Privacy Fence Installation in Richardson, TX
We build tall cedar privacy fences for homeowners in Richardson, Plano, and Murphy.
Privacy After a Teardown Next Door
Richardson is built out. Nothing new is going in at the edges. What happens here is a single story ranch comes down and something with a second floor goes up in its place. The fence that was fine for thirty years is suddenly six feet of screening under a window that did not used to be there.
Our answer is one build. 8 feet tall, pre-stained cedar, board on board, with a top cap. It sits at the tallest height the city allows behind the front wall of your house.
- 8 feet, because a second story going up behind you changes everything about the view.
- Boards overlapping board on board, so no gap opens as the cedar dries and moves.
- Pre-stained cedar, with the finish applied before the wood ever reaches your street.
- A top cap that closes the end grain and finishes the run.
- Build it shorter if that is what your yard needs. What goes in the ground does not change.
Richardson's Privacy Fence Rules
Richardson allows up to 8 feet behind the front wall of your house, measured back to the rear property line. That is the city's own rule, and our signature build sits right at it.
Out front is a different story. Richardson keeps front yard fencing at 3 feet maximum, decorative in nature, with the Building Official signing off. A solid wood wall does not qualify there, so an ornamental iron fence is the usual answer at the street.
Deed restrictions can set a lower limit than the city does. Most of Richardson's established neighborhoods have voluntary HOAs with no legal authority to enforce design standards. A few areas, mostly in the newer Breckinridge section of the Collin County panhandle, have mandatory associations that can. We help you sort out which one applies to your lot before we quote the job.
Why Height Matters Here
The privacy problem on these streets is specific. It is not a new subdivision filling in around you. It is one house on a settled street being replaced by something taller.
- A rebuild next door or directly behind, with a second story that overlooks your patio.
- A pool or an outdoor living area that now sits in view of an upstairs window that was not there five years ago.
- An old fence with boards that dried out and opened gaps between them.
- Soil washed out along the bottom, leaving a strip of daylight under the run.
Building Around Mature Trees
A privacy fence on a Richardson lot gets planned twice. Once for the sight line you want blocked, and once for the mature trees that have claimed the boundary.
Sight Lines From Upper Windows
Six feet is enough for a neighbor at ground level. It does not reach a window on the second floor of a new build. We stand in your yard, find the window or the angle that bothers you, and measure the height against it. Then we build to that height, up to the 8 feet Richardson allows.
Building Around Mature Trees
Older Richardson lots, especially in The Reservation, Richardson Heights, and Greenwood Hills, come with big trees standing right on the boundary. We plan post spacing around trunks and heavy surface roots, and hand dig where the line runs tight. The fence keeps its height and its line. Only the post positions move.
We also look up. A limb sitting low over the run is something to know about before an 8 foot fence goes under it. Richardson's canopy drops limbs in storms, and an overhead branch is worth noting at the estimate rather than after the fence is up.
Pre-Stained Boards
Staining a fence in place is harder under heavy shade, and Richardson has more of it than any other city we work in. The wood stays damp longer under a canopy, sap drops from the trees above, and a finish applied on site never gets an even day to cure. Pre-stained cedar solves that before the boards leave the yard. The color is on them when they arrive, dried in conditions a shaded lot cannot provide.
Board on Board for Privacy
Boards set side by side look solid on the day they go up. Cedar dries, cedar shrinks, and thin gaps open along the run. Those gaps are daylight, and daylight is the thing you are paying to block. The overlap handles that permanently. It also puts the same finished face on both yards, so neither neighbor ends up with the ugly side.
Privacy Gaps at the Bottom
Under shade the ground stays damp, and damp soil washes out under a fence line. That leaves a gap at the base a dog goes straight through and a neighbor can see under. The kicker board along the base lifts the boards clear of the soil and keeps the bottom sealed.
Post Specs for 8 Feet
Two extra feet of height catches more wind than a 6 foot fence. A limb from Richardson's canopy puts the rest of the load on when it strikes. The posts under a tall fence do more work, and everything we bury is sized for that.
Heavy duty galvanized steel posts, coated so rust never gets started. Under a canopy that holds moisture against the post for days, the coating matters more than it does on an open lot.
Set 3 feet into the ground, below the root zone where most mature trees spread laterally. A shallow post sits right in the path of those roots and gets levered out over time.
Set 6 feet apart, instead of the 8 feet the industry treats as standard. On a tall fence under big trees, closer spacing means a falling limb takes out one panel instead of pulling three off the line.
All posts set and cured before any boards go on.
What the Finished Fence Provides
You get the full height Richardson allows behind the house, built to the spec that height actually needs. The run stays closed as the cedar dries, instead of opening into stripes of daylight between the boards. The color is on the wood the day the crew drives away, not waiting for a dry week that may not come under your trees.
Demo and haul off are part of the job. Nothing the crew tears out stays in your yard. A 3 year craftsmanship warranty on new fence installations.
