How to Find a Good Fence Contractor

There's an article that came out a few years ago by Josh Garskof in Money Magazine that offers some terrific insight into finding a good contractor, and I reference it extensively here.

The following are four web resources and a few rules of thumb to get you connected with a fence contractor you'll love.

Four websites you'll want to be aware of:

FenceCompanyDirectory.com - Free resource to find fence contractor by State and County.
bbb.org - Free resource to find Better Business Bureau ratings (A+ - F) on fence contractors.
AngiesList.com - Subscription-based (less than $10/mo) website to search or post service reviews.
ContractorCheck.com - Find financial, licensing and insurance information on fence contractor for a small fee.

Finding the Fence Contractor
The best resource will be friends, family and other members of your community who have had satisfactory fence work done, so definitely ask around. If you find someone who already has references within your community it's probably a safe bet to get a consultation and move forward.

Otherwise you will look to either the internet, yellow pages or Fence Company Directory.

Choosing a Good Fence Contractor
The following are nine tell-tale signs with which to distinguish a fence contractor you'll be happy with as opposed to one who you may end up taking to court.

Good Signs:

Reputation. You've hopefully already asked friends and neighbors to recommend good fence contractors, but a more reliable source of referrals is other people in the trades. For example a lawn care company or landscaper who has worked alongside a particular fencing contractor.

If they're willing to put their professional reputations on the line by vouching for someone they've already had business dealings with, they must like what they see.

The business card includes a local address. A fence installer who provides a physical address that's in your community is far less likely to disappear on you than someone whose true locale is hidden behind a post office box.

Long list of references. Even terrible contractors have had a few happy clients along the way - or have family members who can play the part when you call. The longer the list of references, the less likely it's rigged.

Once you have the references' contact information, Angie Hicks, the founder of angieslist.com recommends calling, "a handful of them, skipping around the list."

Warning Signs:

Company car is a rusted-out jalopy. A bucket of bolts that leaves an oil slick in your driveway doesn't bode well for the attention to detail or fiscal stability of the person driving it.

"That's not to say everyone has to ride around in a gleaming new truck," says Dick Mitchell, president of the New Orleans branch of the Better Business Bureau, the national nonprofit that lends its logo to participating companies meeting its standards (you can find a searchable list of member contractors at bbb.org). "But it should be clean and well maintained." Painted-on signs are better than magnetic ones, which are cheap and temporary.

Requesting payment in cash. Even if you don't care that someone's shirking their taxes by taking cash (or a check made out to cash), consider what other costs they may be cutting - like licensing fees, insurance bills and skilled crew members.

To investigate a potential contractor's finances, look them up at contractorcheck.com, where (for $13) you can find information about their licensing, insurance and financial stability, as well as any legal actions against them.

Mobile number not provided. For the most part, the only way to quickly get hold of an installer is by cell phone. If they don't want to give out that number, it isn't because they're conserving their minutes - they don't want to be reachable.

Red Flags:

They want you to skip the permit - or have you apply for it. Any major improvement project legally requires a building permit, which means that inspectors will check the work. If a contractor wants to go without a permit, it means they'd rather not have anyone looking over their shoulders (other than you, but let's face it, you don't know what to look for).

If they want you to apply for the permit yourself, it could be because they don't have the necessary state licensing - and it means you'd be the middleman between the inspector and contractor instead of letting them work things out directly.

They solicit business door to door. A fence installer rings your bell to say they just did a job in the neighborhood, they have extra materials and will cut you a rock-bottom deal if they can work on yours that afternoon. Sounds great, right?

Trouble is, you have no idea who they are or if they're going to do the job right. And if that new fence starts collapsing three months later, you'll never get them back to repair the damage.

They make you uneasy. Ultimately, you have to feel comfortable letting these people onto your property. Clearly, you're not going to hand your keys to someone who flips a cigarette butt into your azaleas or leers at your children.

If they don't look you straight in the eye, or if you just have a gut feeling that something might be amiss, go ahead and cross them off the list. Nowadays, thankfully, there are plenty of fence contractors available to do the job.

Three questions to ask references about a fence contractor:

How has the work held up over time?
Make sure to talk to one homeowner who had the work done at least a few years ago - enough time for flaws to reveal themselves.
Was the contractor easy to reach?
You want a contractor who picks up their cell phone right away when you call - or at least returns messages within a few hours.
How were problems resolved?
Every job will hit snags; the real test of a contractors merit is how well they handle them. They should have been able to minimize delays, added expense and anxiety - and get the job done right in the end.

 

As always - please contact our fence installation specialists if we can be of help in any way. And as you know, we welcome your comments.