How Long Does It Take to Install a Wood Privacy Fence?

I had my new privacy fence installed a little over two weeks ago by Spencer’s Fencers.  If you’ve been reading my posts here on The Renaissance Garden Guy, you’ll know a couple of things about this fact.  The first is that, up to this point, I had been doing all of the work on my garden by myself or, most recently, with the help of my three good buds, Carlos, Eric, and Zen.  But, with the seasons changing and a load of work in the garden still ahead of me, I made the decision to delegate.  An anal, control-issue guy like me does not come to such a decision without much agonizing and gnashing of teeth.  Which leads me to the second thing.  I felt extremely confident in Spencer’s Fencers and positive about my decision to hire them to do the job.  Like I told you in my post about choosing the right fence contractor, Spencer’s Fencers and Greg Bailey, their Project Manager, hit all the right notes when Greg came out to meet me and assess and estimate the job.  I had every confidence that they’d do a great job.  And on August 21st, the day they came out to install the fence, they more than proved me right.

So how long does it take to install a wood privacy fence?  For my fence, the short answer is 5 hours.  What did Spencer’s Fencers do in those five hours, and how did they do it?  Here’s a quick rundown:

Nice Touch.  Spencer’s Fencers accommodated me in every conceivable fashion, including getting my project scheduled quickly despite the fact that this is their busiest season and they were solidly booked with other jobs.  One of the ways they were able to do this was by doing the work on a Saturday.  And even though it was Saturday, true to his word, Greg personally met the installation crew at my house to review the job details and ensure a smooth hand-off.  In fact, Greg even drove out to Granger, IN to drive a piece of equipment, which the installation crew needed for the job, back to my house.  Great company management support for the field personnel.  I love it!

The Installation Crew.  Four people came to my house that Saturday to do the actual job:  Christian, Janessa, Juan, and Manny, the crew leader.  This amazing group of hardworking, highly-skilled artisans did their work in the most professional, expeditious, orderly, friendly, and expert fashion I could imagine.  They accommodated me completely.  They worked cautiously around the plants and limestone planters/retaining walls in the garden.  They executed their work perfectly.  This was not their first rodeo.  These folks are experts.  Manny himself has over thirty years of fence installation experience.

The Scope of Work.  So what did Manny and his crew get done in five hours?

• Demolition and removal.  They took out the old fence – panels, posts, concrete footings, gate – everything.  And at the end of the job, they hauled it all away and disposed of it.
• Post setting.  Following the layout and elevation plan I had come up with earlier, Manny came up with his post plan and set the corresponding post locations.  Then he and his crew excavated all of the post holes, set the posts at the code-required depth, and installed them all, perfectly plumb and level, with enough concrete to guarantee that they’ll all still be standing when the next millenium rolls around.
• Fence panel installation.  Once the posts were set and stable (they used fast-setting concrete), Manny and company went about installing all of the panels for approximately 110 linear feet of fence run.  Bear in mind, they were working with pre-fabricated 6’x8′ panels which I had already purchased and had on site.  That meant that they had to re-work/re-build several panels in order to accommodate a number of non-standard distances between certain post locations.
• Gate fabrication and installation.  Manny re-worked one of the existing 8′ fence panels into a 4′ gate, complete with lateral 2×4 stiffeners, three heavy-duty hinges, locking gate latch, and a pair of gate handles.
• Seemless tie-in to existing fence elevation.  In an earlier post, I mentioned that I was keeping the northern elevation of fence run due to the fact that I’m planning an addition to the house and a corresponding expansion northward of my garden.  It would be pointless to install brand new fencing here, only to tear it down when the garden expands.  Manny and company tied the new fence into the existing northern fence line in seemless and aesthetically pleasing fashion.
• Professional, friendly, expert, and expeditious.  I know I said it once, but I’m gonna say it again.  Manny and his crew, and Greg, were awesome.