Hazel Dell Fence Replacement Done Right

Everything runs through Clark County. There is no municipal ordinance because there is no municipality: the county's development standards decide fence height, placement, and corner visibility for these neighborhoods. One set of rules covers both halves of the community, and since most streets carry no HOA covenants either, style and material decisions stay entirely with the homeowner.

Not for the typical residential job. The county requires nothing for fences at or under 7 feet, so a standard 6-foot cedar privacy fence goes in without paperwork. Two exceptions worth knowing: the right-of-way stays clear no matter what, and corner installations must keep the view open for drivers at the intersection. We check both conditions during layout, before any posts are ordered.

It depends on footage, material, and what the tear-out involves. Removing rusted posts set in concrete takes real labor, and hauling old fabric and lumber to disposal adds to it. From there, chain link, cedar, and vinyl each price differently per foot, and gates add hardware and build time. We measure on site and put a firm number in writing, no charge.

Common on plats this age. We start by hunting for the original survey pins at the lot corners; a metal detector turns up plenty of them. If the pins are gone, a licensed surveyor can reset them, and we build off the fresh marks. What we will not do is guess, because a misplaced fence is expensive to move twice.

That is half the work in this area. For diggers we add buried mesh or a kickboard at grade, for jumpers we go full-height privacy, and for gate-rushers we mount self-closing hinges and latches out of paw reach. Chain link works when you want to see the dog; cedar works when the neighbors' dogs wind each other up.

Yes, removal and disposal are part of the job when you want them included. Old galvanized fabric, bent top rail, and posts wearing concrete boots all leave on our trailer, and steel gets recycled where possible. Pulling footings cleanly matters more than people expect, because new posts often need to land close to the same spots.

With no covenant dictating the look, it comes down to maintenance and budget. Cedar usually costs less up front, takes stain, and gives you the option of swapping single boards as they fail. Vinyl costs more at the start but skips the refinishing cycle entirely. On flat open lots either performs well, and we price both when an owner is weighing them.

By never digging blind. State law makes a locate request mandatory ahead of any post hole, with a two business day lead and a ten day ceiling, and the service is free. On postwar streets the buried lines are old, sometimes off from what a drawing shows, so the paint on the grass matters even more here. We place the call for every job; it is part of why start dates sit a few days out.

With everything in writing before a post is set. Handshake splits sour when the bill lands, and the old statute homeowners sometimes cite for forcing a contribution comes from farm-country law that does not fit a ranch-home backyard. When both households agree, we write the quote in two equal shares, invoice each side separately, and the finished fence sits on the surveyed line where neither party can regret it.

Vinyl does fine in this climate, and on these flat lots the long straight runs suit it. Cold changes its temperament rather than its lifespan: below freezing the material loses flexibility, so an errant snow shovel or a thrown branch can crack what summer weather would bounce off. Panels also lengthen and shorten with the thermometer, which is why we leave rails loose in their pockets instead of gluing them. That movement is designed in, not a flaw.