Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
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AfterFast, Reliable Fence Installation Across Davis
Fence installation in Davis typically runs $3500 to $9000 for a standard wood or vinyl fence on a typical residential lot, and most projects take two to five working days once materials arrive. That’s the honest range before we’ve walked the property line. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll give you a real number, not a ballpark that floats north once the crew shows up. We’ve been building fences in Davis long enough to know the soil, the wind, and the planning quirks that turn a simple fence into something that actually gets inspected and approved.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is Davis’s Preferred Fence Installation Company
Tom Barrett founded Barrett & Sons Construction in 1998, and his sons run the crews here in Davis today. That means the person who signs the contract is related to the person digging the post holes. We answer our own phone, 24/7, and the name on the estimate is the name on the truck.
Davis customers don’t get a salesperson from an out-of-town call center. They get our scheduling team out of our Sacramento office, and then a crew that knows exactly which side of Covell Boulevard needs wind bracing and which older ranch in Central Davis is sitting on adobe clay that will swallow a shallow post in one winter. We don’t outsource this work. Our own crew members, background-checked and uniformed, show up with the materials and the permit folder.
Every fence job includes a written scope, a written change order process, and a permit pulled when the city requires it. If something comes up mid-project, you’ll see it on paper before you see it on your bill. That’s just how we run jobs. And every completed fence carries our 90-Day Done Right Promise, written on the contract. If it’s not right, Tom comes back. One call.
Our Fence Installation Services in Davis
Wood Fence Installation
Wood fences make up most of the fences we build in Davis neighborhoods like Old East Davis and the Mace Ranch area. Redwood and cedar hold up best in Yolo County’s wet-dry soil cycle, but the real difference is in the foundation. We set posts on 24 to 30-inch concrete piers, not bare dirt, so the adobe clay under your yard doesn’t shove the post out of plumb by the second winter. A standard 6-foot redwood privacy fence in Davis runs $3500 to $9000 depending on lineal feet and gate count.
Chain Link Fence Installation
Chain link still makes sense for a side yard or a dog run, especially in the 95616 zip code where rented student houses near UC Davis need something that survives tenants and bicycles. We install galvanized and vinyl-coated chain link with the same concrete-pier foundation we use on wood fences, because a leaning chain link fence looks just as bad as a leaning cedar one. It’s the cheapest long-term option, but the post setting detail is where cheap quotes fall apart.
Vinyl Fence Installation
Vinyl’s advantage in Davis is simple: it doesn’t rot, it doesn’t need staining, and it shrugs off our 100-degree summers without warping the way cheap hollow-core panels do. The catch is wind load. A solid vinyl privacy panel acts like a sail in January gusts off the Sacramento Valley floor, so we spec heavier-gauge posts and deeper footings for vinyl installations on open flatland lots. Expect vinyl fence installation in Davis to land in that same $3500-$9000 range, sometimes slightly above if we’re adding steel post inserts.
Aluminum Fence Installation
Aluminum works well for pool enclosures and decorative front yard boundaries, and it holds up to Davis rain better than iron in the long run. It won’t rust like steel, and modern aluminum picket systems handle wind far better than people expect. Aluminum fence installation in Davis generally runs $4000 to $10000, with the upper end covering taller panels, narrower picket spacing for pool code, and gates with self-closing hinges.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Davis
We lean on manufacturers whose specs we can hand to the Davis building department without a flinch. For aluminum and steel systems we use proven extruded aluminum profiles, and our hardscape division stocks Techo-Bloc and Quikrete products for post footings and concrete piers. When you work with us, you can ask what’s going into your fence by name, and we’ll tell you. You can look the brand up. That’s the point.
Common Fence Installation Problems We See in Davis Homes
- Posts set without piers in adobe clay. Yolo County’s heavy clay swells in winter rains and shrinks in summer heat. A post set directly in dirt heaves within two wet-dry cycles, and gates stop latching. We always set posts on concrete piers sized below the frost and root line.
