Rating of 4.5 out of 5*
A new fence was needed for a 5 acre rural property with old wooden fencing which was beginning to fall apart. The home and property was over 25 years old and was bought in 2014. No underground plans or property line surveys had been done, or at least documented or marked.
2 bids were obtained and Gideon Fencing was chosen. The plan for the new fence was metal poles, old oil pipe rails and 2 x 4 no-climb wiring. The intent was essentially to replace all existing wooden fencing both interior areas and exterior perimeter and add more around a barn area. The total fencing length was over 4,000 ft.
The owner was paying for the cost of the entire fence; asking for no contribution from any neighbors.
The project was started in December (2016), and completed in about 5-6 months.
It turned into a wet, muddy project site during that time of year.
The largest challenge encountered was due in part to several oak trees along the prior fence line at the rear that had grown significantly larger since the original fence installation, one over 18 inches. There was an access easement on the rear adjoining property, thus no interconnecting fences from that property owner. As a larger tree was intersecting the old fence line near the back side of the big tree, the new fence was moved back to allow clearance from the tree. There were no corner property markers. I had agreed with this plan as it was the only reasonable way to clear the tree. After noticing the removal of the original fence and placement of the poles, the rear property owners went berserk and accused me of tearing down "their" fence and re-erecting the poles for the new fence on their property. Attempts to negotiate an acceptable solution utilizing the metal fence and poles (and adding decorative wood at my cost) were refused. I had previously priced replacement of the old fence with wood but it was not significantly cheaper. They insisted I replace "their" fence in it's previous condition, This stopped the job for that portion of the project. It took 4-6 weeks to resolve, including the need to obtain a survey to resolve the property line location. As a portion of the proposed fence was in fact on their property, the decision was made to relocate the poles onto our property on our side of the determined property line. However, the rear neighbors were not going to let me removed the poles on their property unless I agreed to replace the old fence using the remains of the previous fence. After having my attorney research the legal aspects of the issue, it was determined that the "rear neighbors" did not have any legal grounds for ownership of the original fence. At which time the initial metal poles were extracted and re-installed 6 inches from the property line on our side. To accommodate the large tree, Gideon Fencing was able to set metal poles on each side of the tree and weld rigid metal 2 x 4 grid between the poles and tree.
The rear neighbors then proceeded to further threaten, call the police, and generally do anything and everything to stop progress. NOTE: THESE ARE THE SAME 2 PEOPLE WHO ADDED (IN THIS REVIEW SECTION) THE 2, 1 STAR RATINGS for Gideon Fencing, even though they never utilized them. Note also that the initial post placement was per my agreement.
As progress continued on other areas of the fence installation, it was necessary to deal with unmarked sprinkler lines, and underground power feeds, all of which Gideon Fencing managed well. Several sprinkler lines were hit, with Gideon Fencing quickly making the necessary repairs. As we moved beyond the rainy season, the project slowed somewhat due to the extended schedule and other ongoing work acquired by Gideon Fencing. At the end of the project, all requested clean up items were satisfactorily done.
PROS:
Good attitude throughout this tricky project. Always took the team approach with the owner, and would always take the time to work with me on specific needs and details as they arose.
Good communicators.
Creative problem solvers, with a talented team of get it done folks.
Fair price, although the project was "not cheap". They did not attempt to play games with the small extras. Larger ones such as relocating the poles (mentioned above) were extra, and discussed ahead of time.
CONS:
The job required heavy equipment, whose mud tracks and depressions were a challenge to return to original condition. Although an effort was made.
The winter start, and slowing of the schedule, led to lower manpower at times, presumedly due to other projects. read more