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The installation experience
“Very professional, kind, hard-working, responsive and did an excellent job.”
The Owner's Buying Guide
How to choose the right fence.
The honest version — what each material actually costs to own, what fails first, and the questions worth asking before anyone digs a hole.
Start with the job, not the material
Every good fence decision starts with one question: what is this fence for? Privacy from a close neighbor points you one direction. A digging dog points another. A pool has its own rulebook entirely. Toledo yards usually want some mix of privacy, pet containment, and curb appeal — and the right answer is usually the material that nails your top priority, not the one that scores okay on everything.
Owner's tip: walk your property line before you shop. Note every slope, tree, utility box, and gate you'll actually use daily. Ten minutes of walking saves most people from buying the wrong fence.
The materials, compared honestly
| Material | Installed cost | Lifespan | Yearly upkeep | Best at | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar | $$–$$$ | 20–30 yrs | Seal every 2–3 yrs | Warm looks, full privacy | Graying without sealing |
| Pressure-treated wood | $–$$ | 15–20 yrs | Stain every 2–3 yrs | Privacy on a budget | Warping in year one |
| Vinyl | $$–$$$ | 25–35 yrs | A rinse | Zero maintenance | Brittleness in deep cold |
| Aluminum | $$–$$$ | 30+ yrs | None | Elegance, pool code | No privacy |
| Chain link | $ | 20+ yrs | None | Pets, budgets, security | Plain looks (slats help) |
| Split rail | $ | 15–20 yrs | Minimal | Boundaries, acreage | Not for containment alone |
Height, done right
Six feet is the standard privacy height and the tallest most Toledo-area codes allow in a back yard without a variance. Front yards typically cap at 4 feet. Corner lots have sight-line rules near driveways and intersections. Pools need at least 48 inches with self-closing, self-latching gates — that one isn't a preference, it's Ohio code, and it's covered in your quote automatically when you tell us there's a pool.
Five questions to ask any fence contractor
One: are posts set below the frost line — and how deep exactly? (Ours, in clay: driven galvanized steel 48 inches down — a foot below the 36-inch frost line Lucas County sets — with no concrete for frost to grip. On sandy lots, a concrete-set 4×6.) Two: who actually shows up — employees, or a sub you've never met? Three: is the warranty on workmanship or just materials, and who honors it? Four: who calls 811 and pulls the permit? Five: what happens with the old fence and the dirt? If a bidder gets vague on any of these, that vagueness is the answer.
Owner's tip: the cheapest bid usually isn't cheap. It's a fence that fails at year six instead of year twenty-six. Compare warranties and post depth, not just the bottom line.