plus, aluminum solutions are incredibly easy to clean, only needing a quick rinse with a hose or some warm soap and water for more intensive cleaning.
What? Privacy is a pro and a con? How can that be?
There are two major categories of aluminum fence styles.
The traditional, most well-known aluminum fencing design does not provide much privacy. If you are looking for fencing that will completely block the view of your home from the street, consider more modern, contemporary styles. (We are talking about the ubiquitous “wrought iron look”) Because of this, privacy can often be a con when looking at traditional aluminum fencing designs.
Recently, though, there have been offerings for solid profiles in aluminum fences and gates. This newer style does provide privacy, hence it being a pro as well. Unfortunately, not many people have seen or even heard of this style.
Note that prices go up considerably for privacy fencing such as this, primarily because there is a lot more aluminum in them!
Aluminum is neither the most expensive fencing nor the least expensive. Iit can be that there are higher “upfront costs” if we are comparing it to the lowest cost alternatives.
We’ve compared aluminum fencing to wood fencing in another article on this site. At the time of this writing, we are looking at 4 ft x 8 ft panels of Eastern Cedar fencing for just less than $40 a panel. Contrasted with the very lowest price of aluminum panels of the lowest acceptability of quality for that size would be about $110 a panel. The installation costs for both should be similar.
The trade-off is, of course, by paying the lower amount, you get the property fenced less expensively. In return, there will be time and money spent in upkeep. Upkeep isn’t a problem with aluminum. If not deliberately or accidentally damaged, aluminum fencing can last a lifetime.
So, If you need to go as cheap as possible, then wood picket fencing might be a good fit for you. Get the best you can afford and do your best to maintain it right from the beginning.
Eastern White Cedar is lower maintenance wood and is a good choice for a lower cost fence or gate. There normally isn’t a lot of trouble with it cracking or splitting. The surface sands to a nice smooth finish. This wood doesn’t tend to shrink or expand so much as other soft woods. It is also pretty lightweight, too.
To get the longest life from this material, you will need to prime and paint it or stain and seal. Additionally, periodic treatment, as often as once or twice a year, is required, depending on the climate in your area.
Cedar holds off the weather and insects better than most wood choices and it’s at the lower end in terms of cost for wood picket fencing.
The best you can do with the least expensive wood fencing is to see that it is installed correctly, paint it well, and keep your sprinklers off of it. Then paint or seal it again every year.
If you are tight on money and you are concerned about home security, I think it is often good sense to fence the property as best you can. Commit to maintaining it as you put your finances in order to eventually buy higher quality, lower maintenance fencing.
Low-maintenance fencing is a very new thing. People have been fencing their properties for thousands of years with very high-maintenance materials as that was all that was available.
And inexpensive wood can still be used to make beautiful fencing that helps in keeping you and your family safe. If you need a fence, and the only choice is “least expensive or nothing at all”, get the least expensive and secure your family and property.
Note that there is a wide range of costs for fencing and gates made from any material.
In aluminum, the main variations in cost are from the thickness of the aluminum, the amount of aluminum used, the amount of customization, and the quality of the finish.
In wood fencing, the variations in price are influenced by the species of wood, the grade of the wood, the amount of wood used, the amount of wood used, and the quality of the finish.
The price of steel fencing (popularly known and marketed as “iron fencing”) is primarily influenced by the amount of steel used in the fabrication, and the finish. Steel of even the highest quality is going to rust if not finished well and retouched or repainted often.
Aluminum is the most cost-efficient material regarding metal options, ringing in at much cheaper than steel and many of the wood varieties. Cost-wise, only fencing made from the lesser expensive woods can compete, but then any price advantage is gone when ongoing maintenance costs are factored in, even over a period of just a few years.
See examples of low-cost wood, steel (iron), and aluminum fencing below. Note that in all cases there is sparing use of the fence material.
Low-priced aluminum
Inexpensive wood
cheap steel fence
Examples of higher cost wood, steel (iron), and aluminum fencing. Note that in all cases there is more use of the fencing material. This results in a higher cost.
More expensive aluminum
Expensive Wood
Expensive steel (iron)
If you’ve got property on a busy street where the traffic is flying by, steel is often a better choice to protect your property due to its sheer brutal strength.
That’s not always the case, as aluminum can be alloyed with other materials so as to be super strong as well. The US military even made tanks from aluminum alloys.
