Ornamental Aluminum & Iron Fence in Asheville, NC
The wrought-iron look without the rust — pool enclosures, estate panels, commercial perimeters and custom iron gates, set by our own crew.
Ornamental fence is what people put up when the fence is part of the house, not just the property line. Black pickets around a pool, a run along the front of an estate lot, a driveway entrance with iron gates hung between stone columns. It doesn't block a mountain view the way a solid fence does, and around here that's usually the point.
Two materials go under that heading, and they're not interchangeable. Powder-coated aluminum is the everyday choice — rust isn't a concern, it's light enough to hang on long runs and panel gates, and it comes in residential through commercial weights. Steel and wrought iron is heavier, welded, and the right answer when you want custom scrollwork, a serious drive gate, or panels that shrug off a hit. We build and hang the gates ourselves, and if the drive gate is going to open on its own we set the operator and wire it too — same crew, same phone number.
Our ornamental work
Aluminum & iron photos
Real Fence Scapes jobs. The gate photos below are ours too — most ornamental jobs end up being about the entrance.
Aluminum picket & pool enclosures
Black powder-coated picket at pool height, with the gate hardware the inspector wants to see.
Aluminum panels in a wood frame
Pressure-treated posts and rails carrying black aluminum panels. It reads warmer than an all-metal fence and it racks with the grade, so it suits sloped yards and new builds.
Iron gates & entrances
Welded steel and wrought iron, hung on our own posts or between masonry columns. Operators wired by our crew. Also see Gates & Operators →
Pick the material first
Aluminum or iron?
Both are black pickets from thirty feet away. Up close they're two different products with two different price tags.
Powder-coated aluminum
- Rust isn't a concern — a real advantage in our rainfall
- Light, so long runs and wide panel gates stay manageable
- Comes in residential, commercial and industrial weights — heavier posts and rails as you go up
- Rackable panels follow a slope instead of stepping down it
- Factory powder coat, so there's nothing to paint later
- Black, bronze and white — ask about other colors and we'll check availability
- The right default for pool fence and most residential work
Steel & wrought iron
- Heavier and stronger — takes abuse aluminum wouldn't
- Welded and fabricated, so custom shapes, scrollwork and odd openings are on the table
- The right call for a serious drive gate that gets used every day
- Can rust if the finish is breached, so it wants inspection and touch-up over the years
- Costs more, both material and labor
Spec it out
Heights, grades & options
Heights & sections
- 36 in and 42 in — garden and front-yard runs
- 48 in — the usual pool-enclosure height
- 54 in, 60 in and 72 in — privacy-adjacent and commercial
- Standard sections run about 6 ft between posts
- Rackable sections for slopes; stepped panels where a level line looks better
Grades & picket tops
- Residential, commercial and industrial grades — heavier posts, rails and pickets as you go up
- Standard residential picket spacing runs just under 4 in; tighter spacing available
- Flat top, spear/finial top, staggered, concave or convex tops
- Flush bottom rail or standard bottom rail with a picket drop
- Ornamental fence and gates are made to ASTM F2408; quality powder coat is tested to AAMA 2604
Options
- Matching walk gates, double drive gates and cantilever gates
- Gate operators, keypads, intercoms and safety devices, wired by our crew
- Self-closing hinges and self-latching hardware for pool gates
- Pressed-point or finial tops for a wrought-iron look in aluminum
- Panels set between masonry columns as well as on our own posts
- Puppy pickets — factory panels with a tighter picket band along the bottom for small dogs
Two specs we'll name on your quote: the grade of the fence (residential, commercial, industrial) and the finish standard on the powder coat. Together they decide how the fence looks ten years in.
The one with real rules
Pool enclosures & code
What the barrier has to do
Pool barriers in North Carolina are governed by the residential code appendix on swimming pools, spas and hot tubs, and Buncombe County enforces the statewide appendix rather than a county-specific version.
- Continuous barrier at least 48 in high, measured from the outside
- Limits on openings a small child could pass through
- Limits on climbable features — horizontal rails and handholds matter
- Gates self-closing and self-latching, with latch placement rules
Why aluminum picket is the usual answer
Vertical pickets with no climbable horizontal in the middle, a factory finish that survives chlorine and splash, and gate hardware built for the self-closing requirement. It's the fence most pool builders around here expect to see.
