People usually start choosing a fence by looking at pictures. That is the fun part, and it is the wrong place to start. Two fences that look the same can be the right and wrong answer for the same lot, and a fence that looks great on a flat city yard can be a mistake on a sloped lake lot or a pasture. After twenty years of walking fence lines around Lake Livingston, here is the order we go through with every customer. It is short.
1. What does the fence have to do?
Be specific. "A fence" is not a job. These are jobs:
- Keep a dog in. Height and bottom spacing matter; the look is secondary. Chain link, welded wire or a privacy fence all work.
- Block a view or noise. Solid boards or panels: wood privacy or R-panel.
- Mark a line and look good. Open styles: picket, split rail, ornamental.
- Hold livestock. Depends on the animal: barbed wire for cattle, field fence for goats, smooth fence for horses.
- Keep deer or hogs out. Height for deer; a tight, low edge for hogs.
- Meet a pool or HOA rule. The rule decides half the design before you start.
Most properties have two of these jobs at once, which is why so many fences around here are two styles: privacy on the sides, open toward the lake; chain link around the dog yard, barbed wire around the pasture.
2. What is the land like?
Slope, soil and trees change the answer. A steep lake lot favors fence that racks with the grade, like chain link and wire, over fence that has to step, like wood panels. Sandy soil near the water means deeper posts for anything. A line through the pines has to be cleared and favors fence that a falling limb does not destroy. Wet ground at the bottom of a lot rots wood faster and wants a rot board or metal. We look at all of this on the estimate, and it is why we quote on site rather than by the foot. Lake Livingston 411 covers what lake-area land does to a fence.
3. How long should it last, and how much do you want to maintain it?
Every fence lasts longer with care, and some need very little. Aluminum, vinyl-coated chain link and ornamental steel mostly just stand there. Cedar and treated pine need stain every few years and will outlast most owners' patience with that chore unless someone does it for them. Wire fence needs its corners checked and its tension kept. Be honest about which kind of owner you are; the fence will not care, but your wallet will. Best fence materials for Texas weather compares how each one ages here.
4. What does it cost, really?
Material sets the per-foot range, but layout, terrain, gates and post depth move the total more than most people expect. What affects fence cost per foot explains why we do not quote a stock number over the phone and what we price instead.
5. Then pick the look
By now the list is short. If the job is privacy on a lake lot with an HOA, you are choosing between two or three wood styles and maybe R-panel. If the job is holding goats on ten acres, you are choosing field fence and deciding on the gates. The pictures matter at this point, and we are glad to show you fences we have built in each style, on properties like yours. Top five fence styles for curb appeal is a good place to look if the fence is out front.
What we will tell you on the estimate
Which styles fit the job and the land, what each will cost on your property, what each needs to stay standing, and which one we would build if it were ours. Then it is your call. Request a free estimate when you are ready.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most popular fence around Lake Livingston?
For yards, a six-foot wood privacy fence. For lake lots, black vinyl-coated chain link. For pasture, barbed wire or field fence on braced corners. Each one is popular because it fits the job, not because it is the best fence in general.
Should I pick the fence first or get the estimate first?
Get the estimate. Half of choosing a fence is seeing the property: the slope, the soil, the trees, where the gates have to go. We walk it with you and price the styles that make sense, so you are choosing between real numbers.
How much does the look matter?
More than people admit. A fence you see every day should look right next to the house and the land. The good news is that every job a fence can do has a style that looks good doing it.