Vinyl privacy fences in Ann Arbor, built to ride out Michigan winters

Inside the material: resin, additives and why formulation counts

Fence vinyl starts as PVC, a cousin of the plastic in house siding and replacement windows, forced through shaped dies to form hollow profiles for posts, rails and pickets. Left untreated, that resin yellows and grows brittle in sunlight, which is why makers mix modifiers into it. The most important of these is titanium dioxide: it blocks ultraviolet light and keeps white vinyl white. Impact modifiers make the plastic tougher, especially when it is cold.

Products split apart on how much of each ingredient goes in and where it sits. Some profiles are fresh resin all the way through; others are coextruded, with a weather-resistant skin over a core that may hold reground material. That can work well. A thin skin over a weak core, or a trimmed additive package, is how a bargain price gets reached.

Wall thickness and the parts of the profile hidden from view

Every vinyl post, rail and picket is a hollow tube, and the thickness of that tube wall does more for long-term performance than almost anything else. Thicker walls resist denting, flex less under wind, hold screws and brackets better, and survive a hard knock in the cold.

• Posts: a heavier wall keeps the post from ovaling where rails enter it and gives gate hardware something solid to bite into.
• Rails: these carry the weight of the infill and the push of the wind, so a ribbed or thicker rail resists the slow sag you see on bargain fences.
• Pickets and panels: tongue-and-groove boards that are too thin will bow outward between rails and rattle on a gusty day.

How to spot cheap vinyl before it ever reaches your yard

Bargain vinyl tends to give itself away if you know where to look. None of these signs alone proves a product is poor, but two or three together should make you slow down.

• A face that flexes noticeably when you press it with one finger, or a rail you can twist by hand.
• A slightly blue or gray cast to the white, or a glossy, almost greasy sheen rather than a clean matte or satin finish.
• Rails that sit loose in the post routes and click or rattle when the section moves.
• Gates sold with no metal insert in the frame and hinges meant for wood.

Cold snaps, brittleness and impact in a southeast Michigan winter

PVC gets stiffer as the temperature drops, and its resistance to a sharp blow falls off with it. On a bitter January morning, a hit from a frozen chunk of plow spoil, a heavy icicle sliding off a branch or a snowblower spitting gravel can crack a panel that would have flexed in July.

Layout helps as much as product choice. Keep the fence back from where the city plow piles snow at the end of a driveway. Posts for a vinyl fence still have to sit below the depth frost reaches in this climate, which is covered on the privacy fence installation page.

Sun, ultraviolet exposure and keeping the color true

Ultraviolet energy breaks down the surface of the material over years, and the visible result is chalking, fading or a shift toward yellow. White and almond are the most forgiving colors because they reflect heat and the titanium dioxide in them shields the resin well. Tan, clay, gray and woodgrain-textured profiles have come a long way, but darker colors run hotter in full sun, move more with temperature and can fade unevenly if the pigment package is weak.

In a yard with mature oaks and maples, one stretch of fence may sit in shade all afternoon while another bakes on the south or west side. Good vinyl fades evenly enough that you will not notice; poor vinyl shows it as a patchwork.

Routed posts, rail locks and panel systems for solid privacy

Most vinyl privacy fences are built as a kit of parts rather than as framed lumber. Posts come from the factory with holes, called routes, punched where the rails slide in. The rails then hold the infill, and the whole section locks together without visible fasteners on the face. Here is how a typical solid section goes together:

1. Posts are set plumb in concrete at the spacing the manufacturer calls for, with the routes facing each other along the line.
2. The bottom rail slides into the routes of two neighboring posts, usually with an aluminum stiffener already inside it.
3. Tongue-and-groove pickets drop into the channel of the bottom rail one at a time, each locking edge to edge with the last.
4. The top rail is lowered over the tops of the pickets and fed into the upper routes, capturing the whole panel.
5. Rail locks engage or hidden screws are driven, caps go on, and the section is checked for level and even reveal.

Tongue-and-groove pickets and how a solid vinyl wall handles wind

Tongue-and-groove pickets are what make a vinyl fence truly private. Each board interlocks with the next, so there are no sight gaps and no shrinkage cracks opening up over time the way wood boards do. The tradeoff is that a solid wall acts like a sail. Wind cannot pass through it, so all of that force gets handed to the rails and then to the posts and footings.

