Springtime Fence Repairs

Custom Fence Co. can easily repair damaged fence

and make it look new again!

Despite the awesome winter that we have had this year, winter is still cold, nasty and sometimes even dangerous! Winter can also take a toll on your fence in a few different ways. The freezing and thawing of the ground can cause issues with posts. The frozen, icy roads can cause even greater damage to your fence and possibly the well being of someone driving their vehicle past your fence.

In areas with high water tables the freezing and thawing of the ground can do some funny things to posts. When water freezes it expands into a solid. The opposite happens when the weather warms up and it's molecules contract and turn back into a fluid. Think about what happens to your plumbing pipes when they are full of water and it freezes, they rupture and burst!

The changes that the water molecules go though during freezing and thawing of the ground can cause your fence posts to either sink, raise up or in really bad cases, do both! As I mentioned, this is more likely to happen in areas with a higher water table, usually found in lower ground. But that is not always why it happens. If the company that originally installed your fence did not place enough cement around the posts or did not set the posts deep enough in the ground you may also get the rise or sink effect.

There are a few simple rules that all fence companies should use when setting posts below ground. When the following rules are followed, your fence posts will be much less likely to be affected by freezing and thawing ground. At Custom Fence Company, we set all posts at least 2' below the ground in cement with a diameter at least 3 times the diameter of the post. In our area and climate that should be adequate for the freezes and thaws that come with the changing seasons.

Take a look at your fence real quick. It looks pretty nice, doesn't it? Imagine if some of your posts were rising higher than others and some were sinking lower than others. It would not look as nice as it does now! That calls for a repair.

What is worse than mother nature damaging your fence? When someone hits it with a vehicle or a snow plow! Icy roads can easily cause drivers to lose control and damage your fence. The worst thing that can happen to a fence with regards to damage is when it is hit by a vehicle. Vehicles have the ability to damage large portions of fence, usually leaving virtually none of the material salvageable. Please see an article that I wrote a few months ago regarding how to prepare your fence for winter. There are several great tips in that article on how you can prepare your fence to resist damage during the winter months.

Custom Fence Company can easily repair your fence and keep the cost reasonable for you as well. We make it our responsibility to ensure that your fence looks as good today as it did when it was first installed. Call us today for a free estimate and ensure that your fence looks as nice as it can.

Prepare Your Fence For Winter!

Despite the welcomingly warm November that Mother Nature has blessed our area with this year, winter is on the way! Snow is inevitable during a mid-western winter. Snow also has to be cleared from drive ways, parking lots, side walks and other areas that border fence lines. Clearing these areas requires you to bring in equipment to remove the snow and pile it up somewhere.
Has clearing snow ever caused your fence harm? It likely has, especially if your fence is around a driveway or parking lot. These areas usually require the use of a snow plow that can damage fence in a few ways. The plow can physically hit your fence pushing it over, breaking some of it's parts or posts. Or the pile of snow itself being pushed by plows into the fence can cause damage as well.
Every spring the majority of repair calls that we recieve involve damage from snow removal of some sort. Of course Custom Fence Company will quickly come out and supply you with a free quote to repair your fence, but we would also like to offer some advice to help you prevent this damage from occurring, saving you money and stress.  

Here are a few simple things that you can consider to prevent snow related damage from ocurring to your fence:

1. Speak with your snow removal supplier regarding your concerns of damage ocurring to your fence
2. Set up a particluar "catch area" for snow to be piled that is away from fence lines
3. Ensure that snow piles start at least 15' from any fence line, this will allow room for snow to be pushed through the year without pushing against fence
4. Have snow piles removed if they are becoming too large for your fenced in area and you are concerned that it may damage your fence
5. Do not have plowed snow piled inside fenced area. Most fenced areas have room outside of them where snow can be pushed and piled away from a fence line.
6. If using a snow blower, try to blow snow to the opposite side of any fence lines. This will prevent snow from piling up on the fence and causing damage from it's weight.
7. Install barrier posts in front of your fence if it is along a driveway, street curve or street intersection. This will slow vehicles down before they hit your fence or completely prevent them from hitting it at all.
8. Only allow your snow removal company to remove snow from your property when it is necessary. Some contracts will allow them to remove snow when it is only a few inches deep. The less time they spend on your property, the less likely they are to damage your fence!

Please consider these tips over the next few months. We hope it helps! Happy Holidays from the Custom Fence Family.