Yes. A fence on a slope is built one of two ways. It is racked, with the rails following the ground and the boards or pickets kept upright, or it is stepped, with each level panel set lower than the last. Racking leaves the smallest gap along the bottom.
Racked or stepped: which is better?
- Racked: the fence follows the grade in a smooth line. It works on gentle to moderate slopes and is the right choice when a dog is involved.
- Stepped: panels stay level and drop at each post. It is used on steeper ground and with panels that cannot tilt. A triangle of open space is left under each one.
- Cut to the ground: boards are nailed up one at a time and trimmed to the soil. A wood fence built this way looks cleanest on an uneven lot.
I have a dog that digs and a yard that drops. How do I avoid gaps?
Choose a racked fence or one cut to the ground, then protect the bottom. Options are a treated board fixed along the base, boards scribed to the soil, or a strip of wire mesh buried along the inside of the fence line. In summer the clay here shrinks back from boards and posts, so check the bottom edge again in the dry season.
My yard is steep and rocky and two companies turned the job down. Who does this?
Call us. We will walk the line before giving an answer. Most of Fremont is flat, but the lots east of Mission Boulevard, the streets above Niles and the properties around Sunol are real hillside. The job takes longer there. Material goes in by hand, holes are dug by hand, and downhill posts are set deeper. When a hole meets rock, we core it or pin the post to the rock. Tell us if the fence will run along a retaining wall. In Fremont every retaining wall needs a building permit, and the wall changes how tall the fence above it can be.
Do installers dig by hand or with a machine?
Both. On an open, level tract lot a powered auger is fastest. We dig by hand on slopes, next to house footings and walls, near utility marks, around large roots, and in side yards too narrow for a machine. Many Fremont side yards are that narrow.
We can only give a real price after measuring the fence line. The visit is free and the quote is written. Call (510) 240-8149 or text a photo of the fence.