How a Richardson Privacy Fence Build Runs
- We walk the yard with you and measure the run, the sight line, and the trees on the boundary. That walk tells us where posts can go and where roots will decide for us.
- You get your estimate, with the permit noted. Richardson requires a permit for any fence 2.5 feet or taller, which covers every privacy build.
- If your lot has an alley, we plan staging and material delivery around it so lumber is not hauled through the house. If a gate opens toward the alley, we confirm it will not swing into the easement, which Richardson does not allow.
- We call 811 so the buried lines get marked before anyone digs.
- Tear out on day one, then posts, framing, boards, and the cap follow in sequence.
- The job usually wraps in two to three working days.
What Richardson Homeowners Say
1–3 of 9
Very responsive and fixed my fence issue professionally and quickly. Excellent communication and workmanship. Highly recommended!
My Mom and Dad found Mom’s Fence Man they were so pleased with their quality workmanship on their new fence and I was so happy to hear how they had such a great experience. I also had a beautiful new gate with fence built and most recently a new beautiful shared backyard fence. They went above and beyond communicating from the beginning with several easy to understand quotes to updates through the materials arriving and updates of their arrival on the day of work. Throughout the process from the beginning up to the building of my new fence I was able to continue my daily work and scheduled appointments with no interruptions and have peace of mind.
He did a great job, was very communicative and easy to work with! Highly recommend!
I can’t thank Bill, Yvette and the rest of the team at Mom’ Fence Man for their dedication and hard work with replacing my 21yr old fence. From the design process to the demo and installation, the entire process and project were handled with the utmost care and dedication to excellence. I would highly recommend Mom’s Fence Man to anyone looking to install or replace their fence. Thank you Bill, Yvette and the rest of the team for bringing my dream to life! I can’t thank you enough! :) Tracy Marshall #momsfenceman #customerservice #amazing #teamwork #trustedpartner #excellence #expertcraftsmanship
Bill came out and fixed the issues I had. He is so helpful and kind. I love working with this company
My experience with Mom’s Fence Man in replacing my old 6’ fence with a beautifully crafted 8’ fence was 100% positive. The communication was excellent from start to finish. I always knew what to expect and the timelines given were accurate so I was able to plan my time accordingly. Bill helped with the design options and I couldn’t be happier with the results. Home repairs and improvements have always been something I dread, but this experience showed me that doesn’t have to be the case if you have the right company. I highly recommend them.
Bill and his team were very professional, easy to work with, and provided great guidance throughout the process. They did an excellent job with our fence replacement and repairs, and we’re very happy with the results. Highly recommend Bill and his team!
Fantastic work! Yvette and crew took great care in removing and replacing our fence. They took their time and did it right. We are thrilled with the final product and give Mom's Fence Man our highest recommendation.
When I called Bill he answered the phone and we made an appointment to get an estimate to repair my fence. He showed up on time and provided a reasonable estimate. Two weeks later as scheduled his reliable and professional crew arrived on time and completed my repairs the same day to my satisfaction. He was very nice and honest to work with. If I need more repairs in the future I will call him. I recommend you at least call for an estimate and I think you will be pleased! (I had called another company after I spoke to Bill to get a second estimate and to this day they never returned my call. That he answered my call impressed me a lot!)
Frequently Asked Questions
Richardson requires a permit at 2.5 feet. Does that apply to a privacy fence?
Yes. Every privacy fence we build clears that threshold by several feet, so the permit is always part of the job. Richardson also requires a permit when 25 percent or more of the total fence perimeter is being replaced. We handle the paperwork.
Can my fence gate swing open toward the alley?
No. Richardson's code says a fence gate cannot swing into an alley easement. If your yard backs to an alley, which a lot of the older Richardson plats do, the gate swings inward or slides. We check that at the estimate.
Will pre-stained boards hold their color under all this shade?
Better than boards stained in place. The stain goes on and cures before the wood reaches your yard. Field staining under a canopy fights damp wood and dripping sap the whole job, and the finish rarely cures evenly. Pre-staining takes that problem out entirely. The boards will weather over time the way any outdoor wood does, but they start ahead.
My neighbor's voluntary HOA says I need approval. Do I?
Only if your HOA is mandatory. Richardson distinguishes the two, and only mandatory associations have legal authority to enforce design or maintenance standards. Most of the big established neighborhoods here, Canyon Creek, Richardson Heights, The Reservation, Greenwood Hills, are voluntary. The city publishes a registry that shows which is which.
What does board on board mean, and why does it matter for privacy?
The boards overlap instead of sitting side by side. That overlap means the gaps that open as cedar dries never become daylight through the fence. Neighbors around here call it a double sided fence because both sides look finished. For a privacy build, the overlap is the whole point. An edge-to-edge fence looks private on day one and less so every summer after.
Does the work carry a warranty?
Yes. All of our work carries a 3 year craftsmanship warranty on new fence installations. We are insured too, so a crew in your yard is covered while they are there.
Get Started Today
Walk us to your patio and we'll measure what your yard actually needs.