White is a popular color, and many PVC fences are styled to look like wood. Universal Forest Products has been making wood fences since 1955. Because of market demand, it added vinyl fences to its product line about two years ago, says Dick Gauthier, director of marketing for the Grand Rapids, Mich., firm. Early industry versions of these fences, sold mainly for farms and ranches, were made by PVC pipe extruders and didn't have ultraviolet inhibitors or impact modifiers, Gauthier says. Now they do, and the longevity and resistance to cracking is increased.
Ornamental metal is another option, in aluminum, steel or iron.
They may have various tops and designs. Aluminum and steel tubular fencing may be available as kits or from a fence installer. He recently constructed 230 feet of solid steel guard rail fencing for a house. When you sit there in the dining room and look out, you don't see it. Appearance as well as function were important when Scott Pittman was considering what kind of fence to put around his retail nursery and landscape design business in Berkley.