Zovtira

Fences and gates in Austin. Nothing else.

01 Fence installation · Austin, TX

We build fences and gates on private lots in Austin: cedar privacy, horizontal slat and ornamental steel fences, walk gates and driveway gates. One of our crew leads comes out, measures your line and then writes your scope, with every post position, post depth and bag of concrete counted. Then our two-person install crew builds exactly that.

Cedar privacy runs are typically $42–58 per linear foot installed. The measure is free inside Austin.

Book a measure +1 (415) 555-2801
A new six-foot cedar privacy fence along an Austin backyard at dusk
6 ft cedar142 lin ftposts 8 ft o.c.
String line and stakes marking post positions for a new fence
Layoutline pulled tight
Close-up of a heavy steel gate hinge on a galvanized post
Gate post36 in deep
  • Free measure inside Austin
  • Same person measures and writes your scope
  • Written scope before we dig
  • 2 install days for a typical backyard

Line posts 24 inGate posts 36 inSteel at every gate over 4 ft

02 / How a job goes

From tape to latch

Four stops. A typical 150 ft backyard run takes two install days once the locates clear.

  1. Stop 01 · Day 0

    Measure

    We measure first. Nobody quotes a fence off a satellite photo. The person who comes out walks the property line with a 300 ft tape, notes grade changes, trees, the meter, the sprinkler heads and where the gate swing hits the driveway. You get the written scope within two working days: post count, post depth, concrete bag count, picket count, gate hardware and the price.

    • Fence measurement Austin
    • 45–60 min on site
    • Free in Austin
  2. Stop 02 · Days 1–4

    Layout & locates

    We call 811 for utility locates before anything goes in the ground. Texas law gives them two working days, and we wait for every flag. Then the string goes up between corner stakes, every post position gets a paint mark, and you walk the line with us. Moving a post costs nothing at this point. After concrete it costs a post.

    • 811 locates
    • String + paint marks
    • You sign off the line
  3. Stop 03 · Install day 1

    Posts & concrete

    Line posts go 24 inches down. Gate posts go 36. That is the difference between a gate that latches in year five and one you lift. Holes are augered 10 to 12 inches wide, and in caliche or limestone we break rock instead of cutting the post short. Concrete is mixed with water and tamped, never poured dry into a dry hole and left to the next rain. Posts cure overnight before anything hangs on them.

    • Galvanized steel fence posts
    • 80 lb bags, counted
    • Overnight cure
  4. Stop 04 · Install day 2

    Panels & gates

    Rails, pickets or panels go on, then the gates hang last, on posts that have had a night to set. Every gate is checked for swing, latch and gap at the bottom before we leave. We haul off the dirt spoil and offcuts, walk the run with you and point out anything to watch in the first month, usually a latch that wants one adjustment once the cedar dries.

    • Gates hung last
    • Spoil hauled
    • Walk-through

03 / Catalogue

What we build

Four kinds of work. Each one has its own section with photos, spec tables and hardware on the fences and gates page.

04 / Wood fence replacement Austin

The failure we replace most is a sagging gate

Most fences we tear out failed at the gate, not the run.

Here is how it goes. A 4 ft cedar gate weighs 60 to 80 pounds once it has taken on water. It hangs off one side of a 4x4 wood post set 18 inches deep in a bag of dry mix. Every time it swings, it levers that post. Inside three summers the post leans toward the gate, the latch side drops half an inch, then an inch, and the gate starts dragging on the concrete. You lift it to close it. Then the post rots at grade, because that is where wet soil meets air, and the whole thing walks.

Most calls we get for gate repair in Austin are this. Re-hanging the same gate on the same post buys a year. We don't do that. We pull the post, set a galvanized steel post 36 inches deep in properly mixed concrete, and hang the gate on adjustable hinges bolted through, not screwed. Every gate wider than 4 ft gets steel posts on both sides, and a frame that is squared and braced from the hinge side down.

If the rest of your fence run is sound, we replace the gate and its posts only. If the line posts are rotted too, the written scope says so, with the count, and you decide. Gate construction in detail

Post depth below grade

05 / The numbers

Post spec by height

This is what goes in the ground on a standard run. Rock, slope or a soft spot near a downspout changes it, and if it does, the scope says why.

