I plan to add a fence to my backyard, and am thinking to go to Home
Depot to get them to install the fence as well as purchasing the fence
from there.

If I get Home Depot to install the fence, are the installer or
contractor?
What values does a fence contractor add to the work?

Normally how do people go about adding a fence to their backyard? I
had already contacted the town to get a permit, but how do I find (or
decide on) a contractor and where to buy the fence.

Thanks

"anna" wrote in message
om...
I plan to add a fence to my backyard, and am thinking to go to Home
Depot to get them to install the fence as well as purchasing the fence
from there.

If I get Home Depot to install the fence, are the installer or
contractor?
What values does a fence contractor add to the work?

Normally how do people go about adding a fence to their backyard? I
had already contacted the town to get a permit, but how do I find (or
decide on) a contractor and where to buy the fence.

Thanks

Unless you have issues like needing a retaining wall as well as a fence,
anyone who sells and installs fencing can do the job - no special
"contractor " skills required. If you are the slightest bit handy, have
basic carpentry skills and have the proper equipment, it's a job you can do
yourself with a spouse or friend

If you like the fencing styles offered by HD and the price is right, no
reason not to use their services. If you want something a bit more creative,
you might want to look in your yellow pages for fencing companies that do
custom work.

Be sure you know where your property line is located before installation -
if any question, get a survey or the placement could come back to haunt you
down the road.

pam - gardengal

In article Yq0_c.21852$3l3.20185@attbi_s03, "Pam - gardengal"
wrote:

"anna" wrote in message
om...
I plan to add a fence to my backyard, and am thinking to go to Home
Depot to get them to install the fence as well as purchasing the fence
from there.

If I get Home Depot to install the fence, are the installer or
contractor?
What values does a fence contractor add to the work?

Normally how do people go about adding a fence to their backyard? I
had already contacted the town to get a permit, but how do I find (or
decide on) a contractor and where to buy the fence.

Thanks

Unless you have issues like needing a retaining wall as well as a fence,
anyone who sells and installs fencing can do the job - no special
"contractor " skills required. If you are the slightest bit handy, have
basic carpentry skills and have the proper equipment, it's a job you can do
yourself with a spouse or friend

If you like the fencing styles offered by HD and the price is right, no
reason not to use their services. If you want something a bit more creative,
you might want to look in your yellow pages for fencing companies that do
custom work.

Be sure you know where your property line is located before installation -
if any question, get a survey or the placement could come back to haunt you
down the road.

pam - gardengal

I have a suspicion an independent company would install more affordably.
For window installation at least, we once had Home Depot come out & make
their sales-pitch & estimate for a single window. It was pricy, but
believing HD was cheap we just might've gone with it if the windows hadn't
been such clunky pieces of shit. So we went to an independent contractor &
got a better choice of windows & to our lucky suprise the installation was
less than half HD's estimate. I don't know if all HD installation work is
so wildly overpriced, as this was the only time I got an estimate from
them, but it taught me never to ask them again.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com

On 3 Sep 2004 08:30:54 -0700, (anna) wrote:

I plan to add a fence to my backyard, and am thinking to go to Home
Depot to get them to install the fence as well as purchasing the fence
from there.

If I get Home Depot to install the fence, are the installer or
contractor?
What values does a fence contractor add to the work?

Normally how do people go about adding a fence to their backyard? I
had already contacted the town to get a permit, but how do I find (or
decide on) a contractor and where to buy the fence.

Thanks

Ask around. Have 4 or 5 contractors provide you with estimates. It
is better to get local contractors that are familiar with your local
codes and laws. Ask about time frames, dates, cost, clean up,
guarantee, references, insurance, bonding, etc. Home Depot will
subcontact the job out. (For a wooden fence, I'd make the fence and
install it myself.)

"anna" wrote in message
om...
I plan to add a fence to my backyard, and am thinking to go to Home
Depot to get them to install the fence as well as purchasing the fence
from there.

If I get Home Depot to install the fence, are the installer or
contractor?
What values does a fence contractor add to the work?

Normally how do people go about adding a fence to their backyard? I
had already contacted the town to get a permit, but how do I find (or
decide on) a contractor and where to buy the fence.

Thanks

I would definitely get three bids. You might find that HD is not the
cheapest, the fastest, the best, or has the best terms. Also, there are
some issues to consider when you have places like HD install things like
fences. My mother had a kitchen install by Lowe's. They subcontract things
to independent contractors. They might have several on a list and THEY
choose who will do the job. You will probably have to pay HD IN FULL before
the job starts. If you have a problem like my mother did with her kitchen,
you are pretty much shit out of luck. The contractor is working for HD, not
you. You paid IN FULL prior to the start of the job. There is very little
leverage you can use to get problems resolved. If you do decide to have HD
install the fence, make sure you pay by credit card. That will give you a
little more leverage as you can contest the transaction under the term of
your credit card agreement.

