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A fence is a structure that encloses an area, typically outdoors creating a boundary, and is usually constructed from posts that are connected by boards, wire, rails or netting.^[1] A fence differs from a wall in not having a solid foundation along its whole length.^[2]

Alternatives to fencing include a ditch (sometimes filled with water, forming a moat).

• Agricultural fencing, to keep livestock in and/or predators out
• Blast fence, a safety device that redirects the high energy exhaust from a jet engine
• Sound barrier or acoustic fencing, to reduce noise pollution^[3]
• Crowd control barrier
• Privacy fencing, to provide privacy and security ^[4]
• Temporary fencing, to provide safety, security, and to direct movement; wherever temporary access control is required, especially on building and construction sites
• Perimeter 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, garden or other landscaping
• Boundary fencing, to demarcate a piece of real property
• Newt fencing, amphibian fencing, drift fencing or turtle fence, a low fence of plastic sheeting or similar materials to restrict movement of amphibians or reptiles.
• Pest-exclusion fence
• Pet fence, an underground fence for pet containment
• Pool fence
• Snow fence
• School fence
• Solar fence

A balustrade or railing is a fence to prevent people from falling over an edge, most commonly found on a stairway, landing, or balcony. Railing systems and balustrades are also used along roofs, bridges, cliffs, pits, and bodies of water.

Another aim of using a fence is to limit intrusion. In support of these barriers there are sophisticated technologies that can be applied on the fence itself to strengthen the defence of an area, such as:

• Detectors
• Peripheral alarm control unit
• Means of deterrence
• Means for communicating information remotely
• Remote alarm receiving unit

• Brushwood fencing, a fence made using wires on either side of brushwood, to compact the brushwood material together.
• Chain-link fencing, wire fencing made of wires woven together
• Chicane
• Close boarded fencing, strong and robust fence constructed from mortised posts, arris rails and vertical feather edge boards
• Composite Fencing, made from a mixture of recycled wood and plastic
• Expanding fence or trellis, a folding structure made from wood or metal on the scissor-like pantograph principle, sometimes only as a temporary barrier
• Ha-ha (or sunken fence)
• Hedge, including:
  • Cactus fence
  • Hedgerows of intertwined, living shrubs (constructed by hedge laying)
  • Live fencing is the use of live woody species for fences
  • Turf mounds in semiarid grasslands such as the western United States or Russian steppes
• Hurdle fencing, made from moveable sections
• Pale fence, or "post-and-rail" fence, composed of pales - vertical posts embedded in the ground, with their exposed end typically tapered to shed water and prevent rot from moisture entering end-grain wood - joined by horizontal rails, characteristically in two or three courses.
• Palisade, or stakewall, made of vertical pales placed side by side with one end embedded in the ground and the other typically sharpened, to provide protection; characteristically two courses of waler are added on the interior side to reinforce the wall.
• Picket fences, generally a waist-high, painted, partially decorative fence
• Roundpole fences, similar to post-and-rail fencing but more closely spaced rails, typical of Scandinavia and other areas rich in raw timber.

  

• Slate fence, a type of palisade made of vertical slabs of slate wired together. Commonly used in parts of Wales.
• Split-rail fence, made of timber, often laid in a zig-zag pattern, particularly in newly settled parts of the United States and Canada
• Vaccary fence (named from Latin vaca - cow), for restraining cattle, made of thin slabs of stone placed upright, found in various places in the north of the UK where suitable stone is had.^[5]
• Vinyl fencing
• Solid fences, including:
  • Dry-stone wall or rock fence, often agricultural
  • Stockade fence, a solid fence composed of contiguous or very closely spaced round or half-round posts, or stakes, typically pointed at the top. A scaled down version of a palisade wall made of logs, most commonly used for privacy.
• Wattle fencing, of split branches woven between stakes.
• Wire fences
  • Smooth wire fence
  • Barbed wire fence
  • Electric fence
  • Woven wire fencing, many designs, from fine chicken wire to heavy mesh "sheep fence" or "ring fence"
  • Welded wire mesh fence
• Wood-panel fencing, whereby finished wood planks are arranged to make large solid panels, which are then suspended between posts, making an almost completely solid wall-like barrier. Usually as a decorative perimeter.
• Wrought iron fencing, also known as ornamental iron

In most developed areas the use of fencing is regulated, variously in commercial, residential, and agricultural areas. Height, material, setback, and aesthetic issues are among the considerations subject to regulation.

