Marble Fences May Look Like A Stunning DIY, But It Could Ruin Your Home

For people with creative, unique decor styles, a large, boring wooden fence can be an eyesore in an otherwise lovely outdoor space. Luckily, if you think of your fence as a blank canvas, there are plenty of ways to spruce it up. Whether you are looking for different ways to modernize a dated wooden fence or you just want your fence to better reflect your aesthetic, one option is to add colorful marbles. By drilling holes and filling them with colored glass marbles, you can break up the monotonous look of a plain fence. The glass marbles let in light by acting like a bunch of gorgeous sun catchers, sending color throughout your outdoor space and making your fence sparkle. With endless combinations of sizes, arrangements, and colors for a marble fence DIY, your outdoor space can feel exactly how you want. Random and colorful marbles can create an eclectic and whimsical atmosphere, and perfectly spaced marbles in a single color can be contemporary and cool.

As stunning as the effect is, though, there are some safety concerns that you should be aware of if you decide to try out a DIY like this. Reflective materials outdoors can reflect sunlight in ways that damage your home or yard and may even pose a fire risk. So, before you grab your drill and marbles, make sure you understand the level of risk and some important tweaks that can make this project safer for your home while creating the same overall effect. 

Although a simple DIY like this may seem harmless, there are some potential issues that may arise. Glass outdoor decor, when it has a curved surface, like a marble, can pose a fire risk. The curved surface concentrates light from the sun that hits it, and redirects the concentrated rays. There is also a concentration of heat as well, so when the rays are redirected to flammable things, such as curtains in windows, a wooden deck, other parts of the wood fence, wicker patio furniture, and other highly flammable materials, it can be a recipe for disaster. If you live in an area prone to droughts or dry weather where you get wildfire condition warnings, then you know that grasses, trees, and other plants can also be quite flammable.

While not as scary as a potential fire, a marble fence could also cause damage to your home by melting vinyl siding. Even the windows of neighboring houses can reflect enough light to damage siding, and the concentrated light from something like a glass marble can be even hotter. Melted siding is not a good look and will probably counteract the beauty you are trying to achieve in your yard. Plus, damaged vinyl siding can cost thousands of dollars to fix. So, to help yourself protect your home against fires and damage, it is important to carefully consider if the colorful marble design is worth the risk.

To avoid expensive and dangerous potential damage to your own home and your neighbors', there are a few tips to keep in mind that can make this DIY project safer. First, be careful about what marbles or pieces of glass you choose. Try to use opaque glass, which prevents light from passing through. Even if it is not completely opaque, choosing marbles that let less light through can help reduce your risk. Also, instead of round marbles, try out flat pieces of glass. Without the curvature that concentrates light, your fence will be less likely to cause fire or damage.

You should also consider where you are putting your glass pieces. Although you get the sun catcher effect by installing the marbles in an area of your fence that receives a lot of sunlight, this same sunlight is what can pose a risk. Placing the glass decor in a more shaded area in your yard may help reduce the risk. Additionally, especially if you do not live in a location that often receives wildfire condition warnings, you can strategically determine where to place your glass decor so that it does not reflect onto your furniture, trees, home or any nearby neighbors. 

With all of this in mind, you should be able to create a vibrant and colorful backyard space while staying safe. If you are looking to further transform your outdoor space, then you may be interesting in learning how to add whimsy to your backyard with the trees that are already there.