05/06/2026
Picture for attention (lol)
Another day, another 100 miles. I’ve been covering a lot of ground this spring talking to a whole lot of people about fence.
Here are some of the main things we discuss on my sales calls:
1) Should I do wood or vinyl?
“Pros and cons to both types. Wood fence- if you choose to stain it, you’ll have ongoing costs (staining isn’t necessarily a requirement- I don’t stain my home fence as I don’t mind the gray look). If stained correctly (we can give tips), the re-staining would be approx every 6-8 years, spending more each time. After the second or third staining, you’ll have spent the same amount you probably would have going with white vinyl originally.
Vinyl fence comes in white color as a standard. There are a couple color options in the smooth texture. Wood grain texture (in a variety of colors) are an option, but increase the costs). The main benefit is low maintenance requirements and virtually no maintenance cost.
Both style offer privacy and security. Both will keep the kids and dogs in (or out). And both can fulfill pool code. Both types are initially strong against our WNY weather and high winds. Long term, vinyl will outlast wood installed with wood posts.
The main factors in this decision are personal preference, budget, and if you’re in a short-term or long-term residence.
2) Can we keep the top of the fence level and the bottom tight to the ground?
“All fences that we install we adapt to our customer’s property. We run string lines to get an understanding of how the ground runs and try to accommodate if someone wants the top to be (1) level or (2) pitched (straight on top, but on an angle to make up a difference in grade), or run the fence (3) “to-grade,” maintaining an average gap underneath the fence and the top of the fence will roll with the lay of the land.
The day of installation we invite our customers to walk out the string line with us to make the final decisions on the grading.
Some general rules/advice on this:
Fence posts and vertical pickets are always installed level. The horizontal rails are what we can angle if needed.
Short runs of fence look best level or pitched
Longer runs of fence look best “to-grade.”
Gates you generally want 2-2.5 inches underneath to account for snow/ice buildup.
The tighter you’d like to keep the fence to the ground, the more you will see the run of the ground in the top of the fence.
We can keep the fence up higher off the ground if a customer plans on filling in afterwards.
I bring lots of pictures with me to help explain things. If you’re in the market for a fence and have some questions, we are here to be your consultant in all things fence.
Go Sabres!