The following types of areas or facilities often are required by law to be fenced in, for safety and security reasons:

• 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 United Kingdom)
• Fixed machinery with dangerous mobile parts (for example at merry go rounds on entertainment parks)
• Explosive factories and quarry stores
• Most industrial plants
• Airfields and airports
• Military areas
• Prisons
• Construction sites
• Zoos and wildlife parks
• Pastures containing male breeding animals, notably bulls and stallions.
• Open-air areas that charge an entry fee
• Amusement equipment which may pose danger for passers-by
• Swimming pools and spas

Servitudes^[6] are legal arrangements of land use arising out of private agreements. Under the feudal system, most land in England was cultivated in common fields, where peasants were allocated strips of arable land that were used to support the needs of the local village or manor. By the sixteenth century the growth of population and prosperity provided incentives for landowners to use their land in more profitable ways, dispossessing the peasantry. Common fields were aggregated and enclosed by large and enterprising farmers—either through negotiation among one another or by lease from the landlord—to maximize the productivity of the available land and contain livestock. Fences redefined the means by which land is used, resulting in the modern law of servitudes.^[7]

In the United States, the earliest settlers claimed land by simply fencing it in. Later, as the American government formed, unsettled land became technically owned by the government and programs to register land ownership developed, usually making raw land available for low prices or for free, if the owner improved the property, including the construction of fences. However, the remaining vast tracts of unsettled land were often used as a commons, or, in the American West, "open range" as degradation of habitat developed due to overgrazing and a tragedy of the commons situation arose, common areas began to either be allocated to individual landowners via mechanisms such as the Homestead Act and Desert Land Act and fenced in, or, if kept in public hands, leased to individual users for limited purposes, with fences built to separate tracts of public and private land.^[8]

Ownership of a fence on a boundary varies. The last relevant original title deed(s) and a completed seller's property information form may document which side has to put up and has installed any fence respectively; the first using "T" marks/symbols (the side with the "T" denotes the owner);^[9] the latter by a ticked box to the best of the last owner's belief with no duty, as the conventionally agreed conveyancing process stresses, to make any detailed, protracted enquiry.^[10] Commonly the mesh or panelling is in mid-position. Otherwise it tends to be on non-owner's side so the fence owner might access the posts when repairs are needed but this is not a legal requirement.^[11] Where estate planners wish to entrench privacy a close-boarded fence or equivalent well-maintained hedge of a minimum height may be stipulated by deed. Beyond a standard height planning permission is necessary.

Where a rural fence or hedge has (or in some cases had) an adjacent ditch, the ditch is normally in the same ownership as the hedge or fence, with the ownership boundary being the edge of the ditch furthest from the fence or hedge.^[12] The principle of this rule is that an owner digging a boundary ditch will normally dig it up to the very edge of their land, and must then pile the spoil on their own side of the ditch to avoid trespassing on their neighbour. They may then erect a fence or hedge on the spoil, leaving the ditch on its far side. Exceptions exist in law, for example where a plot of land derives from subdivision of a larger one along the centre line of a previously existing ditch or other feature, particularly where reinforced by historic parcel numbers with acreages beneath which were used to tally up a total for administrative units not to confirm the actual size of holdings, a rare instance where Ordnance Survey maps often provide more than circumstantial evidence namely as to which feature is to be considered the boundary.

On private land in the United Kingdom, it is the landowner's responsibility to fence their livestock in.^[13] Conversely, for common land, it is the surrounding landowners' duty to fence the common's livestock out such as in large parts of the New Forest. Large commons with livestock roaming have been greatly reduced by 18th and 19th century Acts for enclosure of commons covering most local units,^[14] with most remaining such land in the UK's National Parks.

A 19th-century law requires railways to be fenced to keep people and livestock out.^[15] It is also illegal to trespass on railways, incurring a fine of up to £1000.

