Open the city's list before the catalog
Picking a fence style can wait. In Anniston, a useful first step is reading what the city itself publishes about fence work, because that wording gives you questions to carry into every conversation with a company. Once you know who issues approvals and how inspections are booked, the talk about boards, panels and posts can follow.
What the City of Anniston Building Department lists
The City of Anniston Building Department lists "Fence/Accessory Structure" among construction requiring a permit. Its online permitting portal, GovWell, lets residents and contractors apply for decks, fences, sheds, pools, additions and more, and request and schedule inspections. Construction permits are handled through the department at 256-231-7720.
Take that listing to the department and to each bidder, and ask:
- Does the fence I have in mind need a permit, and what does the application ask for?
- Who will apply through GovWell, me or the company?
- Which inspections, if any, should be scheduled, and at what stage of the work?
- Is the permit fee part of the company's price, or a separate line?
Write down each answer with the date and the name of the person who gave it.
The codes the city says it has adopted
The City of Anniston says it has adopted the 2020 National Electric Code (NFPA 70) and the 2021 editions of the International codes, including the International Building Code and International Residential Code, and that it also enforces the Alabama Energy Code.
Ask the Building Department which of those requirements, if any, bear on a fence like yours, and put the same question to each bidder before the design is final.
Anniston/Calhoun in NOAA's engineering weather data
NOAA engineering weather data for Anniston/Calhoun, at an elevation of 610 feet, gives a 1% summer design temperature of 93°F with a mean coincident wet-bulb temperature of 76°F, and a 99% winter design temperature of 23°F. In an average year at Anniston/Calhoun, NOAA counts about 1,200 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 2,826 hours above 67°F.
Sketch the yard you actually have
Draw the lot from above on a sheet of paper. Add the house, the driveway, walks, sheds, trees, the spot where the trash bins live and any slope you notice. Then draw the fence you picture, with each opening marked. That rough plan can show you things a catalog cannot, such as a gate that would swing into a tree or a run that cuts off the hose bib.
Next to the drawing, note what the fence is for. Keeping a pet in, screening a patio, marking the front edge of the lot and closing off a garden are different jobs, and each one can point toward a different height, spacing and number of gates.
The lot line and the households beside it
A fence that strays over the boundary can turn into an awkward conversation later, so settle where the boundary runs before choosing a route. Your closing folder may hold a survey or plat; the pins or monuments it shows are worth hunting for along the edges of the yard. When none turn up, a land surveyor can find and flag the corners. Then knock on the doors on each side and show your sketch. People next door sometimes care which side of the fence faces them, or whether they will still be able to mow or paint along it. Ask each bidder where, relative to the line, it intends to place the posts, and who will look over the stakes before any digging.
Comparing the common materials
Ask each bidder to talk through what its material asks of you over time, not only what it costs now.
- Wood: Which species and grade, whether the posts are rated for ground contact, and what finish, if any, is in the price.
- Vinyl: How the panels lock into the posts, what reinforces the rails, and what the panel warranty leaves out.
- Aluminum or steel: Which coating protects the metal, how a scratch is repaired, and how the panels follow a slope.
- Chain link: What gauge of wire, whether a top rail is included, and whether a coating or slats are part of the quote.
Slopes, trees and the paths water takes
A yard that rises or falls along the fence route can be handled with stepped panels or with a fence that follows the ground. Ask which approach each company proposes and how it closes any gap at the bottom. Where the route passes a tree, ask how the crew will work around roots. If rain runs across the yard along a certain path, point it out, and ask whether the fence design leaves that path open.
Before the first hole
Underground lines are a topic to raise early with every bidder. Put the question this way: once the route is staked, who contacts the utilities so their lines get marked, and how long after that does digging start? Anything you or an earlier owner buried, for example a low-voltage cable for garden lights or a gas run to an outdoor grill, may not appear in those marks. Draw those runs on your yard sketch and give the crew lead a copy.
The license question and proof of coverage
Ask every company the same question: "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?" Request proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation before work begins. If you are unsure how your homeowner's policy treats a crew in the yard, call your insurer.
What to bring to the first meeting
- the sketch, with each opening and its width;
- a sentence on what the fence is for;
- the survey, plat or deed;
- your notes from the Building Department;
- the list of private lines you know about;
- your questions on materials, slope and coverage.
Hand each company the same packet, and ask that each written proposal answer it point by point.