Garth Allen Fence Builders arranges wrought iron and ornamental steel fence installation in Allen, mostly for places where a solid wall of cedar is the wrong answer: a front yard that should stay open, a pool enclosure, a lot that backs onto a greenbelt or pond, or a side yard where the owner wants a view rather than privacy. The work is carried out by insured fence contractors registered with the City of Allen. For privacy runs, see wood fence installation; many Allen yards use both, cedar along the neighbors and iron where the view matters.
Iron, steel and aluminum: what the words mean
Most fences sold as wrought iron today are ornamental steel: square tubular pickets welded or bracketed between rails, powder coated or painted black. True wrought iron in solid bar is heavier, usually custom-built and priced accordingly. Aluminum looks similar from the street but is lighter, does not rust and dents more easily.
The distinction matters in Allen because of what the city’s fence guideline actually names. Brick, wood and wrought iron are the acceptable materials, and all other materials need Building Official approval. Ornamental steel built in the wrought-iron style is the usual choice under that heading, and the permit application states the material so the city can confirm it. Aluminum is not named, so it is worth an answer from the city before the design is settled. Whatever the panels are made of, the posts must be metal, with metal caps and hardware.
Why an open fence suits Allen conditions
Allen’s building code designs for 105 mph wind gusts. A solid 6 ft cedar fence catches the full force of that wind and passes it to the posts,, so a storm tests every post and footing along the line. An open picket fence lets most of the wind through, so its posts and footings carry a fraction of the load. On exposed lots facing open space, that is a practical argument for iron as much as an aesthetic one.
There is no rot or termite concern with steel either. The city’s code rates termite pressure “Very Heavy,” a real issue for any wood in contact with the ground, but none for a steel post and steel panels. The trade-off is rust, covered below.
Setting posts in shifting clay
Ornamental panels are rigid. A cedar fence can tolerate a post that moves half an inch; a welded steel panel cannot, and a post that heaves pulls the panel out of square, binds the gate and cracks the finish at the welds. Allen sits mostly on Houston Black clay, which swells and shrinks enough to move a shallow footing every season.
So posts for iron fences are set in concrete at least 18 inches deep, as the city requires, deeper at gates and corners, with holes dug straight-sided so the clay cannot grip a flared collar and lift it. The tops of the footings are crowned to shed water away from the steel. The clay soil guide explains the mechanism.
Slopes are handled in one of two ways. Rackable panels let the pickets stay plumb while the rails follow the grade, giving a smooth line. Stepped panels stay level and drop at each post, which leaves a triangle of open space under each step that matters for small dogs and pool barriers.
Dogs, kids and picket spacing
An open fence only contains what cannot fit between, under or over it. Standard residential panels leave roughly a hand’s width between pickets, which holds a large dog but not a small one, and a puppy will test every gap. Panels with closer spacing, or a lower band of extra pickets along the bottom rail, close that off without making the fence look heavy. The gap under the bottom rail matters as well: along the lot-line drainage easement Allen requires the bottom of the fence to sit at least 3 inches above grade so water passes, which is fine for most dogs but worth knowing for a determined digger. Horizontal rails also act as a ladder for climbers, so a pool or play-area run keeps them on the outside or spaces them far apart. The fences for dogs guide compares the options in more detail.
HOAs are part of the decision too. An HOA may call for iron in certain places, such as along a greenbelt or pond, or set its height, color and top style, and the City of Allen asks owners to have any HOA approval in hand before applying for the permit.
Pool enclosures in iron
Iron is common around pools because it keeps the water visible from the house. Allen’s rules for a pool barrier are specific: the enclosure must be at least 4 ft high, gates must be self-closing and self-latching, and the latch on the pool side must sit at least 4.5 ft above the ground. Doors from the house that open to the pool area need alarms. The gate hardware, the swing direction and the picket spacing all need to be checked against the city’s pool guideline before the panels are ordered. Pool fence installation covers the barrier in detail, and the new pool planning post explains the timing.
Front yards, corners and retaining walls
Front yards are where iron is chosen most, and where the line needs the most care. Allen requires that fences not block vision at alleys, streets and intersections, with a 20-ft clear area back from the curb line at alley and street corners and 200 ft of sight distance at street intersections. Fences must also stay on private property. Front-yard height and placement are confirmed for the specific lot before a design is final, and the Allen permit rules guide covers the application.
On lots with a retaining wall, a fence on top of the wall is limited to 8 ft, and the wall and fence combined cannot exceed 12 ft. Posts on a wall are cored or surface-mounted rather than set in soil.
Finish, rust and upkeep
Rust starts wherever the coating is broken: a scratch from a mower, a cut end left bare, a weld that cracked when a post moved. Sprinklers that spray the fence daily and mulch or soil heaped against the posts speed it up. Keeping heads aimed away and grade a little below the post base slows it down. Chips are touched up early, before rust spreads under the coating. When a fence is already rusting, the rusted iron fence guide and fence repair cover the options.
Gates and cost
Matching walk gates and double drive gates are built in the same steel, hung on heavier posts; see gate installation and, for powered gates, automatic gate installation. Typical DFW-area pricing for ornamental iron or steel runs $28 to $55 a foot installed, with gates, slope and custom designs adding to that. The Allen fence cost guide puts it beside cedar.