However, the strongest steel alloy is capable of stopping more lateral force than the strongest aluminum alloy. When you are in heavy industrial, high vehicular areas, needing to defend a government building from attack, etc., Steel will be the more readily available and the less expensive option.
From aluminum.org:
Aluminum is about one-third the weight of steel, meaning parts can be made thicker and stronger while still reducing weight in vehicles and other applications. Depending on the alloy and processing technique used, pound for pound aluminum can be forged to be just as strong if not stronger than some steel.
How does this benefit you?
There are certain things that you can do in wood that you can’t do in aluminum.
Want more information on aluminium gates? Feel free to contact us.
We have been able to bring over the look of any steel gate into an aluminum fence or gate. In comparison to steel, I’d say that there is an even match. But wood is a different story.
There are manufacturers who have done very well with using a process called sublimation to very closely copy the look of wood. You can get fencing and gates that look just like wood – even from close up.
But when you touch it, you’ll know the difference. Aluminum doesn’t feel at all like wood.
Two other tiny differences: aluminum does not sound or smell like wood! Rain is a good example of this. When rain hits a wood fence, it’s partly absorbed into the wood, and partly deflected by it. This makes for a softer sound. When rain hits an aluminum fence, none of it is absorbed. It’s going to make a different sound. It will “ping”! (With wood it will “pong”!)
Someone actually made a video for Youtube called: “Calming Rain Hitting Aluminum Roof to Help Sleep”. Sounds nice enough to me!
I think for the city and small-town people, aluminum gives you all the diversity you could want in terms of style.
But if you are a rural person, there’s a lot to be said for the sight, sound, and smell of a wood fence. Ask any cowboy!
When it comes to gates and fencing, security is the number one priority that comes to mind, but that doesn’t mean there needs to be a sacrifice of your own personal style.
Many materials, such as iron and wood, can only be customized to a certain point due to their rigid materials.
Fence manufacturers can’t customize wood or iron to the extent that we can customize aluminum. Aluminum is highly malleable during the production process. Fabricators can create a wide variety of unique designs using aluminum.
Aluminum can also be made to replicate wood staining, finished with any color, and be embedded with glass for an even more unique look. Almost any design imaginable can be replicated with an aluminum solution.
Aluminum installations are generally the easiest and most simple to accomplish due to the material’s light weight.
Contractors install aluminum fencing more quickly than wood or steel fencing. Less experienced installers have a much easier time installing aluminum/
Do you have a sloped property? Then aluminum is the best material. There are styles that are especially useful on sloped properties where the incline of the fence can be adjusted to give a smooth appearance.
Since aluminum is extremely durable and requires no maintenance, we can make aluminum fence and gates from recycled components, allowing you to have a cleaner impact on the planet.
Overall, aluminum solutions have many great benefits to fit any home or need.
So, that’s the way I’ve seen it in my experience: aluminum has got a lot more that is “right” about it than it has that is “wrong” about it. And those things that it’s got “wrong” won’t be for most people any real big deal.
Aluminum is an excellent fence material due to its low-maintenance. Particularly in traditional styles, your “up-front” cost for deciding to get an aluminum fence installation is lower than or competitive to wood and steel. Aluminum is lightweight and has a high strength-to-weight ratio; that makes it generally easier to install than wood or steel. Due to this, they also are less likely to need adjustments later on. You can get aluminum fences and gates in all sorts of styles, colors, grades, and textures.
Aluminum fence material is typically between 85-95% recycled post-consumer waste. We are not impacting the environment nearly as much as if we chose to work with wood.
Aluminum may not be the choice for you if you are on the tiniest of budgets. In that situation, the best choice for you to start with is wood. Just know that you’ve got to keep an eye on it and you have to be willing to do the work to keep it from deteriorating away. You might also prefer wood if you are a completely rustic setting and want everything to be in keeping with that, and you even want that sound of wood as the rain falls on it.
Also, if you are wanting to fence property that potentially has to be able to stand up to attack or a tremendous amount of force, steel may be the better option.
We install fences and gates made from all the usual materials. Aluminum is excellent for a lot of people, particularly people who don’t want to be bothered with upkeep. But there are benefits with wood and steel, and we know some people who really love keeping things up around the home.
