Which Iron or Aluminum Fence Height is Best for My Project?

As you begin shopping for a fence, you may be wondering which iron or aluminum fence height may be best for your project.  We discuss some considerations when choosing a fence height and review each of our standard heights.

The last thing you want to do is buy a fence only to find out its taller or shorter than you wanted.  But, how do you choose a height without seeing the fence in person?  Check out our video below or read on to see what heights we offer and what you should take into consideration when choosing how tall your fence should be.

Pictured in the video is a set of our Signature Iron fence panels in a sample 4ft width for demonstration pieces. Your standard iron fence panels will be 8ft wide.  Your standard aluminum panels will be 6ft or 8ft wide depending on the grade.

Both our iron and aluminum fences come in standard 3ft, 4ft, 5ft and 6ft tall heights.  To give you a frame of reference in the video, I stand 5’9” tall.

Now let’s go ahead and take a look at each standard height individually to give you a better view of each one.

3 Foot (36 inch) Tall Wrought Iron and Aluminum Fence

This height is often used in more decorative ways with smaller yards, patios and gardens. It’s also a great height for use on top of masonry walls built of brick, stone or stucco. 3ft tall is good if you are looking to mark or block an area off, but don’t want the fence to be obtrusive on any view into our out of the yard. This fence height is short enough that most people and larger dogs can usually get over the fence with some effort. It’s also short enough that if a taller person backed into it, they could possibly fall over it. This is key to keep in mind if you are installing the fence as a barrier to a drop off of any kind.

So 3ft tall shines as a decorative accent for smaller projects, but if your goal is keeping animals and people out, or if its being used to block off any sort of drop off, you will probably want to go with a taller fence height.

4 Foot (48 inch) Tall Wrought Iron and Aluminum Fence

This height is by far the most popular one we sell. It’s tall enough to make getting over it more effort for a person and it should keep in most dogs unless they are very large and agile.

You can still walk up to a 4ft fence, put an elbow up on it and have a conversation with someone on the other side. At this height, you won’t be blocking any views from a standing or seated position and it won’t give any kind of an enclosed feeling even if its installed very close to the house. It works equally well installed at yard height or on top of shorter masonry knee walls.

At 4ft you are also tall enough that you do not need to worry about anyone tumbling over it if you are using the fence to barricade a drop-off of any kind. If you are looking for the best ‘all-around’ fence height, you really can’t go wrong with 4ft tall.

5 Foot (60 inch) Tall Wrought Iron and Aluminum Fence

Up next we have our 5ft tall fence. At 5ft tall you can still see over the fence, but it’s beginning having more of a barrier or enclosure feeling to it. 5ft is tall enough to keep just about any type of dog from jumping over it. It’s also tall enough that someone trying to get over it is going to have to put some significant effort into it.

A 5ft fence is a good compromise of wanting to keep people and animals in or out without being so tall that you cannot clearly see over it. I get a lot of folks that will use this height in backyards or in larger projects where the fence is set further away from the house.

6 Foot (72 inch) Tall Wrought Iron and Aluminum Fence

At this height, most folks cannot see over the fence. You will be talking through the fence rather than over it to another person. 6ft tall fence is good if you want to send more of a ‘stay out’ security message with the fence.

It’s also good if you want to make a larger area feel more enclosed and cozy. I doubt any dogs will be able to get over the 6ft height and a person would have to put some serious effort in to get up and over it.

We get a lot of folks utilizing 6ft tall fence in larger yard projects where the fence is set far away from the house since the taller height will make it more readily visible from far away. We also sell quite a bit of our 6ft tall fence in the heavy-duty Signature grade as a security perimeter fence.

In Conclusion…

Now that you are aware of the standard heights available, I do want to clearly state that the examples for each height are not hard-and-fast rules. I have had people use taller fence where shorter would normally be used with great results and vice versa. Your personal preferences and reason for getting the fence will dictate which height works best for you in the end.

I hope this has helped illustrate the different fence heights and how they look in relation to a person. If you want to see some more examples of how different heights look, be sure to visit our Our Photo Gallery in the Knowledge Center on our website. From there you can sort by different height and styles of fence and gates to see how they look in real world installations.