Privacy Fence Styles: How the Picket Layout Changes the Fence

Ask for a privacy fence and you will be asked which kind. The differences look small on paper and are obvious in the yard. Some styles are fully closed. Some let air through. Some look the same from both sides, which matters when the fence sits on a shared line.

QC Fence Contractors builds all of the common privacy styles on site across the Charlotte metro, at six feet and, where permitted, eight.

• Dog ear: pickets butted side by side with the top corners clipped. Solid when built, with hairline gaps after the wood dries. The most common and least expensive.
• Stockade: the same idea with pointed picket tops.
• Board on board: a second layer of pickets covers the joints in the first. No gaps, ever, and more lumber.
• Shadowbox: pickets alternate front and back. Private straight on, open at an angle, and it lets wind through.
• Horizontal: boards run flat for a modern look. Needs straight lumber and closer post spacing.
• Lattice top: solid to about five feet with open lattice above, which lightens a tall fence.
• Cap and trim: a flat cap board and a face trim board along the top of a dog ear or board on board fence. It finishes the top edge and shields the picket end grain.

If nothing may be visible through the fence, choose board on board or vinyl privacy panels. If the fence sits on a line you share with a neighbor, shadowbox gives both of you a good face. If the yard is exposed to wind, shadowbox again, because a solid fence takes the full load. For the lowest cost with good privacy, dog ear.

Posts matter as much as pickets. Any of these styles can be hung on steel posts where the ground stays wet. Height limits come from local zoning and HOA rules and vary by address.