Cedar, redwood, and pressure-treated species selected by your fence's orientation and LA sun exposure.
Every fence line runs differently across the city. We map yours by compass orientation before we recommend a single board.
We follow up the same business day.
We'll follow up shortly. Need it sooner? Call 844-997-7555.
I've been in this trade long enough to stop assuming I know what a property needs before I see it. We look at the site first. We map the fence line by orientation, check the drainage and the shade, then recommend the species and the sealing schedule that will actually hold up over time.
That's not a sales pitch. It's just how wood fence installation in Los Angeles should work, and it's the standard we've held since 2014.
Yaron Eliya, Owner · Iron Men Gates and Doors Design
The right wood fence starts with species selection. Not aesthetics, science.
Picture a cedar fence two years after installation. Never sealed. The boards have gone gray. The rails have cracked at the knots. The posts are starting to pull. That fence wasn't built with bad wood. It was built without a plan for what Los Angeles sun actually does over time.
UV degradation, the breakdown of wood fiber and surface finish caused by ultraviolet radiation, is the leading cause of premature wood fence failure in Southern California. The UV index here stays high for most of the year. That's not a warning. It's a variable, and it's one we account for before the first post goes in the ground.
When the posts survive and the panels don't, the problem was never the wood. It was the finish and the orientation.
We apply sealer at installation on every run where orientation warrants it, and each project includes a written re-application schedule so the fence gets maintained on the right interval rather than forgotten.
Compass orientation changes the species recommendation directly.
A fence on the south-facing wall of a Palms property bakes in direct sun from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round. On a north-facing wall in Atwater Village, that same linear footage stays shaded most of the day. Same city. Completely different material logic.
A California-native lumber species with natural tannins that resist decay. More expensive than cedar, but it performs better in sustained high-UV conditions and coastal-adjacent environments like the western San Fernando Valley.
A naturally rot-resistant softwood with oils that repel moisture and insects, given a penetrating sealer at installation. Re-application scheduled around 18 months depending on that wall's sun exposure.
Lumber chemically treated to resist rot, fungal decay, and insect damage, used for any post going into soil contact regardless of what species the above-grade section uses.
The posts were still solid. That was the tell.
A customer in Encino called us about replacing a wood fence that had failed after about three years. The boards were warping badly on one rail section. The posts were still solid, which told us where to look. The original fence had used Western Red Cedar on the posts, which was a good call. But the panels had been installed on the south-facing wall with no sealer applied at any point. That's where the UV damage hit hardest.
We walked the property and mapped the fence line by compass orientation before recommending anything. Redwood went on the south and west runs, cedar with a penetrating sealer on the north-facing sections and gate posts, and pressure-treated pine below grade on every post. That combination addresses UV, drainage, and post rot prevention in one plan.
The client had a sealing schedule on paper before we left the site.
Every LA neighborhood has its own microclimate. Your fence material should reflect that.
Our office sits near the Miracle Mile district, and we reach properties from Silver Lake to Encino within the same service day. That range matters because Los Angeles isn't one environment.
Here's what changes the post rot calculation in LA: clay-heavy soil, common across the western and central parts of the basin, retains moisture longer than sandy or loamy soil. That extends the post rot window at the ground line. Post rot prevention has to account for actual drainage conditions, not just zip code.
South and west exposures get redwood or high-grade cedar. North and east get cedar with sealer. Never a blanket default.
Pressure-treated pine for all soil-contact post sections, regardless of above-grade species.
Post base hardware and concrete collar design specified per drainage condition. Clay soil gets a different collar profile than decomposed granite.
Available on all privacy fence runs. Post depth and spacing adjusted for the added wind load.
Applied at installation. Re-application interval noted in writing for each fence run based on compass orientation and shade conditions.
We specify #1 or better. No finger-jointed boards in structural rails.
Hot-dipped galvanized or stainless. No uncoated fasteners in outdoor wood applications.
A clear sequence from arrival to walkthrough.
Our crew arrives with the material spec confirmed. We mark post locations, check for underground utilities where required, and confirm fence line measurements before any digging starts. If anything changed since the estimate, a new grade, a sprinkler head, a relocated gate opening, we catch it here.
Posts are set in concrete, with depth following a standard formula adjusted for height and wind exposure. Board-on-board panels and taller privacy runs get posts set 12 to 18 inches deeper than standard picket fencing. Concrete cures before panel work begins. We don't rush that stage.
Rails go up first, panels follow. Boards are alternated per the design spec and fastened with galvanized ring-shank nails or exterior screws. We verify spacing consistency across the run before moving to the next section.
Gate hardware, post caps, and trim elements are installed after panel completion. Sealer is applied to all above-grade surfaces where specified. The re-application schedule is noted on the project summary left with the homeowner.
We walk the fence line with the homeowner before we load out. Gate alignment is checked, post caps confirmed, and anything that needs adjustment gets done before we leave the site.
We serve residential and commercial wood fence installation projects throughout Los Angeles. Our crews regularly work in the neighborhoods below and the surrounding areas. If you're nearby, call 844-997-7555 and we'll confirm your location.
A site-specific plan and a licensed crew. That's how a wood fence gets built right.
Tell us your fence line length, your property's orientation, and what you're hoping to achieve. We'll bring the species recommendation and the plan.
Licensed California contractor #1049550. Serving LA since 2014.
You'll get a written species recommendation with your estimate.
We'll be in touch to schedule your site walkthrough.
Iron Men Gates and Doors Design · Serving Los Angeles since 2014
844-997-7555 · [email protected] · California Contractor License #1049550
