Having a FENCE built. Any advice??

[bpr2002]

My husband and I are looking to get a fence built around our backyard. We want just a plain wood privacy fence.

Does anyone have any advice or tips? What is an average price for fences? What questions should we ask the contractor?

Thank you for your help!

 

[Talking Hands]

Make sure you have a survey to mark the property line and make sure that all the permits are pulled that are required.

 

[Hercules10]

Get the metal posts and not the wooden ones that'll rot in 5-10 years.

 

[Lorix2]

Besides what's mentioned you have to make sure you put the pretty side toward your neighbors (if any).

 

[Allie322]

We had a 6-foot fence put around our backyard about 7 or 8 years ago. I don't remember how much it cost. A couple of things we learned were to find out if the company offers different grades of wood. A better grade won't have a lot of knots in the wood or a lot of blemishes. We were told that for our region where frost heaves are an issue, it was better not to cement the posts into the ground. The installer hand dug each hole--boy did he work hard. We used wooden posts rather than the metal ones. The wood is all treated and the fence is made of wood so we figured they would all wear at the same rate.

I hope this helps.

 

[we3luvdisney]

Contact your city/county planner concerning your rights.

Prior to placing our privacy fence up I contacted our planner and she said that if I place it on the property line, the neighbor behind us could cut it down. She said that the fence would be on common property. We decided to place the fence 8" onto our property.

Just a side note - I installed the fence (230 feet), with the help of my brother. I had many quotes and they wanted to charge an arm & leg. My brother came over to help with the holes (2-man auger), setting the poles and installing the horizontal pieces. I installed the vertical pieces, which took about 1 week (had to cut the boards in half & then dog ear each board)

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Will you stain the fence yourself or hire someone? I would consider the cost of that before buying wood. It has to be stained yearly for the most part. Out of curiosity check out the price of vinyl as well. Much easier maintenence.

Basically the labor cost is as much as the fence.

 

[bpr2002]

Wow! There certainly are alot of things to consider. Thank you all for your helpful replies!

 

[Kermit]

If you live in a subdivision with an HOA, don't forget to get their approval. Even it's the exact same fence someone else in the neighborhood has, you probably still have to get it approved before you start. In many cases, the architectural guidelines aren't set in stone and can change from time to time, usually because someone does something that's approved and then the architectural review board realizes that they don't like it.

 

[Pembo]

Make sure you hire a reputable company. My neighbor hired these guys who were putting up their fence in the snow?! and weeks before Christmas they asked him for the balance due because they were short on cash (the fence was not done). The neighbor paid him and he never saw them again. Their company went bankrupt. He has a partially finished fence and is out the money. So beware.


Last summer Dh and family and friends put up our fence. It was hard work as we have a lot of rock in our ground put once the post holes were done the fence part wasn't so bad. And it was ALOT cheaper than having it done.

Good luck.

 

[JESW]

Make sure they know what they are doing! Check their references - ask to see some work they have done. All the things we should have done last year. We hired a company to put a fence in - just a couple of sections with an arbor. Well, right now it leans way to one side and we are not sure what to do about it. Don't get me started about the lousy stone wall they built for us...the one that is crumbling down!

Good luck!!

Jill

P.S. We also had a fence put around our pool a couple of years ago (different company) and they did a good job.