Overview: Fence Contractors
A fence job starts with a line, not with a post. Find the property corners before anyone digs, from the pins, the plat or a survey, and set the fence inside your own ground unless the neighbor has agreed in writing to a shared line. A fence built over the boundary is the one mistake in this trade that gets fixed with a shovel and a lawyer.
The rest of the rules are local. Cities cap height, and the cap is usually lower in the front yard than behind the house. Corner lots have sight line rules. An HOA may control style and color. A pool changes everything: barrier height, gaps a child cannot get through, and a gate that closes and latches by itself.
After that, a fence is only as good as its posts. They go below the frost line, the gate posts go deeper and heavier than the rest, and the wood that touches soil has to be rated for ground contact. Panels are cosmetic. Posts are the fence.
Contractors covering your area are listed by state and city below.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find out where the boundary runs?
Start with the plat and the iron pins at the corners, which a metal detector will often find under an inch of sod. If the pins are missing or the neighbor disputes the line, a licensed surveyor sets it properly and gives you something that holds up later. Never take a fence, a hedge or a mowing habit as proof of the line.
How deep do fence posts need to go?
Below the frost line for your area, and about a third of the post length as a rule of thumb, whichever is deeper. Holes want to be several times the width of the post and roughened rather than glassy, so whatever fills them grips. Gate posts get a bigger hole and more depth, because they carry a swinging load all day.
Should posts be set in concrete or gravel?
Either, done right. Concrete is stronger and has to be crowned above grade so water runs off instead of collecting in the hole. Compacted gravel drains, holds well in most soils, and makes a rotten post far easier to replace. What actually rots wood is standing water at the collar, so the detail at the top of the hole matters more than the argument.
Which fencing material suits which job?
Pressure treated wood is cheap, easy to repair and moves as it dries. Cedar costs more and stays straighter. Vinyl needs no finishing but gets brittle in deep cold and is repaired by the panel. Chain link is the cheapest way to enclose a big yard and the hardest to hurt. Aluminum looks like wrought iron, never rusts and stops nothing determined.
Why does my gate sag and drag?
Almost always the hinge post. A gate hangs a heavy, swinging load off one post, so an undersized post, a shallow hole or soft ground lets it tilt and the far corner drops. The frame itself needs bracing too: a wooden brace runs from the bottom corner on the hinge side up to the latch side, and a tension cable runs the opposite way.
What does a pool fence have to do?
Local codes set the details and they are strict. In general the barrier has to be tall enough that a child cannot get over, have no gaps or footholds to climb, and every gate has to be self-closing and self-latching with the latch out of a child's reach and swinging away from the pool. The house wall counts as part of the barrier only with alarms on the doors.
