Security Fence Styles: Chain Link, Barbed Wire and Ornamental Steel

No fence stops a determined person. A good one slows them down, makes them visible while they try, and removes the easy way in. Which style does that best depends on the site and on how it has to look.

QC Fence Contractors installs security fencing for businesses, multifamily communities and industrial sites across the Charlotte metro.

• Tall chain link on heavy framework: the standard for yards, plants and utilities. See industrial fencing.
• Barbed wire and razor wire toppings, where the zoning district permits them.
• Ornamental steel: welded pickets with pressed or spear tops. Hard to climb, hard to cut, and acceptable on a street frontage.
• Smaller mesh chain link, which gives no toehold and resists cutters better than standard mesh.
• Privacy slats to keep stored goods out of sight.
• Bottom rail or tension wire so the fabric cannot be lifted.
• Sliding and cantilever gates with entry controls.

Most break-ins through a fence happen at one of three places. The bottom, where loose fabric can be pulled up. A dark or hidden corner, where someone has time to cut. And the gate, which is left open, chained loosely, or easy to lift off its hinges. A security design pays attention to those points first.

Height and toppings are regulated locally, and the rules for commercial and industrial districts are not the same in every jurisdiction around Charlotte. Confirm what your site allows before material is ordered.