Your thoughts on this fence construction

[silvius]

Hello again!

 

I recently put a lot near the lake in contract for purchase. The seller agreed to finish the fence (some of the other lots had fencing already) as part of the purchase price. This is of course concrete anchored fencing. I'd like your honest opinion of how this fence looks. I am particularly interested in hearing from those of you who have constructed or overseen construction of these types of fences. I assume the material is vinyl or plastic, probably more for decorative purposes than functional, but the 'decorative' part is fine; I won't be keeping any livestock here or anything along those lines.

 

The first fencing on the other lots that was up seemed to be almost perfectly straight. Not 100% perfect, but pretty darn close. While the newer fencing appears fine at first glance, I am now not so sure. In this first batch of pictures, you will see what I mean (at least I think so). The fence doesn't appear quite straight, and appears to even be leaning at one part. I will post more of the other side of the fence later on the thread depending on whether or not I get many responses.

 

Keep in mind I know nothing about fence construction! Thanks for any input. Here it goes:

 

Picture#1

 

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At the farthest part of the fence in the following picture, is it leaning, or is it just me?

 

4

 

Leaning seems to be evident here, at least I think so...(different angle of the same section)

 

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What do you think? I haven't come to the table with money yet. Is it normal and acceptable fence construction, or am I being way too picky?

[pwall]

Haven't never put up a fense myself but have had several fenses done around the homes I have owned.....I'd said it was done in a rush. And it could be straighter.

 

My opinion of course.

[carneyman]

To me, it does seem to have a little jog in it in the first few photos...and I would say that part of it is leaning...You might be able to straighten the leaning part out a little bit, but the crooked part looks like it will have to stay like that...I would have personally put in a wooden fence like that, but it doesn't look too bad, unless one of your neighbors/friends is the kind that loves to point out whats wrong with everything you have.

[silvius]

Fixing the lean would be tough though, wouldn't it, since the posts are set in concrete?

[carneyman]

It would depend on how much concrete was used. you might be able to dig out on one side and pull it that way, and then fill in the other side with dirt.

[Trouttrooper]

Can't say I've ever put in that specific type of fence, but I do have many many miles of barb wire and post/pole fence building under my belt.

 

IMHO Whoever put that in was in a hurry. When you set posts in concrete there's really no reason it shouldn't be perfectly straight. Also looks like they never ran a string line to keep it straight. I bet they didn't use any bubble levels either.

 

If I understand correctly there is other nearby identical fencing put in by the same people that is in straighter lines?? If that's the case I'd point it out.

 

On the other hand, you will probably be the only one who will notice/care.

 

As for "adjusting" a fence set in concrete.....time consuming and labor intensive comes to mind. One reason I don't use concrete very often. Makes repairs/maintenance a pain in the a$$ if it's a fence that will likely see damage in the future (ahem, darn horses)

[Wingnut]

In a hurry, and either a) didn't use enough concrete in all the holes or b) didn't use concrete in ALL the holes.

[Clavin78]

Norman, OK. Been through there quite a bit.

[diverlloyd]

from your pictures it looks like several of the posts were not installed plumb with the rest so that is where the "lean" is coming from. This vinyl material will bend and warp if not installed properly. Although I haven't worked with vinyl specifically, I have used TREX and other composite materials and I know that the installation is similar, that is you have to follow the manufacturer's specifications for installation carefully or you will get bending and warping of the product because the material is not load bearing. There is a spec for the maximum allowable distance between posts for this product so you should check that out and see if the spec was followed. Also make sure all the posts are plumb. On the plus side, this fence will last a long time if installed correctly and need virtually no maintenance.

[Yukon04]

My opinion is similiar to everyone elses. Doesn't look like they used a level or string for straightness. I'd bitch about it, but I'm kinda picky...

[silvius]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

 

I would probably be the only one who noticed it like some mentioned, but I think it is enough of a concern that I am going to bring it up to the seller. The problem is, I don't know that I would trust the same crew to fix it that installed it in the first place.

 

The pictures you have seen are of the West side....The next batch of pictures will be of the South Side.

[Polak]

I wouldn't let it be a deal breaker on the property, but, I also wouldn't let the seller use it as a barganing chip. I.E. - If he/she brings it up, as in "well I did have the fence finished." the response should, without offending, point out the shotty job and the lack of attention to detail.

 

My $0.02,

AJ

[silvius]

Here is the next set of pictures. Sorry there are so many, but I wanted you to get a good feel for this. The fence that skirts the tree doesn't look very good, but they really didn't have a lot of options by that tree, I guess. They did remove one that was directly in the fence line (it was a dead tree so it didn't matter).

 

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#10 Notice the posts aren't straight.....

 

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[silvius]

Here are some more....overloaded yet?

 

 

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[silvius]

This is it, I promise!!!

 

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