Need some privacy in your Texas back yard? Here are some fun DIY ideas for fencing

I heard a news report just last week that, because of urban land prices, big ol’ Texas has the smallest city lots (for new constructions) of any state in the country.

I don’t know how that figures in with Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Maybe they’re not building houses out there right now. All I know is that from a landscaping standpoint we’re being called on to provide privacy in every possible way.

Some Texans prefer to use plants for that natural screening, but you must remember that plants have widths (thicknesses), which means they rob from your outdoor living spaces. And most of our truly columnar plants are poor choices for longevity and beauty. It’s rough to make a nice landscape out of goalposts and overgrown toothpicks.

So, most of us switch over to fences or walls. They can be foreboding and fort-like. It’s best to use a combination of hard surfaces and plants that combine well with them to soften things up. And that’s where we’ll pick up this meeting.

Let’s think about fun fences — maybe varieties on old-fashioned picket fencing. There is no rule on the heights or shapes of the pickets. Vary the heights. Let every fifth picket extend up a few inches above the rest of the fence. Use a saber saw to cut a star into its wood in honor of your home state. Or round the ends of the pickets instead of cutting points at the tips of the pickets.

Build your DIY picket fence out of pressure-treated wood to slow down the decay process, then leave it unpainted. It will gray naturally over the years (to match its gardener). You can protect it with a clear sealant at that point, or you can then stain it or paint it. Wood gives you all kinds of options. Tip: Keep the bottoms of each picket an inch above the soil so it can’t wick water up into the wood. It will last years longer that way.

I’ve seen a couple of really funky gates that were built out of old doors from the salvage yard. There’s an almost endless supply, and if you hunt for a while you’ll be able to find a pair that match. Rig up some kind of a “door jamb” to support them and slap on a coat or two of suitable weatherproof paint or sealant. There’s a fine line between funky and unfathomable, so proceed cautiously. Your neighbors are going to be watching.

Antique wrought iron fencing and gates used to be leaned up at the backs of the salvage yards. They weren’t exactly hot commodities. Well, my gardening friend, that has certainly changed. They’re “good as gold” now. You can work them into your new fence as a part of the past and a piece of the future. I have half of an old New Orleans gate that serves to block off the routes of armadillos and possums through our back yard. I put it in for its good looks, but I’ve found that it’s serving two functions. I’m good with that.

Regular wrought iron is glorious. There are many sources locally, both of prefabricated sections that can quickly be erected for a handsome look, also of companies that can make special designs for a one-of-a-kind pattern. I had a gate designed for our landscape. I couldn’t afford to do the entire fence, but the gate offered an affordable compromise.

Wrought iron also offers you the chance to have the fence painted white, black, landscape green or any other color you wish. Repainting every 6 or 10 years isn’t all that difficult, either. I use a painting mitt and have been quite happy with the results. Professional painters wouldn’t be caught dead doing that. They use spray rigs after laying drop cloths over everything in the vicinity to prevent overspray.

Welded wire fencing is attractive and very functional. There are modern versions of welded wire, and there are old styles, even currently made and sold. All are good options if they’re installed properly. They offer no privacy unless they’re covered with vines, but they do serve to keep good animals in and bad animals (for the most part) out.

If you have a formal landscape and “funk” just isn’t a word that fits any part of your plantings, you may be considering a masonry wall. They are, after all, the most permanent part of any hardscaping improvement. They’re fabulous looking if they blend well with your house and if they’re not visually too “heavy.” They also need to be constructed by professional masons. Ask for references, and drive by to see how their prior works look a few years after they’ve been installed. We’ve all seen HOA walls that have tilted and fallen. They’re difficult to repair and expensive to replace.

You can hear Neil Sperry on KLIF 570 AM on Saturday afternoons 1-3 p.m. and on WBAP 820 AM Sunday mornings 8-10 a.m. Join him at www.neilsperry.com and follow him on Facebook.