San Gabriel Valley & Greater Los Angeles County

Wood Fencing in Los Angeles County

Most calls about wood start the same way. The old fence is leaning, a section came down in the wind, or the neighbors can see straight into the yard. Wood handles privacy and replacement work well, and it usually installs for less up front than vinyl fencing or ornamental iron on a residential run.

We build in cedar and redwood, on site, so the fence line follows your grade and your property line instead of fighting them. Western Fence Co. has been doing fence installation across the San Gabriel Valley and greater Los Angeles County since 1967.

Request a Free Quote

Materials

Wood Types We Work With

Species is one of the biggest levers on what a wood fence costs, so it is the first thing worth deciding. Both woods we build with resist insects and decay naturally, which is why they outlast a soft utility wood outdoors. Neither is maintenance free.

Cedar

Cedar is a common pick when someone is fencing a full backyard perimeter and watching the total. It holds a stain or sealer well, and works for privacy board, semi-privacy, and picket alike. It costs less than redwood, which matters when the run is two hundred feet instead of thirty. Left unsealed it weathers to a soft gray, which some homeowners want and some do not.

Redwood

Redwood is prized for its strength and its color, and it sits at the higher end of the wood range on price. Same natural insect and decay resistance as cedar, but a denser and more stable board. That is part of why people put it where the fence is visible: a front yard, a side yard along the driveway, a fence you look at from the patio. It needs periodic sealing to keep that color from graying out.

Other Materials and Special Orders

If you have a specific wood in mind that we do not keep on hand, we will order it. We also install vinyl, chain link, aluminum, and iron and ornamental fencing, so if wood turns out to be the wrong answer for your site, you are not starting over with another company.

Design Options

Fence Design, Height, and Layout

Privacy fencing with boards butted tight is the most requested design. Semi-privacy layouts with spaced or alternating boards let air and light through, which helps on narrow side yards between houses. Picket keeps a front yard open while still marking the property. Lattice and trellis tops add height without a solid wall of board. Horizontal board patterns have been popular on Pasadena and Altadena remodels for several years now.

Fence height comes from city ordinance, and limits are usually different for front yards than for rear and side yards. Corner lots often have sight line rules near driveways and intersections. Pool enclosures are their own category, with height, gate swing, and latch requirements set by city and county code that vary depending on where you are and when the pool was permitted. We will tell you what applies on your property and build to it.

Compare Materials

Wood or Vinyl Fencing

The honest comparison comes down to what you pay now against what you do later. Wood costs less to install on most runs and gives you far more control over the design. It also asks for attention every few years.

Vinyl

Vinyl fencing runs higher at the start and then largely leaves you alone. We install it from three to six feet in several colors and styles, with stainless steel fasteners and post cap options. We will price the same run both ways so you can compare real numbers instead of guessing.

View Vinyl Fencing Options

How It’s Built

Installation, Permits, and Site Prep

Knowing the process helps when you are reading estimates.

  • Layout gets marked first, corners and gate openings set the run, then post holes get dug along the fence line.
  • A common rule of thumb is burying roughly one third of the post length, though soil and fence height both push that number around.
  • Setting posts in concrete is what gives the structure its strength, and each one gets checked with a post level and pulled to a straight line, because a post out of position at the start shows up in every rail and board after it.
  • Grade gets crowned around the posts to prevent water pooling at the base, which is what takes a wood fence apart first.
  • Attaching fence rails comes next, then boards, then the hardware and finishing touches.

Before You Dig

  • Check local zoning rules, since height and setback limits vary city to city across Los Angeles County.
  • Some projects need a permit and some do not, depending on height, location, and whether the fence doubles as a pool barrier.
  • Call 811 to have underground utility lines marked before anyone digs. That one is free and not optional.
  • On boundaries, it is worth knowing where the line actually falls rather than assuming the old fence was right, since old fences drift.

Plenty of homeowners build their own fences, and a short straight run on flat ground is a reasonable weekend project with a post hole digger, a post level, a string line, and safety glasses. A power auger saves a lot of digging when the soil cooperates, though in decomposed granite and heavy clay it often does not. Where it stops being worth it: long runs, slopes, hillside lots, pulling old posts set in oversized footings, and anything with a wide drive gate. Labor costs are a real part of any quote, and getting multiple quotes before you commit is fair. Ours is free either way.

