Barbed Wire Fences vs Traditional Fences: Pros and Cons Comparison
How secure would you feel in your own home or property if it does not have a fence around it? Probably, not secure at all with constantly worrying about your pet running off to the road. Barbed wire fences vs traditional fences have been a long-running debate about which type of fence is better in giving the best.
While both fences have their own functionality, let’s weigh out the pros and cons of both.
Barbed Wire
With the twisted protection of a single or dual wire cable, barbed fences consist of sharp barbs around them to give the utmost protection to their owner. You must have seen barbed fences in most school parking lots. Or more often even shows or movies have tall fences to separate country borders. There are several types of barbed wires twisted, material-based, strand based, etc. The barbed wire fences are usually steel made and can be seen in farms for cattle and livestock protection.
PROs of Barbed Wire Fences
- It is the cheapest option among all other fence types.
- The installation is very simple and can be done by anyone with no external help from professionals. Unless the fenced area is huge and needs industrial-strength fences to be installed.
- The maintenance of barbed wire is not very high. Periodic maintenance can make it last for a long time.
- The barbed fence wire can be installed and reinstalled at the owner’s convenience. It can also be replaced easily if needed.
- Due to sharp edges in the entirety of its length, it can successfully keep out any robbers or even house pets getting out.
- It is ideal for sizeable farms with a huge land area that needs minimum protection from intruders.
- Barbed wires can sustain in adverse weather conditions and do not rust easily or get damaged in a short time period.
CONs of Barbed Wire Fences
- The appearance of barbed wire is off-putting in many places and unsuitable for use.
- Barbed wires fail to provide maximum protection and security.
- Barbed wires can cause injury in cases where people or animals get stuck on the fence and severely get harmed.
- As opposed to electric fencing, barbed wires do not have an electronic lock system that can be easily regulated.
If the pros have convinced you, you can look at barbed wire fence by Fence Fast.
Traditional Wire Fences
Traditional fencing options are the options that usually just create a physical barrier between the object and the external environment. Traditional fencing options are mostly outdated yet in many places or circumstances such fences are used for the cheap cost and low level of security needed. There are many types of traditional fences in the forms of wooden/timber fences, and plain wire fences.
PROs of Traditional Fencing
- Wooden style fences are extremely cost-efficient and can be readily available.
- Wooden-style fences are immune to rot or damage in most conditions. It also avoids termites.
- It can be easily made from available wood stock and since it is locally made different variants are also found easily.
- It can also be created into new products by blending with steel and rod which provides better security than normal wood fences.
- It is an ideal type of fencing for animal or livestock protection.
- Plain wire fences are also very sturdy and corrosion-resistant. It can also sustain a long time in wetter conditions making it the perfect option for coastal area uses.
- Even in high-pressure situations, such plain wire fence can sustain for a long time and avoid any major damages.
- For farming uses such fences can provide a good solution as they can take much pressure while it avoids hurting any animals in the process.
- Aside from these benefits, plain wire fences are also very inexpensive and can be installed easily.
CONs of Traditional Fences
- Most traditional types of fences do not provide sufficient security hence they got replaced by electric or barbed wire fences.
- The installation charge for a wooden-style fence can be a pretty hefty amount.
- The maintenance is very hard over time in this style of fence.
- The tedious job of digging and erecting the posts to get them ready to use can be very off-putting for most.
- The painting on the wooden fences can be damaged over time and require more bucks to fix it periodically.
- Wooden fences require cutting down a lot of trees and can aggravate deforestation issues, making it a non-sustainable option.
- Whereas, for plain wire fence the security is extremely low and not suitable to scare away intruders.
- The labor cost of installation of traditional style plain fences can be pretty high with a certain proportion of space needed to be maintained while installing.
With that being said, the traditional style is considered mostly outdated and has been replaced by many great options, yet some places are better suited for such fences. Depending on the aspects of functionality, budget, and level of security needed, both barbed and traditional style fences have different benefits and demerits to offer. With these many options available in the market now buyers are free to make their choices.