We flag what we see at the estimate, but the inspector has the last word. Exact picket spacing, latch height and any local overlay should be confirmed against the current code text or the Buncombe County Inspections handout before anybody sets a post — including us.
Mark and his crew put in an aluminum fence around our pool. Appreciate that they showed up when they said they would and got the job done. Quality work, respectful manner, and cleaned up the work area before they left. Would highly recommend!
Straight answers
Ornamental fence questions
Is aluminum strong enough, or should I get iron?
For a pool fence, a front-yard run or a property line, aluminum in the right grade is usually plenty, and rust isn't a worry. Where we push people toward steel is a drive gate that gets cycled every day, an opening wide enough that gate weight and wind load start to matter, or anywhere the fence is going to get bumped — a tight driveway, a commercial yard. The honest test is what the fence has to survive, not how it looks.
Will it rust?
Aluminum doesn't rust the way steel does — that's the material, not the coating. The powder coat is there for color and UV, so a scratch is cosmetic rather than the start of a rust streak. Steel and iron can rust if the finish gets breached, which is why iron gets touched up over the years and why we hot-dip or prime and powder coat rather than just painting.
Can ornamental fence follow a slope?
Yes, two ways. Rackable panels pivot at the picket-to-rail connection so the whole section tilts with the ground and the pickets stay plumb — good for a steady grade. On sharper changes we step the panels and keep each one level, which looks more formal but leaves a gap under the low end you have to plan for if there's a dog. We'll tell you which we'd use when we walk it.
Does it work for dogs?
It depends on the dog. Standard picket spacing is wide enough for a puppy or a small breed to get through, so for those we order factory puppy-picket panels, with the tighter picket band built in along the bottom. For a medium or large dog, standard spacing and the right height are usually fine. Keeping dogs and pets in →
Can you match the fence to gates and columns I already have?
Usually. Matching an existing black picket run is normally straightforward; matching a specific manufacturer's picket profile or an old ironwork pattern is a fabrication question and sometimes the honest answer is "close, not identical". Send photos and we'll tell you which one it is before you're committed.
Do you fabricate, or just install?
Both, and it's worth knowing which is which. Aluminum and iron fence panels we buy and install — there's no reason to fabricate a picket panel that a factory powder-coats better than a shop can. Gates we build ourselves, every one of them, sized and braced for the opening rather than ordered to the nearest stock width.
Beyond that, custom iron and aluminum fence is available on request. If you need something outside the standard panel sizes — an odd opening, a curved run, scrollwork — that's fabrication work and we'll take it on.
Handrails we do as an add-on, priced job by job. Steps, porches and landings, usually alongside other work we're already out there doing. Send a photo of the steps with your estimate request and we'll tell you what makes sense for them.
Can you repair bent or rusted iron fence?
Yes — bent pickets, a panel a car backed into, rusted-through bottom rail, gates that have dropped and won't latch. Photos are the fastest way to an answer. Send repair photos →
Do you offer commercial grade, or residential only?
Both, in aluminum and in steel. Residential grade covers yards, pool enclosures, front-yard runs and property lines — the everyday picket work. Commercial grade is heavier rail, thicker posts and taller panels, and it's what we set on apartment and condo perimeters, schools, storage and industrial sites, and anywhere the fence is going to get leaned on daily.
Which grade you need comes down to what the fence has to take, not what it costs, and we'll tell you at the walk-through which one we'd put in and why. It's on the quote either way, so you know what you're getting.
Who makes the aluminum you install?
There are a lot of manufacturers making good ornamental aluminum, so we buy quality material from reputable ones and pick the line that fits the job — residential picket, heavier commercial grade, the right color and the right rail configuration. Fence-grade aluminum from a real manufacturer typically carries a limited lifetime warranty on the material.
What we build gets our own two-year workmanship warranty on top of that. What our warranty covers →
Mark and his crew did an outstanding job on my new aluminum fence. It took about 2 days total, for a reasonable price, and the yard was spotless after they were done. Perfect.
Not what you're after?