A fence plan for a Little Rock lot
A new fence settles a few questions for a long time: where your yard stops, what can get in or out, and what the neighbors see from their side. Once the posts are set, the build itself can move along, so the choices that matter are made before a crew ever arrives. What follows takes those choices in the order you are likely to meet them, from a tape measure on the lawn to a signed proposal.
Two census counts for Little Rock
According to U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, the Census of April 1, 2020 counted 202,591 people in Little Rock, up from 193,524 on April 1, 2010.
What NOAA's station at Little Rock AFB at Jacksonville lists
NOAA's station at Little Rock AFB at Jacksonville, about 17 miles northeast of downtown Little Rock, appears in NOAA's engineering weather data with a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet), a 100-year rainfall rate of 3.8 inches per hour and about 42 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year.
Sketch the route yourself
Before you phone anyone, pace off the route you have in mind and jot down:
- roughly how long each straight stretch is, and where it turns a corner;
- where an opening belongs, and what has to pass through it: a person, a wheelbarrow, a riding mower or a car;
- trees, sheds, raised beds, patios and slopes the line has to get past;
- low spots where water collects, and paths where it runs across the grass;
- the view you would like to hide and the view you would like to keep.
Hand the same sketch to every company. It gives each one an identical starting point, and it turns the quote you get back into something you can check line by line.
Choose the fence by the job it does
What the fence is for decides its height, how tightly the boards sit and what hardware the openings need. Keeping a small dog in may call for a bottom edge held close to the grass along the whole run. Screening a patio might need full height on only one side. A front-yard fence picked for looks can stay low and open. If a pool sits inside the fenced area, ask the city what it expects of a pool barrier and its gates before you settle on a style, and ask the contractor to show how the design answers that.
Upkeep belongs in the choice too. Wood takes stain or paint and can be mended a board at a time. Vinyl comes in its own color. Aluminum and steel look open; ask what coating protects them and how scratches get touched up. Chain link is a plain, see-through option. Ask every company what its material will ask of you over the years.
Settle the property line
A fence that strays onto a neighbor's land can sour a friendship and may have to come out. Dig up your survey or plat and look for the corner pins. If they can't be found, a land surveyor can locate them. Ask each bidder how far inside the line the fence will sit and who confirms the layout on the morning the first hole is dug. A word with each neighbor beforehand helps, especially where an old shared fence is being taken down.
What runs under the yard
Post holes can go deeper than ordinary garden digging. Contact the state's one-call utility locating service before any digging, ask how much notice it wants, and settle whether you or the contractor places the request. Lines you own yourself may not be marked by that service: sprinkler pipe, wiring to a shed or yard lamp, a gas line to a grill, or a buried pet-containment wire. Flag these and walk the crew past them.
Posts can be hard to redo
Pickets, boards and panels can be replaced later. Posts are another story, so ask about them in detail:
- What are the posts made of, and for wood, are they rated for ground contact?
- How deep will each hole be, and what is that depth based on?
- Will posts sit in concrete, gravel or tamped soil, and how is water shed away from the base?
- Are corner, end and gate posts heavier than the ones in between?
- What will the crew do on hitting roots, rock or a buried slab?
Openings take the daily wear
A gate may swing many times a day, so it needs more than a hinge and good intentions. Ask how its posts are set, which hinges and latch come with it, whether a diagonal brace or anti-sag kit is included and which way it opens. For a wide opening, ask whether the company proposes one broad leaf or a double gate, and why.
Water at the base of the fence
A solid fence built across a natural drainage path can hold water back like a low dam. Ask how the bottom edge will sit above the soil, whether a gap is left for water to pass through, and how the layout treats each wet spot marked on your sketch. Then ask what the change could mean for the yard next door.
Permits, coverage and one license question
Ask the city early whether your fence needs a permit and what the review covers: height, setback, corner sight lines or something else. If a homeowners association governs your street, find out whether its approval has to come first. Then put this to every bidder: "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?" Note each answer on that company's paperwork.
For coverage, request proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation from each company, and phone your own insurer with any questions.
Proposals you can lay side by side
Ask for every proposal in writing, built on your sketch, and look for:
- the full length, the height, the material and the board or panel style;
- post material, size, spacing, depth and how each post is set;
- every gate, with its width and hardware;
- tearing out and hauling off any old fence;
- who handles the permit and any association approval;
- where the soil from the holes ends up;
- separate warranty terms for materials and for labor;
- a start window and the payment steps.
Where one proposal skips an item, ask that company to add it. Once each one describes the same fence, the totals finally mean something.