We walk the line and string it before the first post goes in, set the posts to depth in concrete, and hang gates built to keep swinging true. Wood privacy, vinyl, aluminum and chain link.
We price it by the foot of run, the material and the number of gates. Send those three and the number comes back the same day, before anyone walks the line.
The run walked and strung before anything is set, so the line is straight while it can still be moved
Posts dug and set to depth in concrete, spaced to your run rather than to whatever saves us posts
Gates hung square, with hardware sized to the weight of the leaf
Old fence pulled out and hauled away when there is one in the way
The line checked against the property, not against where the last fence happened to sit
By the foot of run
Plus a price for each gate. The material sets the range and the post spacing sets where inside it you land.
IIWhat it costs
What a fence costs in Charleston: the material sets the range.
Fencing prices per foot of run plus a price per gate. Most of the labor is in the holes, so post spacing moves the number more than people expect it to.
Wood privacyThe Charleston defaultSix foot boards, posts set in concrete, and the option to stain it later or let it gray out. What most backyards here end up with.
AluminumSees through, keeps inSees through, keeps in. What most pool codes and front gardens end up wanting.
VinylCosts more on day oneCosts more on day one and never needs staining, sanding or replacing a rotten picket.
Chain linkThe least expensive runThe cheapest honest way to hold a boundary or keep a dog where it belongs.
GatesPriced eachHung square, hardware sized to the leaf, so it still latches after a wet summer.
Post spacingMoves the laborCloser posts make a stiffer fence and a bigger labor bill. Tell us the spacing you want and it goes into the quote rather than turning up as a surprise.
Custom designMore labor, same materialsAnything that is not a standard panel run costs more in the building rather than in what gets delivered to the curb.
Tear-outPriced by the footOld fence pulled, posts dug out, everything on the truck. Quoted with the rest so you see it before you agree to it.
Rock, roots and old concrete in the post line are the one thing a map cannot show us. If we hit any, you hear about it before we keep digging rather than on the invoice.
The finish
Pl. IIThe face of a new stained cedar privacy fence
Pl. IIIA dry, level back yard under new sod with a cedar fence behind
Pl. IVA spade-cut bed edge dressed in pine straw, young boxwoods set in it
IIIBefore, and after
Fence replacement, side by side.
BeforeAfter
FencingFrom silvered and split to stained cedar.
A wood fence at fifteen years: silvered and split, sagging at a post, pickets missing at the bottom. The replacement is stained cedar on plumb posts, boards butted tight and cut level the whole run.
IVCharleston fence rules
Fence permits, HOAs and Lowcountry weather
Inside the City of Charleston, a new fence needs a permit. The city asks for a plat showing your property lines and easements, a building permit application, and your HOA's approval if you have one. In a historic district the Board of Architectural Review looks at it too. A fence that crosses a drainage easement needs its own encroachment application, which the city says can take up to four weeks. North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Summerville and the county each run their own rules. We check which apply to your address before we quote, so the permit sits in the schedule instead of stopping it halfway.
Most subdivisions add rules of their own. Height, material, color and which side of the fence faces out all turn up in HOA covenants across Mount Pleasant, Daniel Island and Summerville. Send the covenant with your enquiry and we build to it the first time, instead of finding out from a letter after the posts are set.
The weather here is hard on a fence. Humidity, termites and summer storms take fences down in the Lowcountry long before age does. On a wood fence the post rots first, which is why it wants to be rated for ground contact and set in concrete. A six foot privacy fence catches wind like a sail, so post depth and spacing matter more here than they would inland. Close to salt water, aluminum and vinyl outlast anything with bare steel in it.
Where we build fences
Charleston, North Charleston, Mount Pleasant, James Island, Johns Island, West Ashley, Daniel Island, Summerville, Hanahan and Goose Creek.
VStraight answers
Fence questions Charleston homeowners ask us.
How long does a fence take?
Most residential runs are one to three days, set by the length and the number of gates. You get the number of days along with the price, before you commit to either.
Do I need to know where my property line is?
It helps, and we check the line before anything is set. A fence built on a guess is a fence somebody may have to move, and that conversation costs far less before the concrete goes in.
Can you match the fence I already have?
Send a photo with your enquiry. The closest standard style sets the price and the photo sets what we build.
How deep do the posts go?
Deep enough that the height of the panel is not fighting them, set in concrete. Post depth is the part of a fence you never see and always feel, so it is not where we save money.
What happens to the old fence?
It leaves with us. Tear-out and haul-away is quoted by the foot alongside the new run, and nothing gets stacked at the curb for you to sort out.
Are you a fence company or a landscaper?
Both, and that is usually to your advantage. Most fence contractors in Charleston set posts and leave, so the beds and the lawn the fence runs through are your problem afterwards. We put the line back the way it should be, because we do that work anyway.
Do I need a permit to build a fence in Charleston?
Inside the City of Charleston, yes. The fence permit asks for your plat, a building permit application and HOA approval where there is one, with extra review in the historic districts. Other towns and the county set their own rules, so we check your address before we quote.
What fence holds up best in Charleston weather?
Vinyl and aluminum, because neither rots and neither minds salt air. Wood is still the most popular and looks right on most houses here, and it lasts when the posts are rated for ground contact and set in concrete. Chain link is the cheapest way to hold a line, but near salt water it shows rust years before aluminum would.
Get your number
Send the run, take the price.
Rough length, the material you want and how many gates. That is enough for a real figure the same day, before anyone walks the line.
Before
After
