San Antonio Expert Fence handles fence installation for homes across San Antonio and the cities around it, in wood, vinyl, chain link and aluminum.
San Antonio Expert Fence plans every new fence around your lot, because what a new fence can look like here changes from one lot to the next. Every new fence in the city needs a permit. The height you're allowed in the front yard isn't the same as along the back, a corner lot has to leave the corner itself open, and a house in a historic district or a flood zone sends the permit through another city office first. Then there's the ground, which can be heavy black clay in one part of town and limestone in another.
You don't have to sort any of that out yourself. We work out what's allowed on your lot, lay out the fence line, pull the permit and set the posts for the ground in your yard. That leaves you the decisions that are really yours: the material, the look, the height you'd like within what's allowed, and where the gates go.
If you're replacing an old fence, taking it out and hauling it away is part of the job. And if we look at it and a repair would do, we'll tell you that instead.
Every new fence inside the City of San Antonio needs a fence permit, whether it's a short run of chain link along one side or a privacy fence around the whole back yard. Replacing an old fence needs one too, once the work covers more than a quarter of the fence's continuous length, and the no-permit allowance for small repairs only covers fences 6 feet tall or less. When we build your fence, the permit is part of the job, and this is what that covers:
Once a residential fence is built, San Antonio doesn't send an inspector out to look at it. The city can still cite a fence that wasn't built to its rules, though, so we build yours to those rules from the first post: the right height in each part of the yard, clear of the corner on a corner lot, and on or inside your property line.
A new fence is priced by the foot, with each gate and the removal of an old fence added on. These are typical Texas installed prices, and the material you choose and the length of your fence line have the biggest effect on where your price lands.
| Item | Typical price | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Pine privacy fence, 6 ft | $19–$39 | per linear foot installed |
| Vinyl privacy fence, 6 ft | $29–$53 | per linear foot installed |
| Chain link fence, 4 ft galvanized | $9.75–$24 | per linear foot installed |
| Aluminum fence | $19–$53 | per linear foot installed |
| Walk gate | $190–$780 | each, installed |
| Old fence removal | $3–$4.75 | per linear foot |
Your own price comes once we've measured your fence line and talked through the material, the height and the gates you want. Rocky ground on the north side takes more work to dig, and we price that in when we see your yard. Try the cost calculator.
Before we price your fence, we work out where it can go and how tall each stretch of it can be. Here's what that involves on a San Antonio lot.
A new fence in San Antonio goes on or inside your property line, and the permit application asks for a promise that nothing will be built over an easement. We lay out your fence line from your plat or survey, mark it with stakes and string, and go over it with you in the yard before anything is priced. If there's an easement on your lot, it goes on the site plan and we lay the fence out to stay clear of it.
San Antonio measures the front yard from the front face of your house forward, and that's where the height limit changes. A 6-foot privacy fence along the side of your yard has to stop at the front of the house. Anything that carries on into the front yard steps down to 3 feet if it's solid, or 5 feet if it's open, like wrought iron or chain link, with at least 70% of the fence open to see through. Along the sides and across the back, 6 feet is the limit, and a few situations allow 8. We'll tell you if your lot is one of them.
If your house sits on a corner, there's one more rule to plan around. The city keeps a triangle at the corner clear so drivers can see traffic coming from the cross street, measured 25 feet each way from the curb, and no fence can go inside it. The city's traffic office checks for it before the permit is issued, so we lay out a corner-lot fence to stay out of that triangle from the first stake.
Send the form with a line or two about it, like the kind of fence, about where it would run and whether there's an old one to take out, and we'll call you back to set a time to come by.
At your house we measure the run, mark the line with stakes and string, and talk through the gates, the height and the material with you.
You get a price for the fence, the gates and any removal, and nothing gets dug until you've said yes to it.
We send in the city permit along with any extra review your lot needs, and your fence waits until the permit is issued.
Once the permit is issued, the old fence comes out first. Then the new posts go in along the string line, followed by the rails and pickets, panels or mesh.
We hang and adjust the gates so they swing and latch, haul off the old fence and the leftovers, and look over your new fence with you.
The posts carry the whole fence, so we look at the ground in your yard before we plan how to set them. San Antonio has two very different kinds, and the trees growing in it matter too.
Across the middle of Bexar County, much of the ground is a heavy black clay. In a dry summer it shrinks and cracks open, and when the rain comes back it swells again. A new post here has to hold its place through both, so we set each one in concrete, plumb and in line with the next, and your fence starts out straight on a solid footing.