What’s the right material for you? If you still have questions, we are always happy to help. Give us a call at (818) 639-, or complete this form and one of our team members will be happy to provide more answers. We look forward to hearing from you!
If you have a project in mind, would like to see our prices, or simply want to check out our inventory in person; good news. We have factory tours and a showroom to help you plan out your current or future project. Call us up and talk to any of our friendly staff and ask us about our current schedule, or to explore ways we may be able to help you with your goals. If you’d like to see our latest projects, explore our inspiration gallery or follow us on Instagram, where we ongoingly post our latest completed projects.
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Shopping online has made finding iron fence and gate products not traditionally carried in stores much easier. Finding an iron fence or iron gate online is a good start, but how can you tell if it is a quality product? That part becomes a lot harder when all you have to go off of in a lot of cases is some photos and a few bullet points on a web page. Let’s take a deeper dive and go over what you need to look for when buying a quality wrought iron fence or gate.
The number one concern most folks have about an iron fence is rusting. The problem is that a lot of companies throw out a few vague terms you don’t know and assume you won’t ask questions. Even worst, some sites don’t really specify what type (if any) rust protection they have. Galvanization is a time-honored and great way to protect iron and steel from rust. Lots of fence makers will utilize e-coatings to minimize rust. While they can be effective, it is a thinner coating. We prefer hot-dip galvanization for our parts because it encapsulates every surface of the piece inside and out.
Unlike spray-on rust prevention coatings that only cover exposed surfaces, hot dip galvanization coats the outside, inside and underside of the dipped pieces. The biggest problem with lower end spray coatings is that the pieces will often rot from the inside out and by the time you see it, the piece is already ruined. Look for specifics on how the pieces are treated to prevent rust. Our Stronghold Iron line utilizes a hot dip galvanization, a 4-stage chemical wash and then use a TGIC poly-based powder coating with UV fade inhibitors to protect our pieces.
The best construction method for iron fence is one that is strong and looks good from both sides. Below are a couple of photos showing how we build our Stronghold Iron fence with a punched rail and fully welded construction at the picket-to-rail intersection and for the decorative finial tip. You can see the picket (upright) goes through the middle of the punched rail for a strong connection and clean look from both sides of the fence:
Some steel and iron fence manufacturers will cut corners here. Especially in the rail-to-picket connection (the rail is the horizontal piece and the picket is the upright one). The worst ones we’ve seen is companies using rivets or screws to connect the pickets to the rails. While this works fine on a lighter aluminum fence, it does not work as well on an iron or steel fence. Not only does a weaker connection result in a ‘loose’ feeling panel, but the rivets can allow movement which can scratch down to bare metal and create rust spots.
Another construction shortcut we see is called ‘layover’ or ‘railroad’ construction of pieces. This is where a horizontal rail is laid out and the pickets are welded to the face/ back of the rail. This is not only a weaker way to build the fence that can allow for easier bending of the horizontal rail, but it only looks ok from one side as well. It also looks non-symmetrical and bit unbalanced. Here is an image of a competitor’s piece built in layover style:
This may seem like a small and unimportant item, but shortcuts here can make a nice iron fence or gate look cheap. Pay attention to the smaller elements like the brackets that connect the iron fence to the posts, the post caps and decorative finials on top of the pickets.
For me, fence brackets is a big one. Nothing makes a nice steel or iron fence go from nice looking to cheap than stamped steel fence brackets. These are made of thin stamped steel and wrap around the fence post to hold the panel up. Below is an image of a competitor’s stamped steel, collar style fence bracket:
Not the greatest pic, but its tough to find one since the hardware isn’t often shown in detail. These often leave a gap between the rail and post, are tough to get straight, give it a cheaper modular look and draw your eye to them in a not-good way. Counter to that, our Stronghold Iron uses a stronger and cleaner looking cast-iron solid bracket that mounts inline of the fence post. This tucks the hardware and keeps it off the face of the fence line. This gives the look of a more authentic iron fence that was often welded together 100+ years ago. Here are some photos of our standard iron fence bracket:
Post caps are another place where cost cuts can be made. Lots of manufacturers will use a stamped steel standard cap which is easier to produce and squish on the top of the post. For the more decorative ball style post caps, some will make them out of aluminum, or worse, plastic. Our Stronghold Iron fence line uses cast iron caps for both styles that you can see in the photos below. The cast iron gives it a nice textured and authentic appearance.