If you hire a contractor, they will be working directly for YOU. You get to
pick who does the work. You can arrange to pay part of the fee in advance
and the balance on satisfactory completion of the job. If there is a
problem, the contactor will be more inclined to fix it if you haven't yet
made the final payment. It is more likely that your fence will get
installed in a timely manner if the contractor is waiting on his check.
Otherwise, he/she could start it and then spend a few hours here and there
on the job, juggling dozens of jobs simultaneously - after all, you already
paid. What should be a two day project could stretch into several weeks.
If you think I'm kidding, I'm not. I had a contractor take six weeks to
satisfactorily complete a paint job on my great room!

Installing a fence isn't rocket science, but it does take some basic skills.
You might be able to do it yourself with a friend, but if you have never
done any home improvment project that require use of power tools, I wouldn't
recommend that you start with the installation of a fence. If you want to
get an idea of what's involved, go to the library or buy a book on the
subject. You can find such books for a few dollars on the rack at HD.

anna wrote:
I plan to add a fence to my backyard, and am thinking to go to Home
Depot to get them to install the fence as well as purchasing the fence
from there.

If I get Home Depot to install the fence, are the installer or
contractor?
What values does a fence contractor add to the work?

Normally how do people go about adding a fence to their backyard? I
had already contacted the town to get a permit, but how do I find (or
decide on) a contractor and where to buy the fence.


You certainly can build your own fence, but if you have to ask, it makes
me wonder if you know what's involved. It's not as simple as propping-up
some panels, and nailing them together. How tall is the fence? How deep
is the frost line in your area? Do you know how deep you need to bury
the posts? Are you prepared to dig those holes? Is there any slope to
the land between the ends of the fence? Do you know how to handle that?
Do you even know how to spot it? Six inches over sixty feet isn't always
obvious if it's a straight slope, but it can be a major issue when you
install a fence.

Get some estimates from some contractors. Ask them questions about how
they intend to do the work, and what obstacles they see. Besides getting
prices, that'll also give you some insight into what it'll take for you
to do the job yourself.

--
Warren H.

==========
Disclaimer: My views reflect those of myself, and not my
employer, my friends, nor (as she often tells me) my wife.
Any resemblance to the views of anybody living or dead is
coincidental. No animals were hurt in the writing of this
response -- unless you count my dog who desperately wants
to go outside now.
Blatant Plug: Books for your Northwest garden:
http://www.holzemville.com/mall/nwgarden/index.html

find a neighbor with a great looking fence like one you would like and ask them who
did it, would they recommend them.
I have angie's list in my neck of the woods to find highly recommended companies for
work. I have been happy with who I found so far. http://www.angieslist.com/
Ingrid


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List
http://puregold.aquaria.net/
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unfortunately, I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for any of the
endorsements or recommendations I make.

"Warren" wrote in message
news:Or2_c.365506$%_6.1574@attbi_s01...
anna wrote:
I plan to add a fence to my backyard, and am thinking to go to Home
Depot to get them to install the fence as well as purchasing the fence
from there.

If I get Home Depot to install the fence, are the installer or
contractor?
What values does a fence contractor add to the work?

Normally how do people go about adding a fence to their backyard? I
had already contacted the town to get a permit, but how do I find (or
decide on) a contractor and where to buy the fence.

You certainly can build your own fence, but if you have to ask, it makes
me wonder if you know what's involved. It's not as simple as propping-up
some panels, and nailing them together. How tall is the fence? How deep
is the frost line in your area? Do you know how deep you need to bury
the posts? Are you prepared to dig those holes? ..
...
--
Warren H.

If there are underground utilities, you may also want to get the locations
blue-staked. Olin

Thank you for the response

It helps to know that it is okay to get HD to do the installation, I
had concerns when a friend mentioned a contractor.
As pointed out, I obviously had no idea on how to
set up a fence. I have no plan to do it myself.
Thank you for the suggestions, I will check with a few contractors to
get some insight of the work and hopefully get a better approach.

anna


(anna) wrote in message . com...
I plan to add a fence to my backyard, and am thinking to go to Home
Depot to get them to install the fence as well as purchasing the fence
from there.

If I get Home Depot to install the fence, are the installer or
contractor?
What values does a fence contractor add to the work?

Normally how do people go about adding a fence to their backyard? I
had already contacted the town to get a permit, but how do I find (or
decide on) a contractor and where to buy the fence.

Thanks