Why Fall is The Best Season to Build a Fence in Dunn

The Smartest Time to Build a Fence in Dunn

Navigating the best time to build a fence in Dunn isn’t as straightforward as it is in most places. Typically, spring is the best season to build a fence, but when you’re working around intense weather and humidity, fall is the more realistic choice for your Dunn fence installation. Spring brings heavy rainfall, which keeps the soil wet and can cause fence posts to shift before they set. Then add in high humidity, and your brand-new fence faces many obstacles before materials like wood can be stained or sealed. Fall is the better choice because the ground isn’t too wet, but it isn’t too hard either. It’s the perfect middle ground right before winter. Then your fence has the cold season to set, and will be ready for storm season when it comes back around.  

Hurricane & Storm Season

Storm season peaks from June to September, starting with the rainy season and wrapping up with hurricane season near the end, as the air starts to cool. Your fence needs to be hurricane-ready every year, so that it doesn’t become a hazard to your yard. When you install a new fence in the spring, the soil might be too wet for it to set properly, which leaves a weak point come hurricane season. Waiting for fall means that your fence has from October to May to settle. This gives you plenty of time to stain and seal your fence so that it’s not exposed to the elements prematurely. If you have an old fence in Dunn, you need to evaluate whether or not it can survive another season. 

Your Old Fence Won’t Last

Your old fence has seen a lot. Humidity is harsh on any outdoor feature, and your fence is no exception. Especially an older fence that might not have the fence technology needed to delay signs of aging. Moisture can cause wood to rot and metal to rust. Old vinyl isn’t an exception either; if the posts have shifted too much, they could crack the panels. Weak points in your fence aren’t just an eyesore; in fact, they may not even be seen, but even the unseen are a hazard to your property come storm season. The wind will find the weakest points, and in hurricane winds, your fence is at risk of failure.

5 Warning Signs of Fence Failure

Wobbly posts, leaning, rotted wood, missing boards, soil erosion (exposed anchors) 

To help you decide whether or not your old fence can last another season, there are a few warning signs you can look out for. Evaluating your fence doesn’t have to be complicated, and you don’t have to hire a Dunn fence builder to do it for you. You’ll just need a screwdriver and some time. Here’s what you should look out for:

1. Wobbly Posts

You should walk the length of your fence and check every post by firmly pressing on it to see if it moves easily. If your post can’t handle the weight of firm pressure from your hand, it can’t handle hurricane winds. 

2. Leaning Panels

Stand next to your fence at one end and look down the length of your fence. Is it leaning? If your fence is leaning, it means something has shifted, making your fence unstable. If it’s a slight lean and not wobbling when you press on it, it may make it another season, but I wouldn’t risk it. 

3. Rotted Wood

This is where your screwdriver comes in handy. Take your screwdriver to any spot on your fence that looks damaged, then press the tip into it. If the screwdriver goes into the board with little resistance or crumbles under pressure, your fence has rotted and become unstable. 

4. Missing Boards

If your fence is missing boards, the wind won’t pass through it evenly; it will find the easiest tunnel and put more pressure on your fence as it tries to go through. This could cause your fence to become a sail in a hurricane, damaging surrounding structures. 

5. Exposed Anchors

With so much rain, erosion happens faster. Check the bottom of your fence to see how much the ground has gapped from your fence. Wind can go under your fence, too, which could create the same problem as a missing board. If you can see any post anchors, your fence needs to be reset so it doesn’t come up flying. 

Repairs Add Up

Repairing your fence can be a good choice if the aging isn’t extreme. If your fence is less than 10 years old and has minimal issues, there’s no reason to replace it yet. A repair can make sense, but remember, repairs add up. If your fence is older and has severe structural defects, it may be time to call a Dunn fence builder. Trying to slap a Band-Aid on an aged and defective fence is going to cost a lot of Band-Aids, so replacing your fence will likely save you money. 

Practical Benefits of a Fall Fence Build

If you want your fence to have the best chance of holding up during hurricane season, it needs the right environment. That’s why building a fence in the fall is the right choice for Dunn homeowners. The fall is to Dunn homeowners as warm porridge is to Goldilocks, just right, for a fence build that is. The ground isn’t too soupy from spring rainfall, but it isn’t hardened from the cold season yet either. This means posts don’t shift much while they set. It’s not too humid or too cold for the concrete to set properly. It’s also not the busiest season for fence contractors, so you won’t have long wait times that could leave you exposed during storm season if you wait till spring to call a Dunn fence builder.

Don’t Wait Until Spring

Because most people don’t think about preparing for storm season until it’s approaching, Dunn fence contractors get an influx of calls in the spring. This means longer wait times and price surges. Fence companies know that this is crunch time for many homeowners, so they can jack up the price, knowing you don’t just want a new fence, you need one. For some homeowners, this means getting booked out into or even after storm season, which could leave their property unprotected and not give their fence the best chance of settling properly. Think ahead and schedule your fence installation for fall.