Distinctly different land ownership and fencing patterns arose in the eastern and western United States. Original fence laws on the east coast were based on the British common law system, and rapidly increasing population quickly resulted in laws requiring livestock to be fenced in. In the west, land ownership patterns and policies reflected a strong influence of Spanish law and tradition, plus the vast land area involved made extensive fencing impractical until mandated by a growing population and conflicts between landowners. The "open range" tradition of requiring landowners to fence out unwanted livestock was dominant in most of the rural west until very late in the 20th century.^[16] Even today, a few isolated regions of the west still use the open range system.^[17] More recently, fences are generally constructed on the surveyed property line as precisely as possible. Today, across the nation, each state can develop its own laws regarding fences. In many cases for both rural and urban property owners, the laws were designed to require adjacent landowners to share the responsibility for maintaining a common boundary fenceline, for example in California.^[18] Today, however, only 22 states have retained that provision. In Texas a landowner has no legal obligation to share in the costs or future maintenance of a fence built by his or her neighbor, unless previously agreed. There is no specific statutes but court cases have set this legal precedent.^[19]

Some U.S. states, including Texas, Illinois, Missouri, and North Carolina, have enacted laws establishing that purple paint markings on fences (or trees) are the legal equivalent of "No Trespassing" signs. The laws are meant to spare landowners, particularly in rural areas, from having to continually replace printed signs that often end up being stolen or obliterated by the elements.^[20]

Along the shores of Lake Balaton, reed fences are often used to separate holiday cottages.

The value of fences and the metaphorical significance of a fence, both positive and negative, has been extensively utilized throughout western culture. A few examples include:

• "Good fences make good neighbors." – a proverb quoted by Robert Frost in the poem "Mending Wall"
• "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
• "To be fenced in is to be withheld." – Kurt Tippett
• "What have they done to the earth? / What have they done to our fair sister? / Ravaged and plundered / and ripped her / and bit her / stuck her with knives / in the side of the dawn / and tied her with fences / and dragged her down." – Jim Morrison, of The Doors
• "Don't Fence Me In" – Cole Porter
• "You shall build a turtle fence." – Peter Hoekstra
• "A woman's dress should be like a barbed-wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view." – Sophia Loren

• Agricultural fencing
• Electric fence
• Wire obstacle
• Temporary fencing
• Post pounder
• Synthetic fence
• Pool fence
• Separation barrier
• Border barrier
• Brushwood fencing
• Fencing (computing)
• Zariba

Notes

Bibliography

• Encyclopædia Britannica (1982). Vol IV, Fence.
• Elizabeth Agate: Fencing, British Trust for Conservation Volunteers, ISBN 0-946752-29-X

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fences.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Synthetic fence" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

A synthetic fence, plastic fence or (when made of vinyl) vinyl or PVC fence is a fence made using synthetic plastics, such as vinyl (PVC), polypropylene,^[2] nylon,^[3] polythene (polyethylene) ASA, or from various recycled plastics. Composites of two or more plastics can also be used to increase strength and UV stability of a fence. Synthetic fencing was first introduced to the agricultural industry in the 1980s as low-cost, durable horse fencing. Now, synthetic fencing is used for agricultural fencing, horse race track running rail, and residential use. Synthetic fencing is generally available preformed, in a wide variety of styles. It tends to be easy to clean, resists weathering and has low maintenance requirements. However, it also can be more expensive than comparable materials, and cheaper products can be less sturdy than more traditional fence materials. Some types may become brittle, faded or degrade in quality after long exposure to extreme hot or cold conditions. Recently, titanium dioxide (TiO₂) and other UV stabilisers have proven to be a beneficial additives in the manufacturing process of vinyl. This has greatly improved the durability of vinyl by providing essential UV protection from the sun's harmful rays, preventing premature ageing and cracking of the product, making it more durable than other materials such as wood.^[4]

Synthetic materials used for residential fences can be in a solid cast form, or a reinforced hollow rail design that resembles sawn timber, Most commonly extruded profiles. Higher quality vinyl fence components are ribbed or include reinforcements, often of aluminium, for added strength. For agricultural use, synthetic fencing can consist of a heavy synthetic strapping product inlaid with cable, synthetic-coated high-tensile wire, or a synthetic coating over a wood or metal rail or plank. Residential synthetic fencing products are usually hollow, and thus too fragile to contain livestock, but some designs may be suitable for containing dogs or other pets. Residential grade rails are also made of a thinner material.