Another place that is tough to tell the quality of the hardware online is those decorative tips on top of the picket called finials. Many places charge a hefty upgrade fee per panel to add finials to the fence panel. The worst part is these are often cheap die-cast, aluminum or plastic that ship loose and you have to glue or press them on. The difference between the fence panel material and finial material will be come apparent over time when the dissimilar metal coatings (or materials like plastic) fade at a different rate and really start to look like a cheap add-on. Be sure to check what those finial tips are made from and how they are attached. Our Stronghold Iron uses solid cast-iron finial tips that are welded directly to the picket like the image below.
Gate construction is a big one to watch out for too. Unlike a fence panel that is fixed in place and does not move, the gates need to be able to support the weight of the entire leaf as well as any leverage force pressures exerted on them. This is where a proper gate frame comes into play. Many companies will simply weld two posts to the end of a fence section and call it a gate. Functional, but not really all that strong. You will sometimes see cross-bracing on wider gates as a band-aid to poor construction as well. The correct way to make a gate is with a fully boxed and welded gate frame like our Stronghold Iron line. That makes a solid, 3-sided frame that will withstand way more pressure and weight without cracking or deforming. Here is an image showing the U-frame on one of our gates.
Even little items like the screws and bolts used can be something that makes installation a pain or detracts from the look of the fence. Make sure the hardware is color matched to your pieces and uses a stronger hex-head on the bolts that allow use of a socket. Phillips head style screws can often strip easily and make installation a pain.
Most sites are going to put their best foot forward with the photos on their site. These images have been professionally lit and photoshopped to make the fence look perfect. It gives an idea on the fence’s appearance but doesn’t give a very real world view on how the fence looks installed. Look for a photo gallery of installed jobs on the website to get a better feel how the fence is going to look in the real world. On ironfenceshop.com, I would say 98% of our images in our photo gallery are from homeowner and contractor installations in the real world.
Use these real world pictures to look for examples of the same fence or installation area you are going to be using or your project. How does it look as a whole? Any close-ups of the fence in more detail? Does the fence look weird from certain angles? Things like that. In this day and age, any company worth its salt should have lots of photos and videos showing their products and components. If you can’t find it on the site, is the company responsive to or requests on what you are looking for? You would be surprised how many people are shocked when we actually pick up the , answer questions or get back to emails right away.
This one isn’t as exciting or as fun as looking at completed fence project photos, but its probably the most important and overlooked item that can make the difference between being an informed shopper and regretting your purchase. Cutting corners on component sizes, thicknesses and finishes is a time honored tradition of lower-end companies that try to undercut higher quality pieces with a lower price. Don’t get me wrong. Price is important, but if you are saving $20 and getting a piece that is half the thickness, weight and will rust in 3 years; are you really getting a good deal? Any fence and gate maker worth their salt will have the ability to provide you specifications (specs) on the pieces you are buying. You can find and download both our abbreviated ‘quick specs’ and our full specs on our specifications page on ironfenceshop.com. Look for something fully versed and thought out like our specs versus some simple bullet points or a short blurb on a web page.
Just like the specs above, you want more than text on a web page about the warranty. While downloading a warranty is a good start (you can find and download ours here), you also want to be able to ask and get good answers on how that warranty is applied. You should be able to talk to someone at the company and ask how warranty claims are handled and what is involved. Just seeing a stated warranty period is not enough to fall back on. Be wary of certain things that can void your warranty (like installing by salt water) or stipulations on what’s covered and what is not (especially on ‘Lifetime’ warranties).
Some folks may feel like this is counter-intuitive coming from a company that sells online like we do. However, its more important than ever when dealing with an online sale. Is the company accredited from a source like the Better Business Bureau (BBB) that can give you a good view on customer happiness? We’ve been a long-standing A+ member of the BBB for over 10 years now. If you have a problem with your fence or its delivery, do you have direct access to someone at the company? If you bought your fence through a shopping cart online with no human interaction, good luck getting any issues resolved on that without lots of tag and emails.
If you the company, how quickly do they get back to you? Same goes with a call. If you emailed or called and have not heard anything back the same or next day when they are trying to earn your business, how receptive do you think they will be after they have your money? A place where you can get a direct extension and name is going to be much more helpful and receptive than a place with a generic and no direct people to work with.
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