What to Do Before Your Fence Crew Arrives

July 4, 2026

Most of the delays we run into on install day have nothing to do with the fence itself. They're a locked gate, a truck parked over the line, a sprinkler head nobody flagged, or an HOA letter still sitting in someone's inbox. If you know how to prepare for fence installation ahead of time, you get a crew that starts building instead of a crew standing around waiting on answers, and that's true whether you're in a Columbia subdivision or on acreage out past Culleoka.

Know where your line actually is before anyone digs

This is the single biggest one. A lot of folks around here go off the old fence, the mowing edge, or where the previous owner said the line was. None of those are the line. They're habits.

Pull your plat or survey and see if the corner pins are still findable. On newer builds in Spring Hill and Thompson's Station, the pins are often still there, sometimes just under the sod. On older Maury County property, they may be long gone, and the fence line everybody's been mowing to for years may sit well off the recorded boundary.

If there's any doubt, get a survey before we set posts. It costs something, sure. It costs a lot less than pulling a finished fence because your neighbor pulled their own survey after the fact. We'd rather push your start date than build something that has to come out. When you already know your lines and just want the fence built right, that's what our fence building work is set up to handle.

Call 811 and give the locate time to happen

Tennessee 811 is free and it's not optional. Call or file online and let them mark the public utilities: gas, electric, water, communications. The marks are paint and flags, and they hold up fine unless it storms hard, so don't schedule your locate so far ahead that everything washes off.

Here's the part that catches people. 811 marks the utility company's lines. It does not mark yours. That means the gas run to your outdoor kitchen, the electric to a barn or shop, your irrigation, invisible fence wire, and any drain lines you or a previous owner put in. All of that is on you to flag. Grab some marking paint or landscape flags and walk the line yourself.

Our crews dig carefully, but a post hole in Middle Tennessee limestone doesn't go in gently. Between shallow bedrock and hard clay, sometimes it takes real force, and a private line we didn't know about is going to lose that fight. Tell us what you know before we start.

Clear the fence line so the crew can work it

Walk the whole run and look at it the way somebody carrying a long rail would. We need room on both sides of where the fence goes, plus a path to get materials in from the driveway.

Things worth handling ahead of time:

• Brush, honeysuckle, and volunteer saplings along the line
• Low limbs that a post or panel won't clear
• Firewood stacks, brush piles, scrap lumber, leftover pavers
• Trampolines, play sets, planters, and anything heavy sitting near the line
• Vehicles, trailers, and boats parked where the truck needs to be

If a tree needs to come down or a stump needs grinding, get that done before install day, not during. Same with anything you want moved but can't lift. Tell us when you book, not the morning we show up.

Also clear the driveway. Equipment, concrete, and material get staged near the work, and a crew hand-carrying everything across the yard is a slower crew.

Handle the pets, the people, and the paperwork

Gates stay open on install day and there are strangers in the yard with loud tools. Plan for your dog to be inside, kenneled, or somewhere off the property. It only takes one open gate.

Tell your neighbor before the trucks show up. Not because you need permission on your own land, but because a heads-up turns a boundary conversation into a friendly one instead of a confrontation on install morning. If you're sharing a line, that short conversation is worth more than almost anything else on this list.

Then confirm the approvals are actually in hand, not just submitted. HOAs in Franklin, Brentwood, and Nolensville commonly have rules about height, material, color, and which side the finished face points. Municipal requirements vary by city, and they can differ depending on whether you're inside city limits or out in the county. Check with your local codes office rather than assuming your neighbor's fence sets precedent. Our guide to local fence permit requirements walks through who to call.

Think through gate placement before we set posts

Gate location is the decision people regret most, and it's the cheapest thing to change while it's still a conversation.

Go stand in the yard and think about how you actually move through it. Where does the trash can go on pickup day? Is that gate wide enough for the mower you'll buy next, not just the one you have? Do you need a vehicle in the back for firewood or a trailer?

Slope matters here too. A gate at the bottom of a grade wants to drag, and a gate swinging downhill needs clearance you might not have. Wide gates need beefier posts and better hardware, which we'd rather build in from the start than retrofit later. If you want an automatic opener down the road, say so now. We can plan the gates and openers around it instead of working backward.

Mark your gate spots with a flag or a can of paint. Seeing it on the ground beats describing it over the phone.

What good prep does to your price

We can't quote your fence in a blog post. But prep changes cost in predictable ways.

Clearing and hauling add to a bid because they add crew hours, and stump work does the same. Do that yourself ahead of time and it comes off. Same with tearing out an old fence. Long carries from the driveway push labor up, and so do steep grades and tight access. A survey or a permit fee is a real cost that usually isn't in a fence bid at all, so budget for that separately.

What we handle on our end

We build these fences ourselves, so the person walking your property is connected to the crew that shows up. On the walkthrough we look at grade, soil, access, and where the line runs, and we tell you straight what we need from you before install day. That includes the 811 call, anything private you need to flag, what has to move, and which approvals to have in hand. You get a punch list, not a surprise.

If anything on your list won't be done in time, call us. Moving a start date is easy. Working around a problem nobody mentioned is not.

Common questions before install day

How long before install should I call 811?

Call well ahead of your start date, not the day before. Tennessee 811 requires advance notice before any digging, and the exact lead time is set by state law, so file the request as soon as your install date is on the calendar and confirm the timing with 811 directly. If the marks fade or wash out before we dig, request a refresh.

Do I need to be home when the crew is here?

Not the whole time. It helps to be there at the start so we can walk the line and confirm gate spots together, and again at the end for the walkthrough. In between, we're fine on our own as long as we have access to the yard and a way to reach you if a question comes up.

What if my neighbor disagrees about the property line?

Stop and sort it out before we set posts. A current survey is the only thing that settles it, and it's far cheaper than moving a finished fence. We won't build over a disputed line, because that ends badly for everybody, including us.

Can you install if the ground is wet?

Sometimes. Middle Tennessee clay holds water, and a saturated yard means ruts and sloppy holes, plus concrete that doesn't set the way it should. Light rain usually isn't a problem. A soaked yard after a heavy stretch may push us back, and we'd rather reschedule than tear up your lawn.

Got your list handled, or want us to walk the property and tell you what's left? Call Middle TN Fence & Gate at (629) 230-3689 and let's get your fence on the schedule.