Thinking about vinyl fencing until a co-worker told me she heard that it 'burns' your lawn. True or False?

Vicki T
by Vicki T
  20 answers
  • Ricardo B Ricardo B on Feb 06, 2012
    I've seen many rural homes, farms and ranches in and around Spalding, Pike, Henry and Fayette Counties of Georgia and haven't seen any burned grass underneath.
  • 3po3 3po3 on Feb 06, 2012
    I've heard of grass permanently staining vinyl fencing, but never a fence damaging the grass.
  • I would suppose if you use a solid board type of vinyl where there could be a great amount of reflection taking place that it could cause damage to a lawn. But I have never personally seen it and in my area there are many homes with this fence because of the smaller yards that we own.
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Feb 07, 2012
    There is plenty of vinyl fencing in Florida, where the sun's got a lot of power, and I've never seen or heard of any reflective damage.
  • I seen no problems
  • Ricardo B Ricardo B on Feb 07, 2012
    Yep... this "urban legend" is BUSTED !
  • Karen B Karen B on Feb 07, 2012
    If you live in a Very windy area, be cautious buying this type of fencing. It is not very srrong in high winds, tends to blow over or shatter.
  • Katherine A Katherine A on Feb 07, 2012
    If you're trying to fence for cows or horses, I have seen them lean on the top rail, pop it out of the slots, step over, and trot off for to excellent adventure.
  • Jennie M Jennie M on Feb 07, 2012
    We have vinyl fencing and LOVE it! There has been zero damamge to our lawn. I've never heard of such a thing. You do get what you pay for though. There is some cheap stuff out there that doesn't hold up in the wind very well, like Karen B. mentioned, but it's not all like that. We got some fencing that has some great infrastructure that makes it very strong and durable. It's never blown down and we're in a very windy area.
  • Keith B Keith B on Feb 07, 2012
    Had vinyl fence for years never had any problems except like the person said sometimes the rails will pop out.
  • Vicki T Vicki T on Feb 07, 2012
    You guys are awesome with your responses! I was told that the sun reflects from the fence to the grass and burns it. Ricardo B is right..." this "urban legend" is BUSTED !" I never even considered the wind being an issue but it makes sense. As I live in a tremendously windly area there will be no vinyl fencing in my future. I will just replace the old cedar fencing using steel poles spaced every four feet rather than wood posts every six feet. Again I truly appreciate all your input :)
  • Kathy V Kathy V on Feb 08, 2012
    Vinyl fence does not burn yard or plants but gravel or rock as mulch creates a heat that burns plants and holds too much moisture.
    • Elizabeth Sagarminaga Elizabeth Sagarminaga on Oct 21, 2015
      @Kathy V I completely second with you that vinylfence does not burn your backyard,it is a great way to add beauty, appeal,safety and also resale value to your home. Vinyl fencing is virtuallymaintenance free and comes in a variety of styles and colors.Thanks for greatsharing with us.
  • David S David S on Feb 08, 2012
    I AGREE WITH RICARDO ......ANOTHER URBAN LEGEND . I'VE GOT 2 VINYL ARBORS AND SMALL SECTIONS OF FENCING ON EITHER SIDE OF ONE .....WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS .
  • Crystal Crystal on Feb 09, 2012
    Hi there...I have had vinyl fencing for several years with no damage to the grass. hope that helps....
  • Diane I Diane I on Feb 10, 2012
    I love our vinyl fencing--very attractive & sturdy!
  • Cathy Dzienny Weygandt Cathy Dzienny Weygandt on Jun 27, 2016
    We had a solid vinyl privacy fence when we moved to our new home recently. It was totally destroying any plants planted near it. There was absolutely no air movement. The fence surrounded the driveway to the garage as well- increasing the heat to an intolerable level inside any car parked in that dead air space. I contacted the manufacturer who advised me not to remove any panels to allow airflow. Well, I was about to take down the fence then (ugly, solid block of plastic white 6' high) when I decided what did I have to lose. I drilled a hole at the top and bottem of 1-2 panels per fence section, and then used a sawzall to cut from top to bottem. Then I pulled the panels out and spread the remaining ones out evenly, leaving about a 1" space between each panel. The appearance looks so much better, and my plants are recovering. In fact, they appear to dance as the breeze can finally capture them!
  • Sue29046351 Sue29046351 on Aug 12, 2017

    I have about 60+ feet of harsh white vinyl fencing. When the sun hits it, it casts/reflects horrible, harsh, blaring light into 6 windows of my kitchen, dining room and living room. This is unnatural and horrid light. It's like an alien sun is rising every single day and coming into my house across the major part of my home. This is light pollution of the worst kind. Not good for people or my dog. It is truly unbelievable how much harsh glaring light comes in and how far it spreads into halls and rooms . . . until the sun finally sets. I HATE it! It's a shared fence with neighbor who chose and insisted upon this type of fencing. Neither of us had any idea this would happen . . . but, realistically thinking, of course -- 60+ feet of WHITE WHITE WHITE plastic is going to cast this kind of horrible light when the sun hits. One of the reason that I bought my house -- no windows on the sun side . . . well, NOW there is alien sun in my 3 main rooms every single day of my life. If considering this type of fencing . . . think about this issue before deciding that is what you want. I have no idea if the other colors . . . brown or almond or other . . . would also send this kind of horrid light out . . . HATE my shared fence!

    • See 2 previous
    • Sue29046351 Sue29046351 on Apr 13, 2021

      Oh, thanks for replying. No, never solved this. I have kind of just adapted. I have planted some hedge-type bushes over there . . . but they are growing slowly . . . so the problem persists. I have just learned to live with it and avoid the glare as much as possible.

  • Trish Flynn Turauckas Trish Flynn Turauckas on Jul 09, 2018

    We just bought a house in Florida and have a vinyl fence in the yard , and it is burning my grass from the hot sun. I need to put something up to block the glare. Also I'd like to open my shades to out side with out the glare of heat any ideas?

    • Elena Johnson Elena Johnson on Feb 27, 2019

      I suggest painting the fence same color or different, but it’s going to take the shine away. I have to do this because of the glare and excessive heat our yard retains during summer.

  • 2dogal 2dogal on Jul 09, 2018

    LIke "fake news", what you heard, is a fake rumor.

  • Elena Johnson Elena Johnson on Feb 27, 2019

    I have white vinyl on left side of yard, brick on back of yard and vinyl on right side of yard. It’s a small backyard with turf and layered stone. The back oh home is all windows. The backyard is excessively hot. My plants have burned, due to windows and vinyl reflections. Last summer was horrible, I don’t know what to do this summer except maybe paint the vinyl same color this not having a reflection.


    For those that dont believe this happens, it’s based on size of yards, elementals, and obviously a ranch would not where there is much air flow.