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 San Marino
A new fence in San Marino typically runs $3,500-$9,000 for wood and $4,000-$10,000 for ornamental iron, and the single most important number most people never plan for is the Design Review Board’s timeline. The DRB must sign off on any fence over 42 inches tall or visible from the street, and their review alone can take three to six weeks. We’re Barrett & Sons Construction, and we’ve been through that process enough times to know exactly which materials get approved and which ones trigger a stop-work order. If you’re planning a fence on a 1920s or 1930s estate home, call us at (877) 610-1318 before you buy a single post. We’ll tell you straight what the city will allow, what it will reject, and what it will cost.
Why Barrett & Sons Construction Is San Marino’s Preferred Fence Installation Company
Tom Barrett founded this company in 1998, and his sons run the crews that work in San Marino today. That matters because the person who shakes your hand at the estimate is the same person who walks your property line and signs the change order. We publish our name, our license number, and every written scope of work on the contract before a single post goes in the ground. Homeowners in San Marino call us because the alternative, a national outfit that subs out the labor and hides behind a call center, has burned too many people on Virginia Road and Lombardy Road already.
Our San Marino customers tend to ask the same three questions at the first meeting. Will the DRB approve this material? Will the price change once we start digging? Will you be here when the inspector shows up? The answers are yes, if it’s period-appropriate; no, not without a written change order you sign first; and yes, either Tom or one of his sons will be on site. We’ve rebuilt fences behind Spanish Colonial Revivals on Winston Avenue, Mediterranean Revivals on Monterey Road, and Tudor Revivals along Orlando Road. San Marino’s building code is stricter than anywhere else in the San Gabriel Valley, and we’ve learned it the only way that counts: by standing in front of the DRB and making the case for our clients.
Every job we take includes the 90-Day Done Right Promise, written on the contract. If something’s not right after we finish, one call brings Tom back. No fine print. No phone tree.
Our Fence Installation Services in San Marino
We handle the full range of fence work for San Marino homes, but the DRB rules shape which options make sense on any given street. Here’s what we do most in 91108 and 91118.
Wood Fence
Wood is the most common fence material in San Marino because it’s the easiest to match to a period home. Clear-heart redwood and vertical-grain cedar hold up better here than cheaper pine, which rots fast given the sprinkler overspray and Santa Ana wind racking we see on nearly every mature estate. We use galvanized post bases and gravel backfill, not concrete, because San Marino’s clay-heavy alluvial soil shifts and heaves. A redwood privacy fence behind a 1920s Tudor on Winston Avenue should last 20 to 25 years when the posts are set correctly. Most wood fences we replace in San Marino run $3,500 to $9,000.
Iron Fence
Ornamental iron is what the DRB most often approves for street-facing fences on Spanish Colonial and Mediterranean Revival homes. The city wants wrought iron or steel that matches the original period detailing, and they’ll ask for material samples and finish specs before they sign off. We fabricate through local shops that stock period-appropriate scroll and finial profiles, and we handle the entire submittal package. Iron fence installation in San Marino typically runs $4,000 to $10,000, with the cost driven by the linear footage, the height, and whether you’re matching an existing panel.
Vinyl Fence
Vinyl is a good material for some yards, but it’s a risky choice on a San Marino property with historic designation or street visibility. If your fence sits behind a mature hedge line and isn’t visible from the road, the DRB may not review it. If it is visible, they’ll reject it fast. We’ll tell you honestly whether vinyl works for your specific lot or whether you should be looking at wood or iron instead. When vinyl is the right call, we use commercial-grade 3-inch rails and aluminum-reinforced bottom rails so the panels don’t sag in the San Gabriel Valley heat.
Aluminum Fence
Aluminum is lighter and cheaper than iron, and in the right setting, it holds a powder coat finish for decades without rusting. But the DRB distinguishes aluminum from true wrought iron, and on a 1930s Mediterranean Revival, they’ll usually require the real thing. For interior property lines or side yards that aren’t visible from the street, aluminum can be a smart, lower-maintenance option. Aluminum fence installation in San Marino runs $4,000 to $10,000.
We also handle Fence Installation for chain link, privacy fences, fence gates, and full fence repair, plus commercial fencing for local properties.
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 San Marino
We stock and install materials from brands you can look up, not whatever fell off a supply truck. For fences, we work primarily with clear-heart redwood from certified Northern California mills and steel and ornamental iron from local San Gabriel Valley fabricators. When a fence job ties into a gate or adjacent hardscape, we bring the same premium-brand standard we use across every trade, like GAF roofing when a fence job includes a matching pool house roof or Belgard pavers when we’re tying a fence into a hardscape driveway. If a San Marino customer needs a post or panel matched mid-project, we can usually have the material on site within days because our fabricators and lumber suppliers are a short drive away.
