Posts
Lean, rot at grade, and heaved concrete. This is the repair that decides the rest.
Repair
Fence Repair That Starts at the Post
A broken picket is a small job. A post that has let go at the ground is the job. We look at the post before we price the pretty part.
Fence repair covers posts, rails, boards, vinyl panels, chain link mesh, ornamental pickets, and gates. The searches are blunt — fence repair, post repair, repair cost — because something is already wrong. The useful question is whether the failure is local or whether the ground line has given up.
A handyman can screw a picket back on. A fence repair is the decision about the post, the concrete, and the gate that is pulling the section with it. We are not a general handyman service. If the fence is the problem, this is the page. If you want the whole run replaced, that is installation, and we will say so when patching would be wasted money.
Emergency repair means a gate that will not secure the yard, a section down after a storm, or a pool barrier that no longer closes. Same-day response is a request we answer with a real window. It is not a guarantee printed in advance of the call.
Cost depends on how many posts are soft, whether materials are still made, and how much of the run has to be opened to fix one lean. A single number from a photo is a guess. The visit is the quote.
Scope
What this work includes
Wood sections
Rails, pickets, and kick boards. See wood fence for the material context.
Vinyl panels
Cracked rails and color match. See vinyl repair notes.
Chain link
Tension, bent rails, and fabric pulled off. See chain link.
Gates
Sag, hinges, and latches. See gate repair.
After the fix
Stain and wash schedules live on maintenance so the repair is not repeated next year.
Compare
Repair or replace
A section repair is the right call more often than a full tear-out, and sometimes it is not.
| What you see | Likely path | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One broken board or picket | Repair | The posts and rails are still doing their job. |
| Gate drags, fence is straight | Gate hardware | The opening failed, not the whole line. |
| Several posts soft at the soil | Repair those posts, then rehang | New boards on rotten posts will lean again. |
| Line is wavy for most of the run | Replacement conversation | Resetting every post is a new fence. |
| Vinyl color is discontinued | Repair if a close panel exists | We will not promise an invisible match. |
| Storm took a corner | Repair the corner and check neighbors | Hidden lean shows up one bay over. |
Process
How a repair visit is handled
You describe the failure
When it started, whether it leans, and if the gate still latches. A photo of the post at the ground is more useful than a photo of the whole yard.
We look at structure first
Probe the post, sight the line, open the gate. The cosmetic piece is second.
We separate section from run
You get a recommendation: fix this bay, reset these posts, or replace because the layout itself is done.
Materials are matched as far as they can be
Species, profile, coating, and mesh size. Discontinued parts are called out, not hidden.
The repair is built to the next post that is sound
Stopping a rail in mid-air is how repairs fail twice.
You see the latch work
A repair that does not include the gate, when the gate caused the lean, is incomplete.
Field notes
Failures we see on repair calls
Rot at the ground, fresh boards above
The visible face was replaced and the post was not. The lean comes back.
A gate used as a lever
Kids, deliveries, and wind on a wide gate pull the hinge post. Hardware and post size both matter.
Mesh without tension
Chain link that is clipped on but slack will belly. The repair is framework and tension, not more ties alone.
Vinyl forced into a tight bay
Vinyl moves with heat. A panel jammed in place will crack a rail. The bay has to be the right length.
Paint over rot
Stain and paint are maintenance. They do not restore a soft post. That distinction is why repair and maintenance are different pages.
Post repair is the center of the trade
Fence post repair means the member in the ground, not a decorative cap. Wood posts rot where soil and air meet. Steel posts in chain link rust or get bent by a vehicle. Vinyl posts can crack or pull loose if the concrete was undersized for a gate. Resetting a post includes how it sits, what is left of the footing, and whether the rail above is still straight enough to reuse.
We do not publish a diagram that pretends a homeowner should reset a structural post from a webpage. Digging beside a live line, a pool bond, or a gas mark is a field decision. If you are researching “how to repair,” use this page to decide whether the failure is a board or a post, then ask for a visit.
Material-specific repairs
Wood can often be pieced. Vinyl depends on the profile still being sold. Aluminum and steel ornamental repairs are about coatings as much as welds: a bare patch becomes the next rust point. Chain link repairs are about fabric height, gauge, and whether the top rail is still a straight line. Each of those materials has its own page if you want the longer explanation.
When replacement is the honest bid
If more than a short run of posts is gone, or the fence was built too low for the way you use the yard now, installation is cleaner than a quilt of patches. We will say that on site. A repair quote that cannot name which posts are sound is not a repair quote.
Questions
Questions we hear on this work
How much does fence repair cost?
A single board is a small visit. Several posts, a gate, and haul-off are not. The price is written after the posts are checked.
Can you repair one section only?
Yes, when the neighboring posts are sound. We will not attach new work to a post that fails a simple test at the ground.
Do you offer emergency fence repair?
We prioritize openings that no longer secure a yard or a pool. The time we can be there is confirmed on the call. It is not guaranteed before we know the schedule.
Is this a handyman visit?
No. The scope is the fence and its gates. Unrelated house repairs are not part of the ticket.
Can you match old wood or vinyl?
Sometimes closely, sometimes not. Weathered wood and discontinued vinyl are named as limits on the proposal.
Should I stain after a wood repair?
If the posts are sound and the new wood is bare, a finish plan keeps the patch from becoming the next failure. That can be scheduled as maintenance.
What if the whole fence leans?
Then we are talking about replacement or a long reset. We will not sell a cosmetic board package for a failed line.
Do you repair metal and chain link too?
Yes. See the metal and chain link pages for how those failures differ from wood.
Related
Related services
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