The rule
Minimum one-third of fence height. On a 6 ft fence that's 24 in.

Installed to depth specs your soil actually calls for.
Wood, vinyl, chain-link, and iron fencing across Los Angeles. Every installation starts with a ground assessment, not just a tape measure across your yard.
We follow up the same business day.
We'll follow up shortly. Need it sooner? Call 844-997-7555.
Post depth and concrete specifications matched to each site's actual soil conditions.
Our crews work from our Wilshire Boulevard office and have installed fencing on properties ranging from flat mid-city lots to hillside parcels in the foothills since 2014. Every installation starts with a ground assessment, not just a tape measure across your yard.
The result is a fence that holds its line, panel by panel, year after year. CA Contractor License #1049550 backs every project we complete.
Post depth is the single most important variable in any LA fence installation.
The soil under a large portion of LA neighborhoods is expansive clay, a soil type that swells when it absorbs water and shrinks when it dries. That expansion and contraction puts real lateral force on fence posts over time. A post that felt solid at installation can start leaning within a season or two.
Minimum one-third of fence height. On a 6 ft fence that's 24 in.
Clay pushes it deeper. Eagle Rock line posts went to 30 in.
Terminal posts go deeper still, with a wider collar.
Terminal posts, meaning corner, end, and gate posts, get larger footings than line posts because they carry tensile load across the full fence run. That distinction matters on every job we set foot on.
Our crews travel the 10, 101, and 405 corridors to reach jobs across the city, and we've seen this pattern everywhere from Silver Lake to Inglewood. The fix isn't just deeper posts. It's the right concrete collar, the concrete poured around each post below grade, combined with the right volume for that specific soil type.
The soil tells you what it needs. You just have to ask.
A homeowner in Eagle Rock called me about a wood fence they wanted along the back of their property. The lot runs downhill toward the neighbor's side, and the back section sits over a stretch of dark, heavy soil, the kind that holds water well after rain.
I walked the property before we touched a single post hole. The front section looked fine, solid sandy composition near the driveway. But once we got to the back third of the lot, I pushed a probe into the ground and felt exactly what I expected: dense, sticky clay that was still holding moisture from rain earlier that week.
We adjusted. Terminal posts at the corners went 36 inches deep with a concrete collar sized for the soil resistance we were dealing with. Line posts went to 30 inches with an expanded concrete volume to compensate for the moisture cycle. We also used pressure-treated lumber rated for ground contact on every post, because not all grades perform equally when clay is involved.
The fence panel system, cedar boards on a three-rail frame, went in straight and plumb across the full run. Three months later, after the first significant rain of the season, I followed up. The fence hadn't shifted. Not a single post had moved.
That's the point of doing the ground assessment before the first hole is dug.
Each material has a different installation profile, and we treat them differently on the job.
Properties where natural appearance and privacy matter most. Cedar and redwood resist decay without chemical treatment. Pressure-treated pine is a cost-effective option for framing.
Wood posts require the most precise concrete collar sizing, because wood expands slightly when wet.
Flat or gently sloped lots where low maintenance is the priority. No painting. No staining.
Vinyl post sleeves must be set plumb with particular care, because the material doesn't flex to accommodate a leaning post.
Large perimeter runs, commercial properties, and applications where visibility through the fence matters.
Terminal posts carry significant tension load in chain-link runs, so concrete footing size is larger relative to fence height than in other systems.
A finished, architectural look that suits LA's Spanish Colonial and Craftsman housing stock particularly well, including ornamental iron fencing.
Iron panels are heavier than wood or vinyl. Post setting and concrete volume scale up accordingly.

A consistent set of standards, with no shortcuts on materials or methods.
Minimum one-third of fence height, adjusted upward based on soil assessment and expansive clay presence.
Mixed and poured on-site, volume calculated per post type. Terminal posts receive larger footings than line posts by default.
Used on all wood fence posts in ground contact, minimum ground-contact grade.
Galvanized or stainless-steel fasteners on all exterior applications.
Every panel checked for level and plumb before the next section advances.
Concrete allowed full cure before panels are loaded onto posts. We don't rush this step.
All post hole spoil, packaging, and offcuts removed at project completion.
We include a property line verification step before any post goes into the ground.
Property line verification, the process of confirming the legal boundary of a property using survey markers, plat maps, or a licensed surveyor's findings, isn't a formality.
Installing a fence six inches over the line creates a legal problem that becomes your responsibility to resolve.
Before we mark post locations, we review the plat map and walk the boundary with you.
If survey markers are visible and consistent, we proceed.
If there's any ambiguity, a missing marker or a corner that doesn't match the plat, we flag it before the project starts.
LA County has specific permitting requirements for fences above six feet in height. Fences in certain overlay zones, including hillside areas, may require permits at lower heights. We'll let you know what applies to your parcel so you're not caught off guard after installation.
Soil assessment through final panel alignment, no steps skipped.
We assess the soil composition at post locations, note grade changes and slope, review the plat map with you, and confirm property line markers before any digging begins. Permit requirements for your specific LA parcel are identified at this stage.
We also document the fence run with measurements so the material order matches the exact post spacing your site requires. Post spacing on sloped ground differs from flat installations, and we account for that in the layout plan before any materials are ordered.
Posts are set to the depth and collar volume the soil assessment called for. After posts are set and concrete has fully cured, panels are installed, aligned, and fastened. Gate openings are framed during this phase if the fence run includes a gate.
Once all panels are set, we walk the full fence run with you. We check for plumb on every post, test gate swing or slide if applicable, and confirm the panel system sits level across grade transitions. Any adjustment is made before we leave the site.
You leave with a fence that's straight, permitted where required, and installed to depth specs your soil actually called for.
Our crews reach jobs throughout Los Angeles County and surrounding communities, traveling the 10, 101, and 405 corridors from our Wilshire Boulevard base. We work on residential properties, commercial sites, and multi-unit properties across the region.
Tell us your address, the material you're considering, and any slope or soil concerns you've noticed. We'll schedule a site visit, walk the property with you, and give you a plan before any work begins.
Licensed in California. Installing fences across LA since 2014.
We'll confirm availability in your neighborhood when we call back.
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Iron Men Gates and Doors Design · Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA
844-997-7555 · [email protected] · CA Contractor License #1049550 · Serving greater Los Angeles since 2014