Synthetic fences are used as the side-rails along horse racecourses, because they make a good visual barrier for the horses, but are unlikely to cause injury if horses break through them.

Synthetic fence profiles are made in a wide range of sizes and shapes. They come in many different colors which are integrated during the extrusion process, which means they do not require painting. Usually this ability to resist discoloration leads many manufacturers to offer very long warranties, from decades up to "lifetime" for some brands.

Synthetic fence posts are placed into pre-dug holes, or sometimes the synthetic post is fitted over a pre-set post of wood, rebar, or pipe for additional sturdiness. Rails or pickets are inserted into specifically designed slots and grooves within the rails.

Synthetic fence materials are often in the form of rigid rails or posts, but flexible forms are also used, including mesh for hazard fencing or deer fencing, or string, rope or tape of polypropylene interwoven with stainless steel wires for electric fences ("electric braid").

• Crowd control barrier

• Homeowner, Creative (2008), "ch 6. Vinyl fences", Ultimate Guide to Fences, Arbors & Trellises, Creative Homeowner, ISBN 978-1-58011-390-8

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Pool fence" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

A swimming pool fence is a type of fence placed around swimming pools, to create a passive barrier to restrict the access of small children to the swimming pool. Swimming pool fences must have a self-closing and self-latching gate/s to be compliant to most countries' laws and codes.

Swimming pool fences are designed so that young children cannot climb over them or go through them. They are manufactured to strict standards to be sturdy, durable and non-climbable.

Most countries design, manufacture and install swimming pool fences to the International Code Councils (ICC) guidelines.

Swimming pool fences are manufactured in several different types, using a variety of materials.

• Aluminum
• Steel
• Glass
• Vinyl / PVC fencing
• Mesh

They can be slotted to allow visibility or solid for privacy.

Countries, states and municipalities within countries have different laws regarding swimming pool fencing laws, ranging from no laws at all to very strict laws and inspection programmes.

Starting from 2010 all states and territories in Australia are in various stages of reviewing their swimming pool fencing laws, requiring swimming pools to be registered with a state body and the implementation of a timed swimming pool barrier inspection program. All swimming pool barrier fencing must comply with Australian Standard for Swimming Pool Fencing (AS1926). Although some states and territories have particular laws and regulations, there are some stipulations that need to be abided by right across the nation. These include ensuring the pool fencing is 1200 mm high, with a gap of 100 mm or less at the bottom or between the newels. There should be no climbable objects within 900 mm of the pool fencing, and gates should be built so that they swing away from the pool, with a child safety lock.

The gate should be fitted with hinges that are self closing, and are able to do so from a stationary position without any manual force applied. Once closed, the gate should automatically lock and should not be able to be opened again with force unless the latch is manually opened. The gap between the gate panel and the latching panel should be less than 10 mm.

The Queensland state of Australia has very strict laws by world standards. On 1 December 2010 legislation was implemented that will see all swimming pool barriers in the state inspected and issued with a compliance certificate by 30 November 2015.

Swimming pools be surrounded by a four-sided compliant barrier (using the home as one side of the barrier was outlawed) with a minimum height of 1200 mm (48 inches) from permanent ground level and have non-climbable zones of 900 mm (36 inches) in a 180 degree arc measured from the top of the barrier. For non-climbable zones to be compliant there must not be any objects that are more than 10 mm (0.5 inch) in depth and width in the non-climbable zone. Gates are to be self-closing, self latching and not able to be sprung open when a 25 kg (55 pound) downward force is applied to the bottom of the gate.^[1]

All swimming pools in Queensland are required to be registered with the Pool Safety Council. All properties leased or sold must have a swimming pool compliance certificate.^[2] Short term accommodation providers and shared swimming pools must be inspected every two years. Licensed private swimming pool inspectors inspect swimming pool barriers and issue pool safety compliance certificates.

