Brick Fences
A brick fence may not be the most affordable type of enclosure for a country home, but the material is still seen as a mark of the owner's prestige and status — it was no accident that brick was used to build the walls of royal residences.
By the way, when you order a facade design from us, you can also add the design of fences, a garage, or a gazebo.
The advantages of brick:
- a reliable material;
- great durability and practicality;
- requires no special care or any particular finishing.
Brick fences are virtually unmatched in strength: experts say that one-brick masonry can withstand the impact of a passenger car, while masonry of one and a half to two bricks provides the maximum level of reliability and durability — and excellent sound insulation as well. With quality materials and professionally laid masonry, a brick fence will last for decades without needing repair. It is rain-resistant and needs no painting or special care. The only things that can shorten a brick fence's life are fog and exhaust fumes (worth keeping in mind if the site is near a highway or in a damp valley).
What do you need to think about when deciding to build a brick fence?
Goals
Every fence performs several functions at once, and for it to meet expectations, we need to define clearly — already at the design stage — what we expect from it.
The most familiar function of a fence is to mark the boundaries of the site; it tells those around it that here is an area not everyone is free to use. And if your fence has no other job to do, feel free to put up a low — perhaps openwork — design.
More often, however, a fence serves as a means of protection — from prying eyes, from trespassing on the property, and from the effects of the environment (noise, fumes, sun, and so on). For many people this is the leading function, because in our minds a brick fence is tall, solid, and massive. But a blank fence does not have to be boring! Colored or embossed masonry, clinker and textured brick, and inserts of other materials can all help. See for yourself.
Fences within the grounds usually separate areas that serve different purposes: a fence that divides the yard from the garden or outbuildings, or patios from lawns used for picnics or games. What they look like depends entirely on the owner's wishes, and brick handles any task with ease — it can form a low but sturdy, simple partition, or an arched masterpiece in the spirit of an Italian patio.
Form
The psychological impact of architectural structures is often forgotten, but to feel comfortable a person needs to sense the boundaries of their space and its size, because only then do they feel secure. And while everything is fairly clear with the outer boundaries of an estate, the fences within one's own garden raise quite a few questions. Here, too, brick can be a harmonious material, since it becomes a unifying element for the ensemble of the house itself, the fence around the site, and the fences within it.
Contrary to popular belief, openwork fences look great in brick: while shielding the inner grounds well enough from prying eyes, they draw the eye with their play of light and the originality of their patterns, and they let you vary the height of the fence depending on the task.
Blank (solid) fences were almost never used at the aristocratic homes of the nobility, as they were thought to hide the beauty of the buildings and parks. Brick elements (plinths and supporting posts) served only as a frame for the lacework of wrought or cast iron inserts. Such combined fence designs are still popular today, but in deference to modern materials, polycarbonate, concrete, or natural stone are now used as inserts.
Materials and technology
Brick fences are built using the same technology as the walls of brick buildings, which is the source of their one serious drawback — the high cost of both the material itself and the construction work.
To cut costs, brick can be used only for the vertical support posts. Almost any kind of brick is suitable for this; the only obstacle "on the way to the fence" is poor quality of the facing edges. But keep in mind that solid brick adds a lot of weight (and therefore considerable expense for the foundation) and may require plastering the surface, whereas clinker and textured brick help vary the "face" of a brick fence.
A brick fence is essentially a wall raised on a suitable foundation. It is reinforced by posts set at equal distances from one another, made of the same material. For structural reliability, a stone fence sometimes has a plinth (a 50–80 cm pedestal along the ground), and for durability a coping on top of the fence, which protects the brick from precipitation.
The simplified technology for building brick fences lets you use this material only for the base and the vertical posts, with all the remaining sections made of other materials — wood, metal, or concrete.
There are no limits on the height of fences, but the optimal height for those concerned about security is considered to be 3–3.5 m. The length of the span between posts depends on the height and thickness of the wall: from 2.5 meters (if the masonry is half a brick thick and no more than 2 meters tall) to 4–5 meters.
Everyone wants a beautiful fence, but a mix of styles and colors does little for one's sense of peace, for the fence's outward beauty, or for the overall harmony of the country ensemble — so when you set out to build this part of your home, you should plan its design together with the facades of the house.