Custom Fence Design: Layout, Height and Trim Planned Before We Build

A custom fence is rarely an exotic one. It is a fence where someone thought about the corners, the grade, the gates and the view from the house before the crew showed up. Because we build wood fences on site, one picket at a time, most of these choices cost little to make at the planning stage.

QC Fence Contractors designs and builds custom residential fences across the Charlotte metro. The design work happens during the estimate and is part of it.

• Picket layout: dog ear, shadowbox, board on board, horizontal or semi-privacy.
• Top line: flat, scalloped, arched, or finished with a cap board and trim.
• A lattice top band where a solid fence would feel too heavy.
• Height changes: taller along a busy road or a patio, lower where the view is worth keeping.
• Mixed materials: wood privacy on the sides with black aluminum across the back of a lake or golf course lot.
• Posts: wood, or steel posts hidden behind the pickets.
• Gates: width, swing direction, arched or flat tops, and where they land in relation to walks and driveways.

Slopes drive more design decisions than anything else. A fence that steps down a hill in level sections looks formal and leaves gaps at the bottom. A fence that follows the grade keeps the bottom tight and gives a top line that rolls with the ground. On a horizontal fence the choice is even more visible, because every board shows it.

Trees, drainage swales and easements shape the line too. A fence can jog around a mature tree, and a section across a swale can be built to let water through. Fences inside a utility or drainage easement may have to come out if the easement holder needs access, so it helps to know where yours are.

If your neighborhood has an HOA, the design has to pass its review. We can describe the fence in the terms their form asks for: height, material, picket style, color and location on the lot.

1. 1. Site visit. We walk the yard, measure, and talk through what you want the fence to do and how you want it to look.
2. 2. Options. We lay out the choices that fit the lot and point you to finished examples, including photos in our fence gallery.
3. 3. Written scope. The estimate spells out style, heights, materials, gates and price.
4. 4. Build. The crew builds what the scope says. Changes on site are agreed with you before they are made.