In 2013 there were 326,000 registered swimming pools in Queensland and 796 active private inspectors.

New South Wales is the only Australian state or territory to require that infinity or drop edge pools have fencing greater than the standard 1200 mm height requirement. Changes to the NSW legislation state that from 29 April 2016, NSW residential properties with a swimming pool or spa pool must have a certificate of compliance, a certificate of non-compliance or an occupation certificate for the pool barrier/fencing before the property can be leased or sold.^[3]

There is no federal pool fence law currently in place within the United States. However, several states, including Florida^[4] and Arizona,^[5] have created their own individual pool fence laws. In 2017, the National Safety Council released a report ranking state laws on public pool and water facility regulations as well as four-sided residential pool fencing.^[6]

The Association of Pool & Spa Professionals has developed a model barrier code for residential swimming pools, spas, and hot tubs; this code has been approved by the American National Standards Institute.

The International Code Council (I.C.C.), more often known by their former name, the Building Officials and Code Administrators (B.O.C.A.), outlined strong safety standards for swimming pool fences. In an effort to eliminate or reduce the accidental drowning of children, these standards have been recognized by many communities throughout the world. Certain states are more strict with their laws and the most populated states with Pools such as Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas have special statutes in place that discuss all pool fencing types including frameless glass railings. Above ground pools must also follow state and local pool codes if the water is at least 18 inches deep.

In 2006, 283 children under the age of five drowned in swimming pools in the United States.

The I.C.C. pool safety standards specify that:^[7]

1. The fence must be a minimum of 48" tall (or taller, depending on distance between horizontal rails).
2. The middle horizontal rail must be at least 45" above the bottom horizontal rail (to prevent using the horizontal rails as a kind of ladder for climbing).
3. The spacing between pickets must be less than 4".
4. If space between pickets is less than 1 3/4'', rule #2 does not apply and fence does not have to be taller than 48'' (because the tighter picket spacing has made climbing much more difficult).
5. The space between the bottom horizontal rail and the ground must be less than 2".
6. The gate(s) must be self-closing and self-latching.
7. The gate(s) need to open out (away from the pool area).
8. The opening mechanism of the latch must be at least 54" above grade (ground level).

France was the first European country to introduce swimming pool barrier compliance regulations, applying from 1 May 2004. Failure to comply can result in a €45,000 fine. Spain publicly reported that they would soon follow suit.^{[citation needed]}

Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa also have swimming pool fencing laws.^{[citation needed]}

Season 11 of Curb Your Enthusiasm prominently features Larry David's attempt to have a pool fence regulation repealed. After a burglar drowns in Larry's pool, the police inform Larry he must have a five-foot (1.5 m) fence around his pool due to a Santa Monica, California, regulation. The burglar's brother attempts to extort Larry, who responds by beginning a relationship with an unpleasant and unattractive city councilwoman in order to persuade her to repeal the law. In reality, Santa Monica has no such pool fence regulation.

• Child safety lock
• Childproofing
• Drowning
• Attractive nuisance

1. ^ Department of Housing and Public Works. "Pool fences and safety barriers". Archived from the original on 2018-04-29. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
2. ^ Department of Housing and Public Works. "Pool safety". Archived from the original on 2018-04-19. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
3. ^ NSW Fair Trading (January 2008). "Swimming Pools". Archived from the original on 2018-04-30. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
4. ^ "Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine". Archived from the original on 2018-10-06. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
5. ^ "36-1681 - Pool enclosures; requirements; exceptions; enforcement". Archived from the original on 2007-05-18. Retrieved 2007-05-18.
6. ^ National Safety Council (2017). The State of Safety - A State-by-State Report. Itasca, IL. p. 26. accessed at: http://www.nsc.org/NSCDocuments_Advocacy/State-of-Safety/State-Report.pdf Archived 2017-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
7. ^ "CHAPTER 3 GENERAL COMPLIANCE | 2015 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code | ICC premiumACCESS". Archived from the original on 2018-10-31. Retrieved 2018-10-31.