Fence installation in Detroit, built in the right order from the property line down

Find the real property line before anything else

The most expensive fence mistake has nothing to do with lumber or vinyl. It is building six inches onto the neighbor's land. A fence that crosses the line can be ordered removed, and the dispute can outlast the fence.

The best answer is a boundary survey with the corner pins located and flagged. Many Metro Detroit lots still have iron pins buried a few inches down at the corners, sometimes under decades of sod or an old garage slab, and a metal detector often finds them quickly. A mortgage survey from your closing papers helps, but it is a drawing, not a staked line. If the pins are missing or disputed, a land surveyor can reset them. Plenty of owners then hold the fence slightly inside their own line on purpose, which leaves room to maintain the outside face without stepping into the next yard.

Walking and marking the run so the layout matches what you pictured

Once the line is known, the layout gets walked on foot. A string pulled tight between corner stakes shows the true path, and paint or flags mark each post location along it. This is where you catch a maple trunk where a post should go, a downspout emptying across the run, or an air conditioner that needs service clearance.

Gate locations get decided now, not after posts are set. Think about what has to pass through: a mower, trash and recycling carts, a wheelbarrow, or a car on a driveway gate. Corner, end and gate posts carry more load than line posts, so marking them clearly tells everyone where the heavier work happens.

MISS DIG 811 and the private lines it will not mark

In Michigan, anyone digging is expected to request utility locates through MISS DIG 811 first, and the service is free. Utility locators paint or flag their buried gas, electric, water and communication lines near the planned route. The contractor typically files the request, and digging waits until the notice period MISS DIG sets has passed and the marks are in place.

The catch is that utilities only mark what they own. Anything on the private side of the meter is yours to point out before holes go in:

• Sprinkler mains, zone lines and the valve boxes that feed them
• Low-voltage landscape lighting cable
• A gas line run out to a grill, fire pit or pool heater
• Power to a detached garage, shed or pool pump
• Buried pet containment wire around the yard

Permits, zoning rules and association approval

Several cities in the region require a fence permit, and some follow it with an inspection. The rules are set by the city, village or township zoning code for your address, and an association may stack its own requirements on top. Those codes generally deal with front-yard versus back-yard height, the required distance from a walk or roadway, what corner lots must keep open so drivers can see the intersection, which side faces outward, and what materials are allowed.

We do not quote figures for any of that, because they vary by city and they change. Check with the building or zoning office for the address before ordering material. A subdivision association usually wants a drawing, the style, color and height, and it can be slower to answer than the city. A yard with an in-ground pool adds barrier requirements; the ornamental steel fence page covers what those rules address.

Digging post holes in Metro Detroit clay

Most of the region sits on a flat old lake plain with dense clay under the topsoil. Clay holds water, drains slowly and expands as it freezes, which is exactly what pushes shallow posts up over a few winters. Frost reaches deep in a hard Michigan winter, and the bottom of each hole has to land below it. The local building department sets the required depth for your address, and a careful contractor digs to that figure rather than stopping where the auger first gets tight.

A powered auger handles most holes, while holes inside the locate marks get dug by hand. City lots bring surprises: chunks of old foundation, buried brick, broken concrete from a long-gone garage, and cinders from coal furnace days. A hole that is wider at the bottom than the top resists being lifted, and standing water in spring clay needs to be pumped out or allowed to drain before setting.

Setting posts: concrete, gravel or expanding foam

How the post gets locked in place decides how long the line stays straight. The right method depends on the material, the soil and the load on that post.

• Concrete footing: the usual choice for gate, corner and end posts. Gravel under the post lets water drain from its bottom, and a crowned top sheds rain instead of pooling it against the post.
• Compacted crushed stone: drains well and lets a wood line post be swapped later without breaking out concrete. It must be tamped in thin layers or the post will wobble within a season.
• Expanding foam: fast and light, sometimes used for line posts on lighter fences, but a poor match for gate posts, tall solid fences that catch wind, or frost-prone clay.
• Steel and aluminum posts: usually set in concrete sized to the post. Chain link terminal posts need solid footings because fabric tension pulls on them constantly.

Handling slope: stepping versus racking

Detroit is mostly flat, but many yards still have a grade change along the back line, a drainage swale, or a drop toward a ravine in the older suburbs. A fence can follow that ground in two ways.

• With stepping, each section stays dead level and sits a bit below its uphill neighbor, giving the run a terraced profile. The look is clean on rigid panels but leaves a triangle-shaped gap under the low end that a small dog can use.
• Racking tilts the panel so the rails run parallel to the ground. Chain link and many ornamental and wood fences rack well; most vinyl privacy panels do not, or only slightly.
• Closing gaps: on stepped runs, a buried board, a strip of fabric or landscape edging can seal the space under each panel where pets or rabbits would slip through.

Gate framing and hardware that keeps working after the first winter

Gates take the most abuse. They swing hundreds of times a year, get leaned on by snow, and hang every ounce of their weight off a single post. That is why gate posts usually go in heavier and deeper than line posts.

Every wood gate wants a diagonal member set so it climbs from the lower hinge side toward the upper latch side, which sends the load back into the hinges rather than letting the free end sag. Wide gates often need a steel frame or an anti-sag kit from day one, and double drive gates use a drop rod with a sleeve set in concrete to catch it. Hinges should suit the gate weight, and latches should line up even after spring ground movement. On a pool yard the gate must close and latch on its own. Ask which way each gate swings and whether it clears the ground.

Removing the old fence and hauling it away

If a fence is already standing, it usually comes out first. Rotted wood comes apart quickly; chain link takes longer because fabric, ties, rail and posts all have to be separated. The slow part is old concrete footings, often mushroom-shaped plugs that resist pulling. They can be broken out, jacked out, or left in place with new posts offset slightly along the line, which saves labor but can shift spacing. Ask whether disposal is included, and if the old fence was shared, talk with the neighbor before it comes down.

The usual sequence, from first visit to final walk-through

Nobody can honestly promise a date before the yard is seen, approvals are back and material is on hand. The order of the work stays mostly the same, though:

1. Site visit: the contractor measures the run and looks at slope, gates, trees and access.
2. Written quote covering footage, height, material, setting method, gates, removal and cleanup.
3. Line confirmation: pins are found or a survey is ordered, and the layout is agreed on.
4. Approvals: the permit and any association review are submitted and returned.
5. Material order: stock items arrive faster than custom gates or less common styles.
6. Utility locates: MISS DIG 811 is filed and the notice period runs out.
7. Old fence removal, then holes dug and posts set, with time for concrete to cure.
8. Rails, panels, fabric or pickets hung, then gates framed and adjusted.
9. Cleanup, inspection where the city requires one, and a walk-through with you.

Reading a fence installation quote line by line

Two quotes that look far apart are often describing different fences. Before comparing totals, make sure each covers the same scope in writing:

• Total linear footage and height, and which sides of the yard are included
• Material, style and grade, with the finished side direction noted
• Post size, spacing and how each type of post is set
• Every gate, its width, swing direction, hinges and latch
• Whether slopes are stepped or racked, and how gaps underneath are handled
• Old fence and footing removal and disposal
• Who handles the permit, the association submission and the MISS DIG request
• What happens if digging hits debris or an unmarked private line
• Workmanship coverage terms and the deposit and payment schedule

Choosing the fence material is a separate decision

This page covers how a fence gets built, not which kind to buy. For cost drivers and how each holds up in a Michigan winter, see wood fences, vinyl fences and chain link fences. If an existing fence only needs work, start with fence repair. To see how the job changes on different lots, browse the communities we cover, from Dearborn to Troy.

Fence installation in Detroit — common questions

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