Wood, Vinyl or Aluminum Fencing Here

September 1, 2026 · by Michael Blair, Nashville's Fence Company

We compare these materials by what each one asks of you once the fence is up. Sun and water do the wearing: the USDA Forest Products Laboratory’s chapter on finishing wood says weathering can be as much a factor as decay in how long decks and fences last, and Nashville gets about 50.5 inches of precipitation in a normal year, according to the National Weather Service’s Nashville climate page. What a fence costs depends on the length of the run, the gates and the ground, and our cost guide goes through those, so this post sticks to the years after install.

How much upkeep does a wood fence need?

Wood looks the warmest and takes the most looking after. Pressure-treated pine is often still wet when it goes up: the finishing chapter says treated lumber is sometimes above its saturation point when it is delivered and installed, and the laboratory’s chapter on drying and dimensional change traces warp to a board shrinking by different amounts along and across its grain as it dries, with surface checks opening early in drying. For cedar against pine, the finishing chapter says naturally durable species and preservative-treated wood have quite comparable service lives above ground, and that a finish which slows moisture movement limits checking, splitting and warp in either one. Below ground it calls for pressure-treated lumber, or the dark heartwood of a naturally durable species, on every post and any other part in contact with the soil.

Clear sealer is the shortest-lived finish. The chapter gives a water-repellent preservative only 1 to 2 years as a natural finish, depending on the wood and its exposure, though it calls reapplying one on a fence easy. Penetrating stains need recoating more often than paint, and solid-color stains form a film that can peel the way paint does. Our post on staining a wood fence covers when new boards are ready for a first coat. Where wood earns its keep is a repair: when one board splits, we replace that board and leave the rest of the section alone.

Aluminum and steel

Ornamental aluminum marks a boundary without closing it in, which suits a pool or a front yard. Around a pool it is also a barrier under code: Metro’s pool permitting page says the barrier and fencing requirements for pools are in the International Swimming Pool Code, and our post on when a fence counts as a pool barrier goes through what that asks of the fence.

Steel, in an ornamental fence or a chain link frame, lasts as long as its coating does. Ameristar, which makes chain link framework, describes its PermaCoat framework as galvanized steel under a fused epoxy base coat and a polyester top coat, warranted for 15 years against cracking, chipping, peeling, blistering and corroding, and says its pre-galvanized GalvOnAll framework will not rust from the inside, a point it makes against traditional in-line galvanized framework. That is a manufacturer describing its own product, but the lesson carries to any steel fence: a scratch or a cut end through the coating is worth touching up.

Neither gives privacy, which for many Nashville back yards is the point of the fence.

• Wood: the warmest look, a clear finish to renew every year or two, single boards replaceable
• Vinyl: washed with mild soap, color chosen once, ask for the ASTM F964 certification
• Aluminum: open sight lines, no privacy, used for pool barriers
• Steel and chain link: galvanized steel whose life rides on its coating

Sources

• USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook (FPL-GTR-282) Chapter 16: Finishing Wood (Hunt, 2021) — Weathering as much a factor as decay for decks and fences; treated lumber sometimes installed wet; durable and treated woods comparable above ground; finishes limit checking, splitting and warp; treated lumber or durable heartwood for ground contact; clear water-repellent finish lasts 1 to 2 years; penetrating finishes recoated more often than paint; solid-color stains peel like paint; weathered finishes gray and mildew
• USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook (FPL-GTR-282) Chapter 13: Drying and Control of Moisture Content and Dimensional Changes (Bergman, 2021) — Warp from differing shrinkage across and along the grain as wood dries; surface checks early in drying
• National Weather Service Nashville, Nashville climate — Normal annual precipitation of 50.51 inches
• Illusions Vinyl Fence, FAQs — Car wash soap with a soft cloth or brush for normal maintenance; wrong cleaners or washers can damage it; color bonded at a molecular level on colored lines; touch-up supplied with every order
• Illusions Vinyl Fence, Installation Instructions (February 2024), Material Specifications — Meets ASTM F964-13; minimum impact resistance after six months and one year of weathering in hot dry, hot humid and temperate northern climates
• Metro Nashville Codes, Pool Permitting — Pool barrier and fencing requirements are in the International Swimming Pool Code
• Ameristar Perimeter Security, PermaCoat chain link framework — Galvanized steel under an epoxy base coat and polyester top coat; 15-year warranty against cracking, chipping, peeling, blistering and corroding
• Ameristar Perimeter Security, GalvOnAll chain link framework — Pre-galvanized steel framework that will not rust from the inside, compared with traditional in-line galvanized framework
• Metro Nashville Codes, Building Permits Central: I Want to Build a Fence (updated January 17, 2025) — Solid fences 30 inches and open fences 72 inches within the 10-foot front setback; 8 feet beside or behind the house; cross beams and bracing face the interior, not the street or an adjacent property; zoning overlays and HOAs may add restrictions