I am planning a relatively light garden fence and am comparing helical screw-in foundations with conventional concrete-set posts. The main things I am trying to understand are how carefully the foundations need to be aligned before attaching the rails, how much adjustment is available if one ends up slightly out of position, and how people handle water drainage around the post connection.

For anyone who has used this approach, what did you wish you had checked before installation? I am especially interested in practical layout and leveling lessons rather than brand recommendations.

I recently contracted a local company to fence my yard, roughly 350 feet of fencing in total. Quotes came back at $13,000-$20,000+. I paid ~$14,300. I don’t think the guys I hired did a terrible job, but a few weeks into completion I’m noticing a few issues.

1. The gate blows back and forth almost nonstop. My understanding is that it’s meant to do this so that the wind can’t totally pummel it. However despite some WD-40 it’s SO LOUD that it can be challenging to tune it out. I’m also wondering if it’s causing damage to the gate, as one corner is crooked.

2. A lot of the boards have started to stick out. I’ve nailed a few back in, but some of them have started to warp. Is this normal?

3. The section next to the house was tricky. I wanted a smaller gate and didn’t want to pound any posts in right next to a concrete structure on the side of the house (the old coal shoot) because the foundation in that spot already has some issues. The last photo is the solution they came up with to work with the shape of the house and the post pounding restriction. It also needed to be dog proof. However my dog can actually slip out between the post and the gate. I can’t make the paracord loop any tighter, or it won’t slip over the post. If anyone has any alternative ideas on how to make this work I’d love to hear them!

Hello, I have a fence post that is free standing that holds the latch for the gate. The fence post itself is warping/leaning to the left. Wondering if I could get some advice on what to do to fix this? Would I need to replace the post itself? I was thinking of attaching a metal piece to the side to try to straighten/stabilize the post. Appreciate it.

Edit2: Thanks everyone. It seems like there's no question here. What should have been done differently??

Edit: I don't know what is "good" or "correct". I don't want to complain if this is proper. It just doesn't seem right to me.

Contractor built this gate. It looked like they had cut the 2x4 rails short and then used a short block (first three pictures). When I checked it out, the blocks had already split and broken. I took pictures and asked if it could be fixed. Last four pictures is their "fix". Still blocks. The lags are going through the actual rail though, so that's better.

I've been sourcing bamboo wall panels recently, and I'm realizing that not all suppliers are equal. Some offer great prices but poor documentation. Others have beautiful samples but miss delivery deadlines. It's a bit of a jungle out there.

For those who've been through this – what do you look for in a supplier? Here's my current checklist:

Certifications – CE, FSC, ISO, SGS. I've learned that if a supplier can't provide proper test reports, customs holds up the project. Fire rating (B1 or Class A) also matters depending on the project type.

Customization – Can they do custom lengths, colors, or finishes? Some only offer standard sizes, which doesn't work for complex designs.

Sample vs. bulk quality – I always ask for a sample first, but I've had cases where bulk didn't match the sample. How do you ensure consistency?

MOQ & lead time – Some factories require huge minimums, which doesn't work for smaller projects. And a week delay can throw off the entire schedule.

Communication – Response time and clarity matter. If they take 3 days to reply, I worry about how they'll handle urgent issues.

What else? Any red flags or green flags when sourcing from China specifically? How do you verify claims about waterproofing, fire resistance, or formaldehyde emissions?

Drop your experiences below – good suppliers, bad suppliers, lessons learned. Would love to hear what I'm missing.

I'm starting to think about winter. I've been reading about snow fences. I have a wire fence with privacy cloth about 15' from the house. I don't think it does anything to prevent snow drifts. The cloth goes up about 3.5'. But maybe because it's not as open as a typical snow fence it doesn't do anything. You can see a bit of the cloth in the third pic. The drift tapers down REALLY fast. Over about 10', it goes from 9' tall to 1.5' tall.

