Aluminum Fence for the pool

[JohnT]

I'm not sure where this should be posted, but I posted it here because the choice of fence is as much decorative as it is for safety. Now that our poolhouse is done, I need to get started on a fence. I've pretty well decided on aluminum because I can get it in dark colors. Leaning toward this Storrs Aluminum BOCA Fence

Anybody have any other recommendations or comments? The boss says hunter green, and all companies don't make it in that color, so I'm a little restricted.

Thanks,

John

 

[SeanB]

I think something like the bronze would weather better, but I would defer to the boss as well.

Any need for privacy? An 8', well made wood fence with top rail has a very nice look.

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

I like the hunter, and the bronze, but would probably go with black, so if I needed to touch it up later, color matching would be less of an issue.

 

[JohnT]

Any need for privacy? An 8', well made wood fence with top rail has a very nice look.

Not at all. We are far from our nearest neighbor.

 

[TexasGirl]

Grace wrote: "I like the hunter, and the bronze, but would probably go with black, so if I needed to touch it up later, color matching would be less of an issue"

I'm with Grace on that point.

 

[drumr]

I work in an aluminum extrusion plant and these are common shapes. The wall thicknesses look fine and should be worry free. I would find out if they powder coat these or use a wet paint line to paint the extrusions. We have a wet paint line and paint all of the colors that are on their website minus the green (we have hundreds of colors). The black is nice but it will really show any defects of the extrusion i.e. die lines, handling marks, scuffs, and scratces. The hunter green sprays a little thicker than the black and will look nicer. The bronze would be the best choice as far as coverage and durability, it typically has a tiny bit of sparkle in it that really makes the extrusion look nice.

This is if they use a wet paint line to paint with. A powder coat will be different. We don't powder coat, but one of our sister plants used too. What I saw from it had a lot of orange peel and did not look that great. I would ask for color samples if they do powder coat to make sure they are acceptable.

JD

 

[JohnT]

Drumr,

Thanks for the info. Always good to hear from somebody that knows the business. Welcome to the forum.

 

[MarkC]

I have a black powder coated aluminum fence made by Delgaurd. I believe it's the Aero line. The finish looks as good after 6 years as it did when installed and holds up well to even a weed wacker. Took me a while to install but I was pretty anal with the amount of concrete in each whole (120 pounds).

 

[JohnT]

I have a black powder coated aluminum fence made by Delgaurd. I believe it's the Aero line. The finish looks as good after 6 years as it did when installed and holds up well to even a weed wacker. Took me a while to install but I was pretty anal with the amount of concrete in each whole (120 pounds).

Mark, did you follow the Delgard procedure of setting a row of posts in wet concrete and then straightening it up? I'm a little concerned that it might get away from me before I get everything set for the row.

 

[MarkC]

I started by measuring the exact distance for one post and one section of fencing held together with bungees. While Delguard says the sections are 8ft on center I got 8 ft and a little less than a 1/4 inch per section and while that does not seem like much difference it adds up after quite a few holes. I dug the corner holes first and put in the corner post making sure the post height would allow the bottom of the fence to be 2 inches of the ground. To brace the post while drying I made a few u shaped pieces out of 1X4 wood that I duct taped onto the post about 2 feet up. Then I could use some diagonal bracing screwed into the wood on the post as well as a stake driven into the ground to brace the post. I used two braces set at 90 degrees to hold the post.
Once the corner post was set I dug all the holes for the posts that would radiate out from that corner using a string line and a tape measure and that 8'1/4" spacing to mark where the holes should be. I found that the motorized post hole digger I was using would wonder off from where I wanted a hole to be if it hit a large rock so I fashioned a 2ft X 2Ft piece of 3/4" plywood and cut out a hole in the center 1.5 inches bigger than the auger diameter. In each corner of the plywood I drilled a small hole and would spike down with 8" spikes the plywood centered over where I wanted to hole to be. This kept the auger from drifting if it hit a rock and if I felt a problem I would use the breaker bar to remove the rock and continue. This method works great.
The fence sections were inserted into the corner section held tight to the post with a few bungees and the end of the section was elevated on a scrap 2" piece of lumber so as to maintain an even distance from the bottom of the fence to the ground. The post was attached via bungees to the end of the fence section and the bottom of the post was left hanging in mid air in the hole as I drilled the post holes a few inches deeper than I needed them. A string was used to make sure the post was in line and plumb and the wood U shaped blocks were attached to this post and diagonal braces added like before and then when it was checked again against the string and made sure it was plumb. Then a stiff mixture of concete was added to within 4 inches of the ground level. I would let that post set up and go over and work on the other sections radiating out from the other side of the corner post repeating the process. I found that I could install 4- to 5 sections in a few hours each evening after work which gave the concrete time to set up. I would then screw the sections together with the screws that came with the fence and then and only then removed the bungees and wood bracing to be used for the next sections.
I would recomend using a metal file to adjust the notches at the fence section ends that insert into the posts to make sure the post remain plumb. I was probably a little anal on this but it only takes a few minutes to fine tune the fit of each section into its mating post. This became a little more work on steeper hils as the rails had to be adjusted a little more.
Make sure the fence your buying is able to be racked so that you can go up hills while still keeping the posts plumb. My fence would handle a hill of 1ft per 8ft section with no problem. You can order double punching if you have a hill steeper than this.
When you come to the end going in one direction keep in mind that you will have to cut that section of fencing and add the notches inot the rails so that they will fit into the corner post. I fould the file or a dremel tool work well for cutting the notches. Once you get the last corner post and section installed you can then head down the next direction repeating all of the above. I hope you take on the job as the job you do will be far superior to the job the installers will do as they are not concerned what it will look like in a few years. My fence has not budged out of plumb and line in 5 years and we have quite a bit of frost. good luck.

