Condition survey — where fences fail
Leaning posts, blown-down sections, rotted bottom rails. Often a repair rather than a replacement — and we will tell you plainly which one you are looking at.
The question is almost always the posts. Pickets and rails are cheap to swap. If the posts are sound and plumb, a section is a repair. If they have rotted at the concrete line or pulled loose, you are rebuilding whether you meant to or not.
Wood fails where it meets the ground and stays wet. A bottom rail that crumbles under thumb pressure usually means the picket ends are going too. Replacing the rail and leaving rotten picket bottoms buys a season, not a fix.
A lean is a post problem, a footing problem, or a wind-load problem — often a fence that had privacy slats or panels added later without the posts being upsized for the extra load.
Tropical systems and straight-line winds take fences down in sections, usually where a gate or a long unbraced run gave first. Photograph everything before you move anything if you intend to file.
We will quote the repair either way. We are not adjusters, and we will not tell you what your policy covers.
Minor repair is exempt in Edinburg, but replacing a fence is listed among the actions that require a permit. If the repair is really a rebuild, check the Permit guide first.
Look at the posts. Pickets and rails are cheap and quick to swap. If the posts are sound and still plumb, it is a repair. If they have rotted at the concrete line or pulled loose, you are rebuilding whether or not that was the plan.
Photograph everything before anything is moved, in case you file a claim. Then make it safe — a leaning section over a sidewalk or a pool is the urgent part. We can quote the repair either way, but we are not adjusters and will not tell you what your policy covers.
The material, yes. The color, not exactly. New cedar next to a fence that has weathered for six years will look obviously new for a season or two until it silvers down. If the mismatch matters, staining the whole run after the repair evens it out.
Replacing a fence is listed among the actions that require a permit, while minor repairs and painting are exempt. If what you are calling a repair is really a full rebuild, check the permit guide before work starts.