What chain-link is for
Containment at the lowest cost per foot. If the job is keeping a dog in the yard, marking a boundary, or securing a commercial perimeter, chain-link does it for a fraction of what a privacy fence costs.
What it does not do is hide anything. That is the trade, and it is worth being clear about before you choose it.
Options
Galvanized
The standard silver mesh, in four foot and six foot. Four foot for yards and pets, six foot for security and commercial runs.
Black and vinyl coated
The same fence with a coloured coating over the wire. Black mesh reads as far less industrial — against hedging or landscaping it visually disappears where galvanized catches the light. It costs more per foot than galvanized and holds up better in coastal air.
Privacy slats
Vertical slats woven through the mesh, blocking most sightlines at a fraction of the cost of a privacy fence. Not a solid panel — a screen.
Residential and commercial
On homes it is the practical choice for back yards, dog runs and side lines where nobody is looking. On commercial property it is the default: long perimeters, storage yards and sites where the fence has to take knocks and keep working.
Long runs price lower per foot than short ones. If you are fencing a large perimeter, the estimator gives you a preliminary range in minutes — draw the line on the map and see.
Installation
Terminal posts at corners and ends, line posts between, top rail through the run, mesh stretched and tied. Getting the mesh tension right is what separates a fence that stays taut from one that bellies out in two years.
Gates match the fence — see gate installation.
Other materials
For privacy, see vinyl,wood orDura Fence. For an open boundary that looks finished rather than utilitarian, seealuminum. Torn mesh or bent posts on an existing run? That is repair work.