Begin with the way you come and go
A fence is easy to picture as one long line, but the openings in it are the parts a household handles day to day. Where you carry groceries in, where the mower rolls out, where a visitor walks to the door, where the trash cans leave the yard: these paths can shape a fence plan. Starting with them, and drawing the run around them, can keep a new fence from getting in the way of the household it surrounds.
Jefferson City in Census QuickFacts
According to U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, Jefferson City's population in the Census on April 1, 2010 was 43,079, and in the Census on April 1, 2020 it was 43,228. QuickFacts gives the population estimate on July 1, 2025 (V2025) as 42,489.
A note on Cole County history
Cole County was organized November 16, 1820 and was named for Captain Stephan Cole, and the county seat was located in Marion in 1822 but moved to Jefferson City in 1828; the State of Missouri also moved its seat of government to Jefferson City in 1826.
Openings first, then the run
Walk your yard and mark each place a person, a pet, a wheelbarrow or a vehicle needs to pass. For each one, note:
- how wide the opening has to be for what passes through it;
- which way a gate could swing without hitting a step, a slope or a parked car;
- whether the gate should latch on its own, lock, or simply close;
- whether one wide leaf or a pair would suit the space.
With the openings fixed, sketch the run between them: the straight stretches, every corner, and anything in the way, such as a tree, a shed, a patio edge or a swale where rainwater crosses the grass. Give the same sketch to every company you call.
How tall, and how see-through
Height and openness answer different needs. A screen around a seating area may want solid boards at full height, while a front-yard line may only need to say where the lot begins. A fence for a dog may call for a bottom edge kept near the soil and a top the dog cannot clear. A split design, taller on one side and lower elsewhere, is worth asking about if privacy matters along only part of the run.
Planning to enclose a pool or hot tub? Put that to the city first, and choose a style only once you know its answer about barriers and gates.
Picking a material you can live with
Ask each company what its material will ask of you in the years after the crew leaves:
- Wood takes stain or paint, and single boards can be replaced.
- Vinyl comes in its own color; ask how it is cleaned and what its warranty leaves out.
- Aluminum or steel gives an open look; ask about the coating and how scratches are touched up.
- Chain link is plain and see-through; ask whether a coated finish or privacy slats are offered.
Where the line really is
An old fence, a hedge or a mowing line is not always the property line. Pull out your deed, plat or survey and look for the corner markers it describes. If you cannot find them, a land surveyor can locate and flag them. Ask each bidder how far inside your line it plans to set posts and who checks the stakes before digging. A conversation with the neighbors on each side, sketch in hand, gives them a chance to ask about the fence before it goes up.
Before anyone digs
Ask who will request a utility locate before the first hole, and how much notice that request needs. Then list anything you or an earlier owner buried along the route, such as irrigation, an outdoor circuit or a pet boundary wire, since a public locate may not show it, and go over that list with the crew lead on site.
How posts are set
Ask every company to describe its posts in writing: what they are made of and, for wood, whether they are rated for ground contact; how deep each hole goes and what that depth is based on; what fills the hole around the post; and whether corner, end and gate posts are a heavier size than the line posts.
Permits and association approval
Ask the city whether your fence calls for a permit, and what any review would cover. If a homeowners association governs your street, ask whether its approval comes first. Then ask each bidder whether it will handle any application and whether a fee is in its price.
What to ask each company
Put the same questions to everyone who bids, and note each reply on that company's paperwork:
- "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?"
- Can you show proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation?
- Will your own crew build the fence, or a subcontractor?
- How will you price a hole that hits rock, roots or an old footing?
Call your own insurer with any question about how your policy treats work in the yard.
Getting it in writing
A written proposal built on your sketch should let you find the route and its length, the height and style, the material, the posts and how they are set, each gate with its width and hardware, removal of any old fence, cleanup, warranty terms for materials and labor, the payment steps and a start window. If one proposal leaves something out, ask that company to add it before you compare totals.