Steel fence posts and concrete, per fence height
Fence Post Depth Spacing Concrete / post Rails
4 ft cedar or steel 2-3/8 in galv. steel 24 in 8 ft o.c. 1.5 × 80 lb 2 × 2x4
5 ft ornamental steel 2 in sq. steel, welded 24 in panel width, ~6 ft 1.5 × 80 lb welded
6 ft cedar privacy 2-3/8 in galv. steel 24 in 8 ft o.c. 2 × 80 lb 3 × 2x4
6 ft horizontal slat 2-3/8 in steel, cedar wrap 24 in 6 ft o.c. 2 × 80 lb cap rail
8 ft cedar privacy 2-7/8 in galv. steel 30 in 8 ft o.c. 3 × 80 lb 4 × 2x4
Any gate over 4 ft 4 in sq. steel 36 in gate width + hinge gap 4 × 80 lb steel frame

o.c. = on center. Bag counts are for a 10–12 in augered hole in average Austin clay. Caliche and limestone get a rock bar and more time, not shorter posts.

06 / Lines we hold

What we won't do

Short list. Each one is a fence we have been paid to tear out later.

  • Dry mix poured into a dry hole It sets in patches, if at all, and leaves a post that rocks in a year. Our concrete is mixed with water and tamped around the post.
  • Treated pine pickets sold as cedar Pine twists and checks in Texas sun. If the scope says western red cedar, the pickets are western red cedar, and you can ask to see the bundle tags.
  • A gate on a 4x4 wood post We don't hang a 12 ft driveway gate on wood. Ever. Every gate wider than 4 ft hangs on steel set 36 in deep.
  • Decks, patios, siding, handyman lists Fences and gates only. If you need a carpenter for the porch, we are the wrong call, and we will say so on the phone.

07 / Price bases

What a fence costs here

Typical installed ranges from recent work on Austin lots. Materials, labour, concrete, hardware and haul-off are in them. Permits, if your HOA or the city wants one, are listed separately in the scope.

  • Cedar privacy fence, 6 ft Board on board, steel posts, three rails. Low end is a straight run on flat ground. $42–58per linear foot
  • Horizontal slat fence Depends mostly on slat gap and whether posts are cedar-wrapped on both faces. $58–80per linear foot
  • Ornamental steel fence 4 or 5 ft panels. Pool-height with self-closing gate sits at the upper end. $45–70per linear foot
  • Walk gate 3–4 ft, steel frame, posts and hardware included. $650–1,400each
  • Driveway gate 10–16 ft, double swing or cantilever slide. Automation is a separate line, quoted per gate. $3,800–9,500each

Worked example: 150 ft of 6 ft cedar with one walk gate lands between $6,950 and $10,100 on these ranges. Corners, slope and rock move it within that.

08 / Before you call

The questions people ask on the phone

  • Do you charge for the measure?

    No. Measuring is free within Austin. If your lot is outside the city, tell us where when you book and we will say on the phone whether we travel there and what that adds.

  • Can you quote from photos or a satellite view?

    You can work out a ballpark yourself from the ranges above. A binding price needs someone walking the line, because the satellite does not show the 14 inch drop at the back corner or the limestone shelf under the side yard. Those two things are where quotes off a photo go wrong.

  • Will you reuse my old posts?

    Rarely. On a wood fence replacement the old 4x4 posts are usually why the fence failed. If you already have steel posts that are plumb and solid at grade, we say so in the scope and price the job around them.

  • Who should not call us?

    Anyone who wants the cheapest fence on the street. Pine pickets on wood posts cost less this year and more in year four. Also commercial sites, farm and ranch wire, and anything that is not a fence or a gate. We are a small outfit doing residential lots.

  • How soon can you start?

    The install date is written in the scope, so you know before you agree to anything. Locates alone take two working days, and spring is the busy season, so book the measure early if you want the fence up before summer.

Who you deal with

A crew lead measures your lot and writes your scope. Nobody in an office retypes it. A two-person crew sets the posts and hangs the gates to that scope.

Post positions, post depths, concrete bags, picket and rail counts, hardware, install date, price. All on paper. Nothing decided on the day.

Who measures and who builds

09 / Fence contractor Austin TX

Book a measure

Tell us roughly how long and how high, and what is there now. We call back within one working day to set a time on site.

Prefer the phone? +1 (415) 555-2801

Or write to [email protected]

Phone or email, one is enough. We need a way to reply.

Free inside Austin.