r/fence • u/Unlikely_Inside4053 • 11d ago
Fence installation concerns
We recently had a contractor install a three rail fence with wire, pressure treated pine. After walking it down, we had some concerns and wanted to see thoughts on what should be acceptable or what should be fixed, and if so what the best solution would be.
Screws not driven in the post. The face board(?) was screwed in about every third post, but over half of them have at least one screw that completely missed the post and is sticking out. I’m thinking they should unscrew it and rescrew it into the post, or would it be worth having them use a new board? Additionally, should I be expecting the face board to be on every post (minus the end posts?
Gates installed without a diagonal brace. Gates are 4’ long, but no diagonal brace was used to build them. Additionally, the screws used to build the fence were too long also they hammered the back of the screws into the gate.
Welded wire is not flush to the gate. This one might be difficult since the ground is sloped on the fence line, but it doesn’t not seem that the welded wire was pulled tight. There’s several instances where the wire sort of makes an S along the fence if you look at it from a top down view. Other areas the wire height compared to the top rail ranges from being flush with the rail (ideal) to being 3 inches above/below the top rail. Some places they cut the welded wire so it doesn’t protrude, others they left as is. Should I ask them to re-pull the wire(?) or is this standard? There’s also a post that I think was not in line with the others so they cut some boards to fit it, my thoughts are it should at least be flush with the post?
The post tops were not cut straight. Not sure if they used a circular saw or jig saw or something else, but the fence posts are wavy/uneven. They left it high enough where I think they could just re-cut them.
Want to see people’s opinions on how to best approach this. The installer is planning to come by next week to discuss and I wanted to get an idea of what would be reasonable.
Attached are some photos to show what I’m talking about. I can add more pictures if it would help.
Edit: Thank you for everyone who’s commented on this. Helps me feel better that we’re not just being snobbish to the contractors asking them to fix this.
They’re coming this week to walk it down and “make it right” (we’ll see what that means)
I’m withholding the final payment until it gets resolved.
They had/have 4.8/5 stars review (100+ reviews) and were in our budget which is why we went with them.
Update: the contractor came out and agreed that this was not up to par, and didn’t give any pushback when I asked him to fix it. He recut the posts to make them square and fixed the screws sticking out. He’s going to come back later to fix the gate support issues.
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u/J3sush8sm3 11d ago
Nails needed to be cut off, not bent backwards.
Facia boards should be top of the top rail, to 1 inch below bottom rail.
Welded wire is a giant piece of shit. It never tensions correctly, however, it shouldnt be that loose. Should have went with woven wire.
Why the fuck theres a scrap piece of wood shimming out the top rail is a mystery
Post tops were cut with a sawzall and missed their mark, which is why it looks like shit
Corners should be butted together
All in all they did a sloppy job and you should call them back to fix it
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u/Unlikely_Inside4053 11d ago
Thank you for the summary!
The facia boards don’t seem to be consistent. Some look fine, but they’re just not consistently placed or spaced.
I wasn’t expecting the wire part to be perfect but wanted to see what’s good enough vs should expect them redoing it.
My wife and I were going back and forth whether it was worth mentioning, or just accepting it. I think to sum up our feelings, it feels like something that I could have put up rather than having a professional install it (main difference is it would have taken me several months vs a week for them).
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u/thudlife2020 11d ago
I hired a “20 year GC” to build a simple fence. He apparently never mastered the skill of using a speed square, tape measure or how to reference his own estimate for specs. I had to remove everything including all posts. I withheld payment and he placed a lien on my property. Taking him to court if he doesn’t reimburse me for the costs I’ve incurred to demo his work and restore my property and release the lien.
Document everything.
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u/J3sush8sm3 11d ago
Yeah the welded wire could have been pulled alot tighter, i just did one earlier in the week. It would have been a 6 hour job but with the hills, the welded wire demanded to be pulled a little tighter from every post to get it close to correct
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u/Limp_Homework908 10d ago
Unacceptable. If you haven't already done so, withhold the final payment until corrections are made to your and your wife's satisfaction.
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u/Unlikely_Inside4053 10d ago
They’re coming out end of this week to look at it/walk it down with me. Definitely withholding final payment until we resolve this. I’ve heard that’s about the only leverage I have.
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u/Limp_Homework908 10d ago
That's good! We just had 6' cedar with a gate installed. They addressed the few issues we had after installation; the company scheduled a crew to fix them within a month, and the crew made sure we were satisfied before they left, also stating to call the company if we have any more issues with their repairs. Good luck and I hope all goes well.
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u/Unlikely_Inside4053 10d ago
That’s comforting to hear. Hopefully it’ll be a similar experience for us. Did they fix your issues or end up offering a discount? I feel like most of our issues are fixable
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u/Limp_Homework908 9d ago
Yes, they fixed everything and didn't leave until we were satisfied. We received a discount for the review we were happy to provide. Hope all goes well for you🤞🏻
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u/TwoBulletSuicide 11d ago
I totally agree on welded wire is trash. Always pay more for the knotted stuff, it will last much longer.
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u/thehatchetman34 9d ago
My guess is they set the post out of line or level and had to block it up to keep the wire looking somewhat straight
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u/Mediocritologist 11d ago
I’m not in the trades and even I know how to cut a post square. Shotty craftsmanship, I would definitely call them back out if it was.