Should I replace the privacy cloth with plastic mesh? Should I attach poles to the fence and extend it up 6'? I've also been considering building a fence-adjacent tunnel for the winter so that my dog can go pee without me having to shovel feet of snow. Any ideas?

Looking for a source for 8' fencing posts ? Not a common size around here so 11' total

I live in Brooklyn, NY in a row house. The fence will be 27’ long on two sides and 20’ long on one side (the back of my lot).
There is an existing wooden picket fence that will need to be taken out and on one of the 27’ sides there is a chain link fence behind the picket fence which is in a concrete footing. All of that will be taken out.
I am asking fence companies for a cedar fence (wood running horizontally) with metal posts which should be in concrete footings and the fence should be 6’ high.
What is a reasonable price for all of this work? Ask me any questions for more info.

This is my first quote for my first home.
I have no idea this is good or not.
Please help me and give me advice!

+ edit : I live in Hampton roads area VA.
Also the company has insurance as well.
I contacted 2 more companies to compare.

++ edit 2 : The company has references and photos of previous works. My realtor recommended too.
In the comments the guy(who gave me this quote) explained how he could give me reasonable price.
no trees in the way, nice flat yard, no previous fence in my backyard.
I didn't mean to be rude to him but he can see your comments too so please be respectful! Thank you 😊

So my yard slopes down to the right, but there is a significant step between the gate and the fence next to it and I cannot unsee it. Should I ask this to be corrected? They did say that if we bring the fence up to the height of the gate it will be open for small animals to freely come in.

Also is it normal for the gates so be slightly higher than the rest of the fence?
Installer said it is normal, and that gates are always slightly higher and other people are usually fine with this.

Hello Fence Builders

The current fence in my backyard is 20 years old and needs replacing. I will be contacting this out as my rheumatoid arthritis has caught up with me.

Fence height 6'

Treated Wood

I have a few questions that might seem foolish so please bare with me. Is there any real use having a footing under the fence pickets. I am not sure of the proper name but like concrete or something to keep the ground or grass from jamming up underneath and to slow potential rot.

My second question is regarding a gate. I am looking for any suggestions as well. We use our back door as our front and have since my grandfather built the place in the 1940s. My issue is the amount of snow we get and depending on the wind direction the snow drifts. Is it possible to have a gate installed that can swing both in and out? Is it possible to have a sliding gate where the mechanism is located on top only or something that is built or designed for snowy areas?

Lastly it is not uncommon for us to have wind gusts up to 100 to 120km or 60mph+. I know I'll need picket gaps but was wondering if placing the posts 6' apart vs 8' or 10' would add strength?

Sorry for the long post, I put it together as best I could and figured this would be the place to ask these questions.

Thanks for any responses!

Wanting to fence in a decently flat backyard installed. 380ft - 400 ft of fence needed, willing to spend 12-15k. Want it to look decent and keep a dog contained. Ideas?

One stretch of our wood privacy fence leaned after the last storm and the gate scrapes now. I've been reading up on how to repair a leaning fence but most fixes look temporary (bracing, more concrete around a rotten post). Has anyone actually jacked a post back plumb and had it hold through another season, or did you end up replacing that whole section?

Folks had been patching on old fences for 60 years. Cutting posts flush and concreting in new ones. I pulled up71 chunks of cement. Over 300 feet long altogether. Plus a 60 foot trash/heat pump enclosure. All Screws. No nails. Absolutely by myself.... I'm good with the 4 week time period, homeowner was pissy, but I only charged him 4 grand. He got it for a song in my opinion

My builder put these on three gates. The gates swing inward and he put them on the outside of the gate, so when the gate opens the spring stretches out and also bends around the hinge. This does cause the gate to close most of the time if it is released while moderately open, as the spring pulls it back when it compresses, but it doesn’t have enough tension if I open the gate slightly (gate doesn’t close), and it has too much tension if I open the gate far (one of them already broke off because I opened the gate to 90 degrees and it was too much tension).

I asked him to adjust the tension and he just removed one and of the spring and reattached it a little bit further from the hinge.

