Aluminum vs Ornamental Steel Fencing in the Fraser Valley

Nine out of ten homeowners in Chilliwack and Abbotsford asking about a decorative metal fence are choosing between two materials: pressed aluminum and powder-coated ornamental steel. They look similar from the street. They perform very differently once you factor in cost, weight, security, and how they age in the Fraser Valley climate.

Quick comparison

• Cost per linear foot: aluminum runs 20–35% cheaper than comparable ornamental steel.
• Weight: aluminum is roughly one-third the weight of steel — cheaper to ship, easier to install, easier on posts.
• Rust: aluminum does not rust, ever. Powder-coated steel resists rust for 15–25 years but eventually needs touch-ups where the coating chips.
• Strength: steel wins on impact resistance. A garden tractor bumping an aluminum picket will bend it; steel will scuff and shrug it off.
• Lifespan in BC weather: 25–40 years for either material with proper install and powder coat.

How aluminum holds up in the Fraser Valley climate

Aluminum is the low-maintenance king. It cannot rust, so the constant Chilliwack and Abbotsford rain that turns raw steel to orange in a season does nothing to it. Powder-coated aluminum handles UV, salt air off the Fraser River, and freeze-thaw cycles without corroding. The tradeoff: it is soft. A dropped hockey stick or a snowplow drift can bend a picket that a steel fence would barely notice.

Where ornamental steel earns its price tag

Powder-coated ornamental steel is what we spec for driveway gates, commercial perimeters, and anywhere security matters. The pickets are welded, not screwed, so nothing rattles loose. It shrugs off ladder impacts, vehicle nudges, and vandalism. In wet coastal BC the difference between a fence that lasts 20 years and one that lasts 40 comes down to the quality of the coating and the drainage on the post footings — get both right and steel is essentially permanent.

Cost breakdown for a typical Chilliwack yard

For a 100-foot front yard with two gates, expect aluminum ornamental to land in the $55–$85 per linear foot range installed, and powder-coated ornamental steel in the $75–$120 range depending on picket spacing, height, and finial style. Pool enclosures with self-closing gates cost more on either material because BC building code requires specific latch heights and gap tolerances.

Maintenance over 10 years

• Aluminum: hose off twice a year. That is the maintenance schedule.
• Steel: hose off twice a year and touch up any coating chips with matching powder-coat paint within a few weeks — otherwise moisture gets under the coating and rust spreads.

Which fence should you actually buy?

Pick aluminum if the fence is decorative, cost matters, or the yard has kids and pets rather than security threats — front yards, side yards, pool enclosures, and dog runs. Pick ornamental steel if the fence has to do a job: driveway gates, commercial perimeters, high-traffic public frontage, or any run where impact resistance and security are the point.

"In this climate both materials will outlast the mortgage. The question is what the fence has to do — decorate or defend."

If you are weighing the two for a Fraser Valley property, book a free on-site quote and we will price both side-by-side so you can compare line-for-line.