Fencing an Upper Arlington yard, from the trees down to the gate

Older lots, and an older fence already sitting on the line

Boundaries on established streets rarely run the way a sketch would draw them. Rear lines jog, side lines are not always parallel, and decades of additions, patios and plantings have grown against the edge on both sides. The fence standing there now was often built to whatever line made sense to somebody in 1978, which is not the recorded boundary. Dropping new posts into the old holes feels efficient and is the easiest way to inherit an earlier owner's mistake. Confirming the line belongs to the layout stage, which the fence installation page covers end to end.

Mature roots in the post line

The canopy is what people move here for, and it decides where a fence can physically go. A large oak, maple or beech sends structural roots well past the drip line, and the heaviest radiate from the flare at the base of the trunk. Put a hole into that zone and one of three things happens: the auger stalls on wood, the hole gets finished by hand around what is in it, or the post ends up shallower than it should be. The third outcome shows up as a leaning post three winters later.

The honest fix is to move the post, not the root. Bay spacing is not sacred -- shortening one bay and lengthening the next, or stepping the line around a trunk, costs a little material and nothing in longevity. Cutting a major root for convenience is different, and on a tree worth keeping the right move is an arborist opinion before the line is final. Roots also keep growing: a run set tight against a big trunk gets pushed out of plumb, and a gate near it binds.

Access decides whether a crew augers or digs by hand

On these lots the side yard is the whole logistics problem. Posts, concrete, spoil and the old fence all travel between the house and the neighboring property, and the narrowest pinch along that path sets the method for the job. Measure it before you collect bids.

Hand digging is not a failure state. A clamshell digger and a heavy bar reach full depth in this glacial till, and a crew expecting to work that way prices the day for it. What goes wrong is a bid written for machine access and discovered on install morning, which becomes a change order or a quietly shallow hole. Ask about the middle ground: a compact machine narrow enough for a three-foot gap, or opening a path through a neighbor's fence with their permission.

• The tightest pinch between house and property line, measured at the condenser or the window wells, not out by the sidewalk where it looks generous
• The clear width of the existing gate, since a narrow walk gate will not pass a wheeled auger even when the yard past it is wide
• Whether the driveway reaches the back of the house or stops at the front
• Low branches, which stop a stand-up auger before the ground can
• A basement egress well, a downspout line or a sump discharge crossing the route
• Where a truck can sit, and where old material can stack

Removal and disposal are real line items

Almost every fence here replaces one, and taking the old one out is heavier work than it looks. Wood posts set in concrete come up as heavy lumps with a rotted stub inside. Old chain link is worse: the fabric has grown into the sod, and terminal posts carry the largest footings on the property. Any footing where a new post belongs has to come out, because a post set beside a buried block will not hold. Whether the fence is even due for replacement is a separate call, covered on the fence repair page.

Matching a street that already has a look

Established streets carry a visual consensus even where no association enforces one. Front yards stay open or wear something low and ornamental; the privacy lives behind the house. That pushes street-facing runs toward ornamental aluminum, which reads as fence rather than wall, and back yards toward a wood privacy fence in a style that echoes the neighbors. Settle height and which way the finished face points with the adjoining owners early. One agreed height across a shared line looks deliberate; two heights meeting at a corner post never does.

Zoning review, and why the front yard is the sticking point

Upper Arlington reviews fences through zoning, and it is a real review, not a stamp on a form. What it weighs is height, placement relative to the property line and the right of way, and whether the fence blocks sight lines at driveways and corners. Back yards get the most latitude. Front yards are where applications get trimmed, because the standard there is lower and the city holds to it. Do not budget against a figure you read somewhere: the numbers come from the city for your address, and a corner lot with two frontages is its own case. Settle what is approvable, and who files, before material is ordered.

Detached garages and alleys change where the line runs

Many of these lots put the garage at the back off an alley, which reshapes the enclosure. The garage wall usually becomes part of the fence line, meaning short closure panels scribed to the building instead of a clean run, and a post close enough to the foundation that its hole gets dug by hand. Make those junctions tight if a dog has to stay in -- a four-inch gap beside a garage corner is a door. The alley gate wants to clear a mower or a small trailer, it should swing into the yard, and a double gate needs a drop rod or it sags by the second season. Where that face is about containment rather than looks, coated chain link does the job and screens with plantings.

What to send before anyone walks the yard

A useful first pass takes almost nothing. Send the address, a rough footage and height, and photos: the side yard at its narrowest point, the existing fence at its worst spot, the trees near the line, and the alley approach. That is enough to talk about method before anybody quotes footage. Start on the contact page, and see the areas we cover page for nearby communities.

Common questions here

The work, by type

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