How High Should a High-Security Fence Be?

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If you’re looking for high-security fencing, you’ve probably noticed that there are plenty of options out there. Different types of fences, different add-ons and options, and a wide variety of heights.

The thing is, high-security fence is not only one thing. It’s a fence system that’s designed to be as good as possible at deterring and preventing unauthorized entry, and that’s always a combination of being hard to cut, hard to climb, and hard to get through or under. Of course, fence height is a big factor in high-security fence systems, so here’s what you need to know.

The Minimum Height for High-Security Fences

There’s no hard and fast rule about how high a high-security fence needs to be, but it does need to be high enough to make climbing the fence as difficult as possible.

Since most people can easily reach the top of a 6’ or 1.8m high fence, that makes them easier to climb. So we’d say that the minimum height you should consider for your high-security fence should probably be about 8’ or 2.4 meters.

This makes it a lot harder to simply reach up and grab the top of the fence, and if you have an anti-climb fence type like palisade or 358 mesh, that should deter most would-be fence climbers.

High-Security Fence Height and Legal Compliance

There are two things related to legal compliance that might affect your fence.

The first is local, regional, or national regulations. Often, safety authorities will stipulate how high a fence must be when it’s around something that is potentially dangerous. So your first stop should always be the local building department to find out what the regulations are for the type of fence you’re building and the type of site you’re building it on.

The other thing that might affect high-security fence height from a legal compliance point of view is whether you’re adding fence-top security like electric fence or razor coils. Often, there will be laws that require those things to be installed above a certain height from the ground so that people can’t accidentally come into contact with them. Again, your local building department should be able to tell you what the regulations and bylaws say.

Is There a Maximum Height for a Fence?

Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a maximum height for a high-security fence. Many prisons and other high-security sites have fencing that is 14’ high or higher, and sometimes, indoor fencing in bond stores and similar will go all the way to the underside of the roof.

However, there are some practical considerations when it comes to how high a high-security fence can be.

Many types of fence materials only come in certain sizes, so those will restrict what kind of fence you can build.

Very high fences will also be much heavier, and in some cases, like 358 mesh, they might catch the wind too, which will add to the load. That doesn’t mean you can’t build a very high fence, but you will probably need the assistance of an engineer to design it!

Height Is Only One Factor

The most important thing to remember when designing a high-security fence is that height is only one factor.

A very tall high-security fence might make climbing the fence more difficult, but if it’s made from something that’s easier to get through, like chain link mesh, anyone looking to get into your site might simply choose to go through it.

The same goes for underground security. If you build a very tall high-security fence that’s hard to cut or climb, but you leave the ground under it untouched, some people might simply choose to dig under your fence. So always consider adding underground security measures.

There’s no such thing as a completely impervious fence, but a well-designed fence that combines height with a high-security fence product, good underground security and possibly some kind of electronic detection will do a good job of discouraging and slowing anyone down.