Common Fence Installation Problems We See in San Marino Homes
San Marino’s housing stock is almost entirely large single-family estates built between 1920 and 1950, and those homes come with a specific set of fence problems that don’t show up in newer tract neighborhoods.
- DRB stop-work orders. We see this constantly: a homeowner or a less experienced contractor installs a modern vinyl or aluminum fence on a street-visible property without review, and the city issues a stop-work order and fines. Once that happens, you pay twice, once to remove the work and again to do it right.
- Clay soil post heave. San Marino sits on the alluvial fan below the San Gabriel Mountains, with dense clay soil that expands and contracts through wet and dry seasons. Posts set in concrete or without proper gravel backfill lean within a few years. We over-excavate and set posts in a stone base.
- Mature root systems and irrigation lines. The oaks and camphor trees on San Marino estates are often 90 years old, and their roots run right along property lines. We’ve severed more than one sprinkler main on older properties. Now we hand-dig around roots and locate irrigation before we set any post.
- Sprinkler overspray rot. Almost every old wood fence we replace in San Marino has failed because a sprinkler head has been spraying the same picket or post for a decade. We flag the sprinkler issue as part of the original scope so the new fence isn’t doomed from day one.
Pricing for Fence Installation in San Marino, CA
Here’s what you can expect to budget for fence work in San Marino’s market, based on the jobs we’ve quoted and built across 91108 and 91118.
| Fence Service | Typical San Marino Price Range |
|---|---|
| Wood Fence Installation | $3,500-$9,000 |
| Iron Fence Installation | $4,000-$10,000 |
| Fence Repair | $400-$1,800 |
What moves the number most is the linear footage, the height, the material, and whether the DRB needs to review the plans. A 40-foot side-yard redwood privacy fence behind a mature hedge costs far less than 180 feet of ornamental iron fronting the street on a historically designated property. We write every scope of work with a line-item allowance for the unknowns, like root-encountered post relocations or old concrete footings, so when a surprise shows up, it’s already priced and approved in writing before we touch it. Every estimate is free, and every San Marino customer gets a written, line-item quote before any work begins. Call (877) 610-1318 to schedule yours.
We Also Serve Cities Near San Marino
We work throughout the San Gabriel Valley and the surrounding communities. In addition to our San Marino projects, we regularly take on fence work in San Gabriel, East San Gabriel, Alhambra, and East Pasadena. If your home is in one of those cities, the DRB process is different, usually handled through a standard planning review or no review at all in some areas. We’ll walk you through whatever applies to your address. The phone number is the same: (877) 610-1318.
Serving San Marino, CA - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Marino 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 San Marino
Yes. The City of San Marino’s Design Review Board requires review for any new fence over 42 inches tall, or any fence visible from the street, and they will issue a stop-work order and potentially fines if you install without pre-approval. The review process typically adds three to six weeks before work can begin. Skipping it means you may be forced to remove work you already paid for. Call us at (877) 610-1318 before you buy materials, and we’ll tell you whether your project is subject to DRB review and exactly what the submittal needs to include.
It depends on where the fence sits relative to the street and the existing architecture, but on most Spanish Colonial Revival homes in San Marino, the DRB will reject a modern horizontal-board design and require vertical boards with period-appropriate profiles instead. The board’s job is architectural consistency with the original 1930s character, and horizontal cedar slats read as contemporary, not period. If you want a specific look, we can submit samples and drawings showing how the fence complements your home’s style, but expect the board to push back on anything that doesn’t match the period.
Every contract includes a written line-item allowance for known unknowns, like post relocations due to root systems or demolition of old concrete footings, before work begins. If the crew hits a root too large to move or an old foundation wall, you’ll see the specific cost of the change in writing, and you’ll approve it before we touch it. You never get a surprise invoice at the end.
It can. If the fence sits anywhere near a recorded property line and the city wants confirmation of the exact setback, we may need to pull a survey or at minimum locate the recorded markers. Our advice is to get the property line established in writing before you build against it. Building a fence on the wrong side of the line creates an expensive removal problem, and it’s easier to fix on paper than with a sledgehammer.
Yes. We work with local San Gabriel Valley iron fabricators who can replicate period scroll, finial, and picket profiles to match your original panel, including the finish patina. The DRB will want samples and finish specs, and we handle that submittal for you. Matching a single panel usually costs less than full replacement, and we price it as a repair, not a new installation.
Call Barrett & Sons Construction for Your San Marino Fence Estimate
If you’re planning a fence in San Marino, start with a call to the company whose name is on the truck and whose owner answers the phone. We’ll walk your property, tell you honestly whether the DRB will need to review the project, and give you a written line-item quote before you commit to anything. No vague allowances, no surprise invoices, no phone tree. Call (877) 610-1318 to schedule your free estimate.
Written by Tom Barrett, Owner at Barrett & Sons Construction, serving San Marino and the San Gabriel Valley since 1998.