Vinyl, for people who are finished painting fences
Vinyl costs more than wood on day one and nothing after that. No stain, no rot, no fasteners bleeding rust down the boards, and a wash with a hose when it gets dusty. Willard Fence Co. installs privacy, picket, and ranch rail vinyl across the north valley, with steel in the gate posts where cheap installs skip it.
What vinyl is actually good at
It is dimensionally stable, it does not feed termites, and the color goes all the way through rather than sitting on top. In a valley that runs over 100 degrees for weeks, modern UV stabilized vinyl holds up where the early generation of product yellowed and got brittle.
It is not indestructible. A car backing into it breaks a panel where wood would splinter and keep standing. The upside is that a broken vinyl panel slides out of the posts and a new one slides in, which is a twenty minute repair instead of a rebuild.
Styles
- Privacy: tongue and groove panels, 6 feet typical, solid or with a lattice or picket top section
- Semi-privacy: spaced pickets or a shadowbox layout that lets air through
- Picket: 3 to 4 feet, front yards, with straight or scalloped tops
- Ranch rail: 2, 3, and 4 rail post and rail, with or without wire mesh behind it
- Pool: picket spacing and gate hardware to meet the barrier code
The part installers skip
Vinyl gates are where a bad install shows up. A vinyl gate post with nothing inside it will flex, and then the gate drags. Ours get a galvanized steel insert set in the concrete footing, so the post carries the leaf and the gate keeps swinging. It costs very little and it is the difference between a gate you use and a gate you prop open.
Color, in valley sun
White is the classic and shows the least heat gain. Tan, khaki, and gray hide road dust on a country lot and read warmer next to a stucco house. Woodgrain finishes exist and are convincing at ten feet, less so at two. All of it is fade rated; ask to see a sample outdoors, not under shop lights.
How we build it
| Heights | 4', 5', 6' (taller by panel and post size) |
|---|---|
| Posts | 5x5 or 4x4 vinyl over a concrete footing |
| Gate posts | Galvanized steel insert, standard on every gate |
| Panels | Routed into the posts so wind loads the post, not the panel |
| Colors | White, tan, khaki, gray, woodgrain |
| Care | Wash. That is the whole maintenance schedule. |
Vinyl panels are stepped on a slope, not raked. On a steep lot, iron or wood may be the better looking answer.
What vinyl runs, installed
| 6' privacy | $38 to $70 per linear foot |
|---|---|
| 4' picket | $30 to $52 per linear foot |
| 3 rail ranch | $22 to $40 per linear foot |
| Gate, single, steel reinforced post | $600 to $1,600 |
| Panel replacement on an existing vinyl fence | Priced per panel |
These are typical installed ranges for this part of Northern California, published so you can budget. They are not a quote. What a run actually costs is decided by the site: access, grade, what has to come out first, and how many corners and gates are in it.
Questions we get
Not at north valley temperatures with current product. Vinyl formulated for fencing is impact modified and UV stabilized. The failures people remember are from twenty year old product and from panels that were not routed into the posts properly.
Stepped, yes. Because the panels are rigid rectangles they cannot rake to follow grade, so on a hill each section stays level and drops at the post, leaving a triangular gap under it. If that gap matters, wood or iron rakes and vinyl does not.
No, not to install. It is usually cheaper to own, because there is no stain cycle and no board replacement. If you plan to be in the house a long time, that math works. If you are selling in two years, wood is the cheaper answer.
Get an estimate: vinyl
Roughly how many feet, what is there now, how many gates, and which town. Photos help. Someone will call back to walk the line and put a real number on it.