The installation itself usually takes 2 to 3 working days for an ordinary yard, spread across about a week so the concrete around the posts can cure. The steps before it take longer: the estimate, any permit, the 811 notice and getting onto the schedule.
What happens, in order
- Free on-site estimate with measurements and a written quote.
- Permit or town approval, and any HOA sign-off, where your address needs one.
- USA North 811 ticket at least 2 working days before digging, not counting the day of the notice.
- Old fence removed, posts set in concrete, then curing time.
- Rails, boards or panels, then gates. Cleanup and a walk along the fence with you.
What slows a fence job down around Mountain View?
- A building permit for a metal, vinyl or other non-wood fence, or a Planning permit for anything over 6 feet.
- Town fence permits in Atherton, Los Altos Hills, Portola Valley and Woodside.
- Waiting on two or three neighbors to agree on a shared rear fence.
- Hand digging around protected trees and in narrow side yards.
- Stretches of heavy winter rain, when holes fill and clay is too soft to hold a post plumb.
- Custom gates, operators and fabricated metal.
We are getting a dog in three weeks and have no fence. What is fastest?
Call now, because the 811 notice and scheduling use up part of that time. In Mountain View a wood fence 6 feet or under at a house needs no permit, which makes a standard board fence in stocked lumber the quickest full fence. If the yard cannot be finished in time, we can fence one section first so the dog has a secure place.
We are putting in a pool. Fence before or after?
Plan the two together and build most of the fence after excavation. The digging equipment needs a way in, so that part of the fence line stays open until the shell is done. The barrier must then be complete and inspected before the pool is signed off.
My association says fix the fallen panels by Monday and my contractor keeps delaying. Can a handyman patch it?
Yes. A handyman patch on a fence you own is your call, and it will usually satisfy the deadline. Read your contract first and let the contractor know in writing. Bear in mind California's limit: a person without a contractor licence may only take jobs under $1,000 that need no permit and no employees.
We can only give a real price after seeing the yard. The on-site estimate is free. Call (408) 539-2396 or text us a photo of the fence line.