Four things a fence price is made of
A fence bid can arrive as one total, but that number can be read as four separate things: the ground the fence stands on, the fence itself, the paperwork around it and the way you pay for it. Reading a bid with those four parts in mind can help explain why two companies looking at the same yard may land on different figures, and where to ask for detail.
Part one: the site
Length and shape
Footage often anchors the material and labor count, and every corner, end and change of direction can add posts and layout time. Ask each bidder for the length it measured and how many turns it counted. If two bids measure your yard differently, ask each company to show where it started and stopped.
Ground conditions
What sits below the surface is hard to know until a crew starts digging. Ask each company to state in its bid what happens if the work turns up something unexpected: a set charge, an hourly rate, or a pause while you decide.
Slope and access
A sloped route can take more labor, whether the fence steps down in level panels or follows the grade. A tight side yard, steps or a long carry from the curb can add time. Ask whether the bid assumed easy access to every stretch.
Part two: the build
Posts and framing
Once the fence is up, its posts and footings are largely out of view. Ask each bidder to write down the post material and dimensions, the gap between line posts, how each post is set in the ground, and whether the posts that carry gates or turn corners are a heavier grade. Ask how many rails each section gets and what fastens them.
The face
A solid privacy face can use more material than spaced pickets, and a design that looks finished from both sides can use more again. Taller sections can change board length and sometimes the post size. Ask for decorative caps, trim or a lattice top as their own lines so you can decide on each.
Gates
Each gate brings two posts, a frame, hinges and a latch, plus time to hang it so it swings and closes cleanly. Ask for each gate as a separate line with its width and hardware named. A double drive gate or a self-closing latch can change the price, so ask to see each choice priced.
Removal and cleanup
If an old fence is coming down, ask whether tear-out is in the price, what happens to any concrete around the old posts, and where the old material goes. Spoil from the new digging is worth one more question: will it be spread, hauled away or left for you?
Part three: the paperwork
The City of Anniston's Starting a Business guide says a building permit is required on all non-federal construction, remodeling, and/or repair projects where the total project cost is in excess of $1,000.00, whether the work is done by the owner or a contractor, and lists fences among the types of work that require a permit.
Ask the Building Department whether your fence needs a permit and what the application involves. Then ask each bidder:
- Who files the application, and who schedules any inspection?
- Is the permit fee included in your price, or billed separately?
- How does the start date on your proposal allow for the application?
Keep a copy of the permit papers with the signed bid.
Part four: the payments
Ask how much is due at signing, whether a second payment falls due when the materials arrive or when the posts are set, and what is held back for the end. Ask whether the final payment can wait until a walk-through at which every gate opens, closes and latches. Pay by check or card so each payment leaves a record, and get a receipt for each one.
Changes after signing
Plans can shift once the crew is in the yard. Ask how a change is priced and approved, and agree in writing that nothing outside the signed bid is added without your signature on a change order.
Asking for options side by side
Before choosing, ask each company to price one or two alternatives next to your first choice: a simpler face along a stretch where privacy does not matter, a different material, or one gate in place of two. The difference between those numbers can show which choices move your total and by how much.
The license question and proof of coverage
Ask each bidder: "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?" Ask for proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation, and keep it with that company's bid. Questions about your own policy go to your insurer.
Lining up the bids
Lay the bids side by side and read across them part by part: site, build, paperwork, payments. Where a bid is silent on footage, post size, a gate, removal, the permit or the payment schedule, ask that company to answer in writing. Weigh the totals only after each bid describes the same fence on the same terms.
Once you sign, keep the bid, any change orders, the permit papers, warranty documents, payment receipts and photos of the finished fence together in one folder.
Wind, rainfall and freeze-thaw figures for Anniston/Calhoun
NOAA's engineering weather data for Anniston/Calhoun lists 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 38 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year.