Find Houston-area fence companies — and see which ones we've confirmed with the business.

Hiring a fence company in Houston

Fencing is unlicensed in Texas. Insurance and the details of the build are what separate quotes, and quotes in this trade look far more similar than the jobs they describe.

Ask what goes in the ground

This is where cheap fences fail, and it is invisible once the job is done:

• Post material. Steel posts cost more than wood and are the single biggest predictor of how long a wood fence stands up in this soil.
• Post depth and concrete. Ask for the depth in inches and whether posts are set in concrete. On expansive Houston clay, shallow posts move with the soil and the fence goes wavy in a couple of years.
• Post spacing. Eight feet is common; six feet costs more and holds better.

Everything above the ground — picket grade, cap and trim, stain — is what you see. Everything below is what determines whether you do this again in five years.

Houston-specific

• Clay soil and drainage. Where water sits along a fence line, wood posts rot from the base up. Ask what they do where the ground is low.
• Wind. A solid privacy fence is a sail. Ask how they handle bracing on long unbroken runs.
• Wood choice. Cedar and treated pine behave differently in this humidity and cost differently. Have them explain the trade-off rather than just quoting "wood fence."

Before you sign

• Property lines. If there is any doubt, resolve it before the posts go in. Moving a fence afterwards is expensive and neighbourly relations rarely survive it.
• HOA approval. Most Houston-area subdivisions have rules on height, material and which side the finished face points. Ask whether the contractor handles submission or whether it is on you.
• Utility locates. Calling 811 before digging is free and required. Ask them to confirm they do it.
• Removal and haul-off of the old fence — is it in the quote, and does that include the old concrete footings?

Get the gate details in writing too: number of gates, width, hardware, and whether the posts on gates are upgraded. Gates are the first thing to sag and the most common warranty call.