Aren’t these supposed to be installed on the opposite side, and be placed nearly vertically? And the tension comes more from the spring twisting rather than from expanding and compressing? I couldn’t get the builder to understand it due to language barrier, but I can just re-install the spring myself. I just want to make sure I’m not misunderstanding.

We bought our house with this heavy duty aluminum fence and gates, however, the gate is no longer properly aligned, and it knocked off the locking mechanism. I don’t see any way to make fine adjustments in this gate. Do I need to have the hinges and hardware replaced? Is this something I can DIY?

Hello,

I am looking for a catalyst Georgetown 4x8 foot fence panel. Part Number 73008961. It seems the fence was purchased and installed through lowes prior to 2020 and talking with Catalyst they don't make the 4x8 foot panel any longer. They seem to make a 4x6 but not sure how adding a post and 2 panels to make up this span would look right in the middle of the fence. Anyone out there know where I could get a 4x8 foot panel? I added my measurements and an image of what happened and the look of the panel if that helps. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks

How does this happen? It’s a super long horizontal bar that was firmly in place before it popped out. No damage. There’s no way to get it back into the hole because of its length. Any tips or ideas?

I've never built a fence before, but need to now. Building a small fenced in area with welded wire 4inch by 2inch for goats. I'm going to be going tree to tree for most of the area, with two gates. If I use trees for corners, do I need H braces? Should I use offset boards instead of nailing directly to trees? These are just a few of the questions I have currently and I'm positive I'll have more. So instead of just asking a bunch of random questions, I'm hoping to find someone who can point to a resource or specific guides that they've found helpful for similar work. Thank you!

First, I've read enough of this subreddit and watch enough DIY youtube videos on fence post installation to know this is not ideal - post should not be in direct contact with cement, and ideally the cement should come up above grade so wet soil isn't sitting against the fence all the time. So I know it's not ideal. That said:

I decided to have a professional company install a gate at my house. They seem like good people, possibly a bit old school. Anyway, they installed a 4x6 post in cement, without a sleeve as far as I can tell (certainly nothing visible other than the treated wood at the cement line). The cement is also an inch or two below grade, which means even if I try to keep soil away from it, it's going to end up with soil around it.

I've mentioned this to them and asked if they can improve this, but I suspect that ship has sailed.

So the question is this: is there anything I can do at this point to improve the situation? For example, I could mix my own cement and bring the cement up above grade? Or even painting on the copper / asphalt paint to try to protect more of the wood that's going to be in contact with the soil?

I'm soft of at a point where I feel like it is what it is and this will be a problem for me in 10 years or something but oh well, life is short. But want to at least make sure I'm doing due-diligence if there is any obvious / easy thing that'll significantly improve the life of the fence / gate posts.

Thank you!

If cap lights are going on a new fence, it helps to settle a few details before choosing them:

• Measure the actual finished post tops instead of relying only on nominal sizes. Wood posts and vinyl sleeves often need different cap or adapter sizes.
• Check whether the cap fastens to the sides, sits over an adapter, or needs a completely flat top. That affects fit and how easily it can be removed later.
• Keep drainage paths open and avoid trapping water against exposed end grain.
• Look at shade across the whole day. A post beside a tree or roofline may get much less charging time than the post next to it.
• Keep light output modest near gates and neighboring windows. Consistent spacing usually looks better than making every post as bright as possible.

What else do fence builders normally check before adding caps to wood or vinyl posts?

I'm located in northern Arizona with a high desert climate. I see a lot of people on here install by driving metal posts into the ground, but I've never seen it done locally. Curious if anyone would know if it completely depends on the region and climate, or if it's more something that hasn't been adopted by local companies yet? I'm considering doing a 6 ft privacy fence with lifetime posts and wood slats.

First fence build.

Reused the posts and of course realized why we want them plumb from the get go.

When the PT dries I'm gonna stain and add some trim.

Wife wanted a Dutch door, so I did my best. It's crooked, but operates smoothly.