- Unpermitted fences in Village Homes. This northwest Davis subdivision has curvilinear lot lines and shared drainage swales. If a contractor skips city planning on a swale-adjacent property line, the city can order fence removal and levy fines. We check easements before we dig, every time.
- Wind under-rating on open flatland lots. Davis sits in a wide-open valley. Winter storms routinely gust above 60 mph, and cheap fences with shallow posts or thin-gauge aluminum fold. We size for the actual wind load, not the OEM minimum.
- Rotten posts from sprinkler overspray. Older Davis ranch homes in 95616 and 95618 often have irrigation lines close to the property line. Post bases sitting in damp soil rot faster. We set posts above grade on concrete and flash where needed.
Pricing for Fence Installation in Davis, CA
Here’s the honest deck on what fence work costs in Davis. These are ranges from jobs we’ve actually built in Davis, not national averages pulled from a database.
| Fence Type | Typical Davis Range |
|---|---|
| Wood Fence | $3500-$9000 |
| Aluminum Fence | $4000-$10000 |
What drives the number up on a Davis fence job: a curvilinear lot line in Village Homes that needs planning review, adobe clay requiring deeper concrete piers, a sloped yard that forces stepped panels, and gate hardware rated for high wind. What drives it down: shorter runs, single gates, and clear surveyed property lines. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll walk your property line with you and hand you a written estimate. No trip charge inside the county, and the number on the estimate is the number on the contract.
We also keep the pricing details on our broader Fence Installation page, where you can compare our process side by side with any other contractor’s quote.
We Also Serve Cities Near Davis
Our crews run projects in Dixon, Woodland, West Sacramento, and Winters, but Davis is part of our regular service lane. If you’re on the edge of the city or just outside the 95617 zip code, call us and we’ll tell you straight whether we can get there. For a full look at what we do in town, see our Davis service page.
Serving Davis, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Davis area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Fence Installation in Davis
Yes, many fences in Davis require a city building permit, especially anything over 6 feet tall or within a front yard setback. Davis also enforces green-building ordinances beyond state Title 24, and certain Village Homes sites require planning coordination even for fences under standard height. We pull the permit, schedule the inspection, and make sure the inspector signs off. The permit inspector works for you, not for us, and we like it that way. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll check the specific requirements for your property line.
Davis fences need to handle sustained Yolo County winter gusts, which regularly reach 60 mph or higher on open flatland stretches west of Highway 113. We size post diameter, depth, and concrete pier volume for the actual wind load at your specific exposure, not the manufacturer’s minimum. A cheap quote often specs the smallest post that meets the rail span and skips the wind calculation entirely. Ask us for the wind-load figure on your written estimate, and we’ll show it to you.
It can be. Insurers are within their rights to deny a wind-damage claim if the fence was built without a required permit or fails local code. A fence that blows over because posts were set shallow in adobe clay with no concrete pier is exactly the kind of claim that gets scrutinized. Our paperwork is designed to survive that scrutiny: permit pulled, inspection passed, and a written record of what we built and how. Call (877) 610-1318 before you build, and we’ll make sure the paperwork trail exists.
The cheap quote leaves out the concrete piers, sizes posts for minimum rail span only, skips the wind-load check, and assumes you’ll handle the permit. The compliant quote includes concrete piers sized for Yolo County adobe clay, wind-load engineering for your lot’s exposure, a city permit when required, inspection coordination, and a written change order if any site condition shifts the scope. You’ll see the difference in writing. Call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll put both columns on one sheet so you can compare.
Village Homes lots in northwest Davis don’t follow standard rectangular property lines. Many boundaries curve along community drainage swales or preserve passive-solar sightlines protected by local design rules. That means your fence line may sit inside a public access easement, and building on the wrong side of the swale can trigger a city-ordered removal. We coordinate with Davis planning before we dig on any Village Homes boundary, and we set posts on concrete piers that clear the swale’s high-water line. If your property is in Village Homes, call (877) 610-1318 and we’ll pull the planning records before we quote.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving Davis since 1998.