Schedule a Consultation

Keeping It Up

Maintenance Tips

Cedar and redwood both need periodic sealing to hold their color, and Southern California sun fades and checks board faces over time. Plan on cleaning the fence with a stiff brush and a rinse, then resealing or restaining. Doing the prep first makes a noticeable difference in how evenly the coating holds.

A few habits extend the life of any wood fence.

  • Point sprinkler heads away from the base.
  • Keep heavy vines and shrubs off the boards so air can move through.
  • Watch the gates, since sagging hinges are usually the first sign of a load problem, and adjusting hardware early beats rebuilding a gate later.

Gates & Ironwork

Gates and Ironwork

Gates get built to match the fence. A wood gate needs its frame and hinges sized to the width and weight of the leaf, because an undersized gate on a wide opening will sag no matter how well the fence beside it is built. Walk gates, drive gates, and double gates for yard access are all standard work. If you want something heavier at the driveway, we build iron and ornamental fencing including estate gate entrances. Wood along the property line with an iron entrance at the front is a common combination on larger lots.

View Gates

Residential, Commercial, and Builder Projects

Wood shows up on plenty of non residential work: screen walls around dumpsters and mechanical equipment, enclosures on job sites, and fencing for multi unit properties where the owner wants the same look across every yard.

We work with builders and developers on repeated runs across a tract or a phase, and with property managers handling replacement across a portfolio. We have also done a good deal of work for city agencies. Send us the plans or the site details and we will get an estimator out to walk the property with you.

Free Estimates from a Shop That Has Been Here Since 1967

Western Fence Co. has worked out of the same Altadena shop since 1967, family owned and locally owned, with two estimators in the field and crews that build wood on site rather than assembling panels in a driveway. Nearly sixty years in one place means we have already seen what a given neighborhood does to a fence. Which soil eats posts, which streets get the wind, which yards need a heavier gate.

Call the office or request a quote and an estimator comes out, measures the run, and looks at the conditions that drive the price: grade, soil, access for material and equipment, whether an old fence has to come out, and where the utilities sit. The estimate is written and free, with no obligation.

Request a Free Quote

Our core service area is Altadena, Pasadena, Arcadia, and the San Gabriel Valley, and we take wood fence installation work across Los Angeles and greater Los Angeles County. Residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal. We do not turn down job types.

Frequently Asked Questions

Both resist insects and decay naturally, so the decision usually comes down to budget and appearance. Redwood is the stronger and more expensive of the two, with a color a lot of homeowners want on a visible front or side yard. Cedar covers a long backyard perimeter for less. Either way, periodic sealing is what keeps the finish from going gray. Your estimator will price the run both ways.

It depends on linear footage, fence height, design, material, terrain, and whether an old fence needs to come out and be hauled off first. Redwood costs more than cedar, and both put wood between chain link and vinyl on the overall range. Permits, if your project needs one, add to the total. Rather than guess over the phone, we send an estimator out to measure and look at the site conditions, and that visit is free.

Both answers come from your city. Height limits usually differ between front and rear yards, corner lots often have added sight line rules, and whether a permit is required depends on height, location, and whether the fence serves as a pool barrier. We will tell you what we commonly see in Altadena, Pasadena, and Arcadia and we build to code, but the city has the final word, so confirm with your local planning department.

Yes. Removal and disposal are part of most replacement jobs and we account for them in the estimate.

It varies with length, terrain, gate count, and how much demolition is involved, and weather and concrete cure time both factor in. Your estimator will give you a realistic window for your project.

Yes to both. Walk gates, drive gates, and double gates get framed with hinges and hardware sized to the opening. Horizontal board fencing is custom built like everything else we do in wood, with the layout worked out before the crew starts.

Request a Free Estimate on Wood Fencing

Tell us what the property needs and we will send an estimator to look at it. Free estimates, financing available, and a shop that has been in Altadena since 1967, serving Pasadena, Arcadia, the San Gabriel Valley, and Los Angeles County. Call the office or request a quote to get on the schedule.

Request a Free Quote