Residential Fence Replacement: Old Fence Out, New Fence on New Posts

A wood fence rarely fails all at once. One post rots at the ground line, the section on either side starts to lean, the gate stops latching, and a storm finishes the job. When a few posts go, more are close behind, because they were all set the same year in the same clay.

QC Fence Contractors replaces residential fences across the Charlotte metro. Replacement is a full job: the old fence comes down and leaves the property, the old footings are dealt with, and the new fence is laid out and built as if the yard had never had one.

• Several posts are soft or snapped at ground level. Push on the top of a post: if it moves at the base, the post is done.
• Whole runs lean, and bracing them only moves the lean to the next section.
• Rails have pulled away from posts and no longer hold a nail or screw.
• Pickets are cupped, split or missing across most of the fence, not in one spot.
• Gates drag or will not latch because the posts they hang on have moved.
• You want a different fence: taller, a different material, or a layout that suits a new pool, dog or patio.

1. 1. Walk the old fence. We check which parts have failed and why, measure the line, and ask what you would change this time.
2. 2. Written estimate. The price covers removal, haul-off and the new fence, so there is one number to compare.
3. 3. Tear out. The old fence is taken down and loaded. Old posts and their concrete are pulled where the new posts need to go.
4. 4. New posts. New holes are dug and posts set in fresh concrete. We do not hang a new fence on old posts.
5. 5. Build and gates. The new fence and gates go up the same way as a first-time install.
6. 6. Haul away. Everything from the old fence leaves with us.

A replacement is the chance to fix what the first fence got wrong. If wood posts rotted in wet ground, the new fence can go on steel posts under wood pickets. If gaps opened between pickets as the boards dried, board on board closes them for good. If you are tired of maintaining wood at all, vinyl or composite takes sealing and painting off the list.

Gates are worth a second look too. Many original builder fences have one narrow gate in the wrong place. Adding a second gate, or widening one for a mower or trailer, costs little while the fence is already being rebuilt.

If you share the fence with a neighbor, talk to them before the old one comes down. Either of you may have pets or a pool that depends on it, and the yard will be open for a short time between tear-out and the new build.