Can A Leaning Fence Be Fixed

Step 1 – Schedule an appointment for an estimator from a reputable fence company to give a written estimate.

Step 2 – Call and schedule the appointment to repair the leaning fence.

Step 3 – The process begins by digging holes next to the fence posts. The fence posts in our example are metal. Usually wood fence posts would need to be replaced because of rot or deterioration with a leaning fence. While digging the holes the crew is pushing the metal post back and forth until the post is easily moveable.

They want enough dirt out of the hole to be able to push the metal post straight up but not to much dirt removed to have the fence fall over.

Step 4 – Break the concrete off the metal post.

Remove any concrete debris from the hole before proceeding.

Step 5 – All the prep work has been finished it’s time to get the fence standing tall and in it’s upright position.  As one technician walks  to each post and uses a level to make sure the fence and fence posts are level and straight up, another technician is on the outside of the fence adding 2 x 4 wood braces to hold the fence in place. This holds the fence in place for the next step which is adding new concrete to all the holes that were dug on the inside of the fence.

*Note we do have one hole on the outside of the fence because the wood deck was built up to the fence post so our crew had to dig the hole on the outside of the fence.

Step 6 – Now that the fence line has been plumbed and standing tall it’s time to mix the concrete and fill the holes next to the metal posts. Fence Makeovers uses the Sakrete Maximizer concrete mix for a couple reasons. Sakrete Maximizer Concrete is a specially formulated high yield, high strength mixture of structural lightweight aggregate and cement. This will secure the posts and make sure they stay where they are supposed to. After the holes are filled, at Fence Makeovers the crew adds some of the dirt they dug out of the holes to the top of the concrete.

The reason we do that is to have the grass grow on top of the concrete to keep it sealed from the weather and being exposed.  Contrary to popular belief concrete should be covered. If it is left exposed what could happen is the dirt starts to erode or separate from the concrete and now the homeowner has a leaning fence again!

Step 7 – All the holes have been filled with concrete, the dirt has been replaced over the top of the concrete, and all the 2 x 4 braces are in place. Now we haul off the extra dirt and broken concrete. The job is finished!

The 2 x 4 support braces are left there for 24 hours and can be removed the following day. The homeowner is welcome to remove them at this time. We do swing back by the job to remove them if the homeowner has not done that.

The next step would be to clean and stain the fence if the homeowner is ready to do that.  This can be done at another time however, late fall and winter is the best time to clean and stain the fence because all the grass and vegetation is laying dormant. Less to work around and get a nice restored fence. That’s why our slogan is: