Two city documents to read before you sketch
A Mansfield fence plan can start at a kitchen table rather than out in the yard. The City of Mansfield has published two documents that speak to fences, and each one uses its own words. Reading both, then carrying your questions to the office that enforces them, gives you and every company you call the same starting point.
The city's 2019 zoning guidelines
Mansfield's 2019 zoning guidelines say fences in its R, MF, OS, MH and MH/R districts (the residential, multi-family, office-service and mobile-home districts) may not exceed six feet in height, and that fences or parts of fences extending beyond the front of the principal building may not exceed four feet or obscure the view from adjacent properties. The same guidelines say no fence may contain barbed wire or an electric charge, and no person may erect a fence or screening device without first obtaining a permit.
The city's "When is a permit or approval required" sheet
The City of Mansfield's "When is a permit or approval required" sheet lists fences less than 6 feet in height among projects that need zoning-only approval.
The question for Building and Codes
Bring both passages to the city and ask Building and Codes one plain question: which approval applies to the fence you are planning? Take your sketch with you, the height of each stretch written beside it, so the reply fits your fence rather than fences in general. While you are there, ask what the office wants to see with a request, and whether you or the company you hire should be the one to file it. Note the reply, the date and the name of the person who gave it, and keep that note with your sketch.
Where requests go
The City of Mansfield's Building and Codes department enforces building codes, zoning regulations and related city ordinances; contractors register and permits are requested through the city's online Citizen Access Portal.
Ask each bidder whether it will handle the request for your fence through the portal, and whether any fee for it sits inside the quoted price or is billed on its own line.
Mansfield/Lahm in NOAA's engineering weather data
NOAA engineering weather data for Mansfield/Lahm (elevation 1,296 feet) gives a 1% summer design temperature of 86°F with a mean coincident wet-bulb temperature of 72°F, and a 99% winter design temperature of 4°F. In an average year at Mansfield/Lahm, NOAA counts about 224 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 1,086 hours above 67°F.
Put the fence on paper
Draw your lot from above. A rough drawing is enough. Mark the house, the garage, the driveway and walks, any shed or play set, and the trees and garden beds you want to keep. Then draw the fence the way you picture it. Beside each stretch, write two things: how tall you would like it, and whether it runs ahead of the front of the house or behind it.
Add every gate as a gap in the line. Draw an arrow for the way it would swing, and jot down what has to pass through: a person, a mower, a wheelbarrow, a car. That single sheet does a lot of work. It is what you carry to the city, what you show the people next door and what you hand to each company, so that every bid describes the same fence.
Give each stretch a purpose
One fence can do different jobs along its length. Along the street it may simply show where the yard begins, or steer visitors toward the door. Behind the house it may screen a patio, hold a dog, or close off the spot where the trash bins wait. Decide what each stretch is for before you settle on a style, and write that purpose on the sketch. A company can then price one design along one stretch and a different design along another, rather than a single style all the way around.
Choosing a face and a material
How much should the fence hide? Spaced pickets let light and air pass; a closed board face blocks the view; wire mesh almost disappears from a distance. Once you know the face you want, ask each bidder about the material behind it:
- Wood: which kind of lumber and what grade the price assumes, whether the posts are treated for contact with soil, and whether a stain or sealer is part of the job.
- Vinyl: how thick the posts and rails are, how the panels lock into the posts, and what the product warranty does not cover.
- Aluminum or steel: what coating protects the metal, how a chip is repaired, and whether the panels can step down a slope.
- Chain link: the wire gauge, whether a top rail is included, and whether a coated fabric or privacy slats are offered.
Walking the line with the neighbors
The people next door will look at your fence too. Before any stakes go in, walk the planned line with them and show them the sketch. Tell them how tall each stretch will be, which side the posts and rails will face, and whether the crew may need to stand on their side during the work.
If you are unsure exactly where your lot ends, look through your closing papers for a survey or plat. A land surveyor can find and flag the corners when the markers are missing. Ask each bidder how far inside your line it sets the posts, and who checks the stakes against the boundary before digging starts.
Questions for every company
Ask the same questions of each company that bids, and write the answers on its paperwork:
- "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?"
- Will you show proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation before the work starts?
- Who from your company will be on site each day, and is any part of the job handed to a subcontractor?
- If the auger stops on something solid partway down, what happens next, and do you check with me before the price changes?
If you have a question about how your homeowner's policy treats a crew working on your lot, call your insurer.
What each bid should spell out
A bid you can compare against another one names the route and its length, the height of each stretch, the style of the face and the material, the post size and spacing and how each post is set, every gate with its width and hardware, removal and hauling of any old fence, who files the city request and whether its fee is included, the warranty on materials and the warranty on labor as separate items, the payment schedule and a start window. When one bid leaves a line blank, ask that company to fill it in writing before you set the totals side by side.