Yes. A fence on a slope is built in one of two ways. It is racked, so the rails follow the ground, or it is stepped, so each section is level and sits lower than the last. Racked leaves smaller gaps at the bottom.
Racked or stepped: which is better?
- Racked: the rails slant with the grade and the pickets stay vertical. It suits gentle to moderate slopes and yards with pets.
- Stepped: sections stay level and drop like stairs. It is used on steep runs and with panels that cannot rack. Each step leaves a triangle of space underneath.
- Built on site: wood boards are cut to follow the ground exactly. This closes the bottom best.
I have a dog that digs and a yard that drops. How do I avoid gaps?
For a dog that digs on a sloped lot, pick a racked or site-built fence and then seal the bottom. Options are a treated kick board at the ground, boards scribed to the grade, or mesh buried along the inside of the line.
My yard is steep and rocky and two companies turned the job down. Who does this?
If others turned the job down, call us and we will look at it in person. Saint Paul is built on river bluffs. The West Side, Cherokee Heights, Highland Park along the river, Dayton's Bluff and Battle Creek all have steep yards, and limestone can sit close under the soil near the bluff edge. When a hole hits rock or a large boulder, the post is shifted or the hole is finished by hand with bars and a breaker. It is slower work and it is priced that way.
Do installers dig by hand or with a machine?
We dig by hand or with a machine depending on the spot. An auger does the open stretches. Hand digging is used near utility marks, next to foundations and garage slabs, among roots, on slopes too steep for equipment and in the narrow gaps between older houses.
The only firm number is a written quote for your own yard, and the estimate is free. Call (651) 362-2183 or text us a photo of the fence line.