 

[drumr]

I wouldn't have a problem with going with any of the colors in a powder coat, it tends to coat better. I know from where I work we only do wet paint, and black, unless it is a low gloss, is a very hard color to cover up any problems with the extrusions. Our hunter green stuff usually looks very nice as does the different bronzes we run.

I wouldn't be too concerned about touch up paint, we supply our customers with air dry touch up paint to match. I would check with the manufacturer of the fence to see if they can supply touch up paint. You can also take a small sample to an auto body shop and they can match it too.

I wanted to see who extrudes the delgard stuff and it is Aluminum Shapes in NJ. It doesn't appear that they powder coat there, they have a wet paint line like we do. They may job shop the powder coat out though. They actually extrude some stuff for us that is too big for our presses, so if it is good enough for us (and we are picky) it should be pretty quality stuff.

JD

 

[JohnT]

Thanks for the info Mark and drumr.

 

[jimbofoxman]

I say black.........I am a fence salesman for the largest fence company in the Kalamazoo area. We see more black aluminum fencing than anything. Bronze would be second. We rarely see a white or green put in for fences, 1 or 2 jobs a year.

I've never heard of Storr's fence, but there are a lot out there. We sell both vinyl and aluminum from a company called Digger Specialties in Indiana. We use to use Jerith, but we dumped them after they started cutting corners.

 

[JohnT]

I say black.........I am a fence salesman for the largest fence company in the Kalamazoo area. We see more black aluminum fencing than anything. Bronze would be second. We rarely see a white or green put in for fences, 1 or 2 jobs a year.

I've never heard of Storr's fence, but there are a lot out there. We sell both vinyl and aluminum from a company called Digger Specialties in Indiana. We use to use Jerith, but we dumped them after they started cutting corners.

Called them about a local dealer. Thanks for the info.

 

[jetdoctor]

We did aluminum with brick columns looks great lifetime warranty on finish. jerith fence, easy to install, went with the regency line because its a little thicker and larger.

www.doylestownfence.com easy to deal with and answered my many questions, even help design the layout for the pool.

mark

 

[MarkC]

looks like we are neighbors Jetdoctor.

 

[JohnT]

I say black.........I am a fence salesman for the largest fence company in the Kalamazoo area. We see more black aluminum fencing than anything. Bronze would be second. We rarely see a white or green put in for fences, 1 or 2 jobs a year.

I've never heard of Storr's fence, but there are a lot out there. We sell both vinyl and aluminum from a company called Digger Specialties in Indiana. We use to use Jerith, but we dumped them after they started cutting corners.

We ordered the fence in bronze from a local dealer. Looks like good stuff.

 

[JohnT]

Installation started on the fence. I'm actually getting to the point I can see the end of this construction work. The only big physical job after this will be the landscaping. I'll be glad to be rid of the bare dirt.

 

[The Mermaid Queen]

be sure to post pics of your finished oasis (or at least the finished fence!!)

 

[JohnT]

be sure to post pics of your finished oasis (or at least the finished fence!!)

It's more like a war zone right now. New deck, screen/bath house and fence this summer that caused a reroute of the pool plumbing and a 60ft septic line through the area. Lots of dirt moved around. I'm worn out from working on it, and it's there waiting for me every night when I get home. I was hoping to do the solar before fall as well, but I can't see it happening. Maybe next spring.