On a sheltered in-town lot surrounded by houses and trees, that load is modest. On a lot backing onto open farmland, a long exposed property line or a hilltop, gusts can push hard on a long run of solid panels. Good systems answer this with tighter post spacing, heavier posts, stiffened rails and deeper or wider concrete. If your lot sits out in the open, as many do around Saline and Chelsea, mention it when you send the address so the contractor plans for it.

Aluminum reinforcement in gates, bottom rails and long spans

Vinyl alone is not stiff enough to carry its own weight over a long span or to hold a swinging gate square. Well-built fences hide metal where it counts. The places to ask about:

• Bottom rails: an aluminum channel inside the bottom rail stops the slow belly that otherwise develops as tongue-and-groove infill presses down on it year after year.
• Gate frames: a quality vinyl gate has an aluminum frame or welded aluminum inserts inside its stiles and rails, so it does not rack out of square and drag.
• Hinge posts: the post that carries a gate usually gets an aluminum or steel insert and is often filled with concrete, because a hollow vinyl post will bend under a swinging load.
• Hardware: hinges and latches built for vinyl clamp around the post or bolt through it with backing plates instead of relying on short screws into thin plastic.

Expansion and contraction across a year of temperature swings

PVC grows and shrinks with temperature far more than wood does, and around here a fence can see a hot August afternoon and a subzero February night in the same year. Manufacturers design the routes and rail ends with room to slide, and installers are supposed to leave the specified clearance rather than jamming every piece tight.

When that allowance is ignored, the symptoms are predictable. Rails bow or buckle in midsummer because they have nowhere to go. In deep cold the same rails shrink and can pull partway out of the post, leaving a visible gap or letting the infill rattle.

Cleaning, care and what vinyl asks of you each year

Vinyl is low maintenance, not no maintenance. A little attention once or twice a year keeps it looking sharp:

• Rinse the whole fence with a garden hose in spring to clear pollen, dust and the film road salt leaves near a driveway or street.
• For green or black growth on shaded, north-facing runs, use warm water, a mild dish soap and a soft brush, then rinse well.
• Skip abrasive pads, harsh solvents and scouring powder, which dull the surface and can make it hold dirt faster.
• Watch the base where mowers and string trimmers hit it; a strip of mulch or stone along the line saves a lot of scuffing.
• Check caps, gate latches and hinge screws each spring after freeze and thaw has had a few months to loosen things.

Repairability, replacement parts and matching panels years later

One quiet advantage of a routed vinyl system is that you can often replace a single damaged picket or rail without rebuilding the section. That only works if the same profile is still available, so it pays to write down the manufacturer, the product line and the color when your fence goes in.

Cracks from impact, posts pushed out of line by frost and gates that have started to drag are handled on the privacy fence repair page.

Vinyl is the pick for owners after a crisp, even appearance and very little maintenance. If you would rather have the warmth of real boards, read the wood privacy fences page, and if you want a heavier, wood-toned wall without staining, the composite fences page is the next stop. Once vinyl feels right, the contact page takes your address and a handful of yard pictures to get a site visit moving.

Vinyl privacy styles, what drives the cost, and whether vinyl suits your yard

Solid tongue-and-groove panels are the backbone of vinyl privacy fencing, but there is room to play. Popular choices include a solid panel topped with lattice, a scalloped or arched top, a two-tone design with a contrasting post and rail, and textured woodgrain faces in tan or gray. Check any homeowner association's approved colors and designs first.

There is no single price for vinyl because the contractor has to see the yard first. The things that move the number most:

• The grade of the product: wall thickness, internal ribbing, the resin package and whether rails carry metal stiffeners.
• Total length and height of the run, plus the number of corners and end posts.
• Gates, especially wide or double gates that need welded aluminum frames and reinforced posts.
• Slope and grade changes, since vinyl panels are usually stepped down a hill rather than angled.
• Soil, rocks, roots and access, which affect how hard it is to dig and set each post.

Vinyl privacy fences in Ann Arbor — common questions

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