Types

Typical agricultural barbed wire fencing.

Split-rail fencing common in timber-rich areas.

A chain-link wire fence surrounding a field.

Fence of summer garden.

Wrought iron fencing is often used in historic districts and to surround cemeteries.

By function

• Agricultural fencing, to keep livestock in and/or predators out
• Privacy fencing, to provide privacy and security ^[1]
• Temporary fencing, to provide safety, security, and to direct movement; wherever temporary access control is required, especially on building and construction sites
• Perimeter fencing, to prevent trespassing or theft and/or to keep children and pets from wandering away.
• Decorative fencing, to enhance the appearance of a property, garden or other landscaping
• Boundary fencing, to demarcate a piece of real property
• Newt fencing, amphibian fencing, drift fencing or turtle fence, a low fence of plastic sheeting or similar materials to restrict movement of amphibians or reptiles.
• Pest-exclusion fence
• Pet fence Underground fence for pet containment
• Pool fence
• Snow fence

A balustrade or railing is a kind of fence to prevent people from falling over the edge, for example, on a balcony, stairway (see railing system), roof, bridge, or elsewhere near a body of water, places where people stand or walk and the terrain is dangerously inclined.

By construction

• Brushwood fencing, a fence made using wires either side to compact the brushwood material together.
• Chain-link fencing, wire fencing made of wires woven together
• Close boarded fencing, Strong and robust fence constructed from morticed posts, arris rails and vertical feather edge boards
• Concrete fence, easy to install and highly durable
• Ha-ha (or sunken fence)
• Hurdle fencing, made from moveable sections
• Palisade (Stakewall)
• Picket fences, generally a waist-high, painted, partially decorative fence
• Post-and-rail fencing
• Roundpole fences, similar to post-and-rail fencing but more closely spaced rails, typical of Scandinavia and other areas rich in raw timber.
  
  

  

  Slate fencing in Mid-Wales
• Slate fence, a type of palisade made of vertical slabs of slate wired together. Commonly used in parts of Wales.
• Spear-top fence
• Split-rail fences made of timber, often laid in a zig-zag pattern, particularly in newly settled parts of the United States and Canada
• Stockade fence, a variation of the picket fence that is typically 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 m) high with pickets placed adjacent to one another with no space between. This type of fence is commonly used for privacy.
• Vinyl fencing
• Wattle fencing, of split branches woven between stakes.
• Wood-panel fencing
• Wrought iron fencing, made from tube steel, also known as ornamental iron.
• Hedge, including:
  • Cactus fence
  • Hedgerows of intertwined, living shrubs (constructed by hedge laying)
  • Live fencing is the use of live woody species for fences.
  • Turf mounds in semiarid grasslands such as the western United States or Russian steppes`
• Wall fences, including:
  • Dry-stone wall or rock fence, often agricultural
• Wire fences
  • Smooth wire fence
  • Barbed wire fence
  • Electric fence
  • Woven wire fencing, many designs, from fine chicken wire to heavy mesh "sheep fence" or "ring fence"
  • Welded wire mesh fence

Requirement of use

Typical perimeter fence with barbed wire on top.

The following types of areas or facilities often are required by law to be fenced in, for safety and security reasons:

• facilities with open high-voltage equipment (transformer stations, mast radiators). Transformer stations are usually surrounded with barbed-wire fences. Around mast radiators, wooden fences are used to avoid the problem of eddy currents.
• railway lines (in the United Kingdom)
• fixed machinery with dangerous mobile parts (for example at merry go rounds on entertainment parks)
• explosive factories and quarry stores
• most industrial plants
• airfields and airports
• military areas
• prisons
• construction sites
• zoos and wildlife parks
• Pastures containing male breeding animals, notably bulls and stallions.
• open-air areas that charge an entry fee
• amusement equipment which may pose danger for passers-by
• domestic swimming and spa pools