North of the Balcones Escarpment, the ground is often thin, stony soil with limestone underneath, and digging post holes there is slower, harder work. We look at the ground when we measure your yard and price the fence for it, so the rock isn't a surprise once the job starts.
If there's a live oak near where your new fence will run, we lay the line out around the trunk and keep the post holes back from it where we can. When a branch has to come off to make room, the city's oak wilt ordinance requires every cut on an oak to be painted within 30 minutes. The city arborist also advises keeping oak pruning to a minimum from late winter into early summer, so we plan a fence line near an oak with that window in mind.
On some lots in San Antonio, the fence permit goes to another city office before it's issued. When yours does, we put together what that office asks for and send it in with the permit.
In King William, Monte Vista, Tobin Hill and San Antonio's other historic districts, a new fence needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from the city's Office of Historic Preservation, and every fence permit in a historic district goes to that office for review. The office's fence guide asks for front fences that match the height of the fences next door or stay at 4 feet, and for wood privacy fences in back that are no taller than 6 feet and set back from the front of the house. On blocks where the front lawns are open, which describes parts of Monticello Park, Monte Vista and Greenlawn Estates, the guide says a new front fence isn't appropriate at all. If your house is on one of those blocks, we'll tell you before you plan around a front fence, and we design the rest of it to what the office approves.
Two more reviews come up in parts of town. In a Neighborhood Conservation District, every fence permit is reviewed by the conservation district's staff. If your lot is in a flood zone, the city's Storm Water division reviews the permit. We find out which of these applies to your address before we design your fence.
Since 2021, Texas law has generally kept an HOA from banning a fence around your property that's put up for security. Your association can still set rules on the type of fence, and a 2025 amendment spelled out a few more things it may restrict, such as fencing in front of the house where its rules say so. If your HOA wants to approve the plans first, we can draw up the fence and list the materials for its review.
A new fence is priced by the foot, so the length of your fence line matters most. At typical Texas prices, 200 feet of 6-foot pine privacy fence works out to about $3,800 to $7,800 installed. The same 200 feet comes to about $1,950 to $4,800 in 4-foot galvanized chain link, or $5,800 to $10,600 in 6-foot vinyl privacy. Gates and taking out an old fence are added on, and we'll give you the price for your own fence once we've measured the line.
Yes, if you're replacing the whole fence or more than a quarter of it. San Antonio requires a permit for every new fence, so taking out an old fence and putting up a new one needs a permit. On a fence 6 feet tall or less, replacing up to 25% of its overall continuous length counts as a minor repair and doesn't, although in a historic district even a small repair still needs the historic office's approval. When your fence needs a permit, we pull it before the work starts. Leon Valley, Converse and other cities nearby write their own fence rules, and we build to those when your home is there.
The City of San Antonio's fence permit FAQ lists a residential fence permit at $26.50 when the application goes in online and $36.50 when it's made in person. Next to the cost of the fence itself, that's a small part of the job.
Not long. In the city's own words, "most fence permits are issued the same day in our office over the counter or within two business days when the application is submitted online." A corner lot, or a lot in a historic district, a conservation district or a flood zone, goes through that office's review as well, which can add time.
On a single-family lot, it depends on where the fence stands. In front of the house, a solid fence can be 3 feet tall, and an open fence such as wrought iron or chain link can be 5 feet. Along the sides and across the back, the limit is 6 feet, and in a handful of situations, like a pool in your yard or the one next door, the city allows 8. In a historic district, the city's fence guide keeps wood privacy fences in back to 6 feet. We plan your fence to the right height for each part of the yard.
It has to be on your property line or inside it. In San Antonio, the permit applicant is responsible for making sure it is. We lay out your fence line from the plat for your lot or a survey, and if you have a survey from when you bought the house, that's a good place to start.
We take new fence jobs across San Antonio and in the nearby cities below, and where a city like Leon Valley or Converse writes its own fence rules, your fence is built to that city's rules.
Tell us where you'd like the fence to run and what kind you have in mind, and we'll call you back to set a time to come measure.
San Antonio Expert Fence is a fence company in San Antonio, Texas, for homes, businesses and HOAs. We repair fences and build new ones, and every job starts with a free visit and a written price.
Each city around San Antonio writes its own fence rules, and we plan every fence to the ones where your home is.