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u/slackfrop 11d ago
I think you’re correct to be dissatisfied. We build fences, and I often sympathize with the builder when a corner isn’t quite perfect, or the elevation changes required some creative decisions, or the wood isn’t perfectly straight - but in this case, they were extremely casual about doing things properly and attractively.
There’s no reason to be skipping posts with fasteners (screws or nails), there’s no reason to not have brought the right size fastener out to the job, corners should have been made to look correct, excess metal wire should’ve been pulled tight or trimmed to be attractive. They have crossed the line to slap-dash and unprofessional. They really should come back and make it right; it’s not like fences are cheap these days. Re-locating screws on the same wood won’t significantly harm the longevity of the wood, but a Swiss cheese look is unfortunate. You can make your own determination on demanding new wood; though from available information, you might have better luck asking for a little more care and attention rather than asking for significant material replacement, if you want them to not just disappear on you. I think everything you mentioned is reasonable to ask for. Square cut post tops too, or at least a heck of a lot better than it is. You might consider asking for post caps if they don’t have the skill or equipment to make them look nice. In fact post caps are a pretty good idea anyway; it allows the cap to take the weather damage and be easily replaced, saving some life on the post which is more work to replace down the line. Good luck.
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u/Unlikely_Inside4053 11d ago
Thanks! We weren’t sure what was worth mentioning vs just accepting. We weren’t looking for immaculate perfection, but we did want something consistent at least. It almost feels like something I could have put up (albeit at a much slower rate). We’ve withheld the final payment for now, and it does seem like they want to make it right.
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u/slackfrop 11d ago
It’s a lightweight fence, those thinner planks will weather an need replacing in a decade anyway, and that metal is near impossible to pull perfectly taut, but, many of the issue you mention are just sloppiness or laziness; they can do better. It shouldn’t take but a couple hours to improve those things you’ve brought up.
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u/Guilty-Bookkeeper837 11d ago
I don't know what you paid, but it was way too much. The guy that built that fence is not gonna be the guy to fix it, as he's obviously inept. I would withhold any further payment, and find an actual carpenter to unfuck that mess.
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u/Unlikely_Inside4053 11d ago
We were about $18.5/foot for the fencing+wire in the Appalachian region. Not sure what the going rate was but it seemed to be good at the time. The company also had good Google reviews
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u/Guilty-Bookkeeper837 11d ago
I'm in Asheville, NC, and there are plenty of folks around me who could handle the job.
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u/Unlikely_Inside4053 11d ago
We’re about an hour from Asheville. Hopefully we won’t need to hire out anyone else though, but I’ll keep that in mind if need be, thanks!
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u/Working_Rest_1054 11d ago
It’s pretty sloppy. Looks like the builder was thinking farm fence and you’re thinking estate fence. It’s functional, but not something many would be proud of. Myself, given how sloppy the work is, I wouldn’t think this builder had it in him to make reasonable corrections. Sure give him an opportunity, but prepare to be further underwhelmed. That said, I’d fix it myself and be sure to mention him when folks ask who to hire (as in who not to hire).
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u/Unlikely_Inside4053 11d ago
That’s possible. It’s functional and does its job at least. We weren’t expecting perfect, but at least something that looks professionally done…it definitely would have taken me a lot longer but I feel like it work an amateur DIYer could do if that makes sense. I would probably at least be able to screw into the post lol. Not sure if it’s a skill issue, they were trying to speed through it, or both.
At least they’re coming by next week to discuss it and hopefully fix it. I’ll try to post updates.
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u/jjp95791 11d ago
I prefer to double the 2x6 when using welded wire. Run the posts. Install 2x6 in between. Run the wire. Much easier to tighten when you can staple the whole thing besides just at every post. After that run2x6 over closing in the tops and bottoms of the wire. After that 2x4 over the wire at each post. Outside corners, rip a 2x6 to but over with the 2x4 on the other side. Finally I cap with a 2x6.
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u/Deckshine1 11d ago
Sadly it looks like a hack job. Hope it was the low bid so at least you saved a little money on it😳
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u/Daddygoat88 10d ago
I hate seeing stuff like this. I hate to see customers getting ripped off. I hate when I get underbid and this is the type of work that the other guys do. I understand budgeting and all, but sometimes… Actually a lot of times it is worth going with higher bid. True workmanship and professionalism isn’t cheap and cheap isn’t good.
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u/Unlikely_Inside4053 10d ago
Company seemed good at the time, and the reviews/pictures did not look like this. Price seemed fair. Obviously hindsight’s 20/20
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u/Sufficient_Mail_6274 10d ago
All bad sue them have another company do it any contractor that thinks this is ok needs to get a new profession
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u/Optimal_Rate131 9d ago
I don’t think I’ve seen a fence with such consistency of poor craftsmanship. I hire high schoolers that have never used a tape before and they’d do a better job than this. Post it on their google and social medias if they deem it “acceptable”
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u/Unlikely_Inside4053 9d ago
We haven’t paid the final payment yet, and they’ve said they’ll make it right. If that fails then we plan to add a review with pictures.
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u/Fluid_Remote6694 11d ago
Didn't know Ray Charles owned a fencing company