What is an aluminum fence?
It’s an ornamental picket fence made of aluminum rails, pickets and posts, usually finished in black. It looks like wrought iron, keeps the view open and doesn’t rust.
That last part matters in a humid climate and near the lakes. Cost guides put aluminum’s life at 20 to 50 years. It comes in panels that hang between posts, so the posts land about every 6 ft.
We price two heights: a 4 ft fence for yards at $30–42 a foot installed, and a 5 ft pool fence at $36–50 a foot.
How does it handle a slope?
Aluminum panels rack. The rails tilt to follow the grade while the pickets stay straight up and down, so the bottom of the fence follows the ground instead of stepping.
That gives a smoother line on a rolling lawn than a stepped wood or vinyl fence. Racking has a limit, though. Where the ground is steeper than a panel can rack, we step the sections, and the gaps under each step get bigger.
Posts go in concrete. The Upstate’s red clay subsoil makes for slow digging, and rock or roots on the line add time. Before the first hole, we file the SC811 locate.
Gates match the fence. A walk gate runs $350–700 installed, a drive gate $900–1,700, and a pool gate with self-closing, self-latching hardware $550–1,000.
Where does aluminum fit best?
Front yards, lake lots and neighborhoods where the view matters and the rules call for an open, see-through fence.
Clemson front yards. The City of Clemson limits fences in the front setback to 4 ft and requires them to be “visually transparent.” A 4 ft aluminum picket fence is the kind of fence that rule describes. The Clemson fence page covers the rest of the city’s rules, including corner lots with two fronts.
Lake homes. On a lake lot the view of the water is the point, and aluminum doesn’t block it. The lake rules still decide where a fence can go. Duke doesn’t approve fences inside the Keowee Project Boundary, and Oconee County requires a 25 ft natural vegetative buffer from full pond on lakefront lots in its lake overlay. On Hartwell, the shoreline past your property line is public land managed by the Corps of Engineers. Read the Lake Keowee fence page or the Lake Hartwell fence page before you plan the layout.
HOAs. Some neighborhoods ask for an open style. At Keowee Key, for one, fences on property lines need CARE approval first. Read your covenants for height, color and style.
We check the town, county, HOA and lake rules before the layout is final.
What does a pool fence need?
South Carolina’s pool code asks for a barrier at least 48 inches high, with no opening a 4-inch sphere can pass through, and gates that open outward, close on their own and latch on their own.
The state adopted the 2021 International Swimming Pool and Spa Code effective in 2023. Our pool fence is 5 ft, which clears the 48-inch minimum, and its gates carry self-closing, self-latching hardware.
Some places add their own step. Clemson’s rental code requires a 48-inch barrier with a self-closing, self-latching gate around pools at rentals, and Anderson County’s building codes office lists a Pool Fence Affidavit. The pool fence guide goes through the rules in order.
What does an aluminum fence cost?
A 4 ft yard fence runs $30–42 a foot installed, and a 5 ft pool fence $36–50 a foot. Gates, slopes and corners move the total.
| Example job | Ballpark |
|---|---|
| 120 ft of 4 ft front yard, one walk gate | $3,950–$5,750 |
| 200 ft of 4 ft yard, one walk gate, one drive gate | $7,250–$10,800 |
| 140 ft of 5 ft pool fence, one pool gate | $5,600–$8,000 |
Taking out an old fence adds $3–5 a foot, and jobs start at $1,200.
When isn’t aluminum the right fence?
When you want privacy. Aluminum screens nothing, so for a back yard you want hidden, wood or vinyl privacy is the better fit.
It also costs more per foot than chain link if all you need is a plain dog fence out back. The wood vs vinyl vs aluminum guide compares price, upkeep and lifespan side by side. When the fence is done, we walk the finished line with you.
