MW Fence Co makes every effort to be transparent in order to prepare you for what can occur before, during, and after your project is complete. We want you to have realistic expectations for your project so your experience will be exceptional from start to finish! We break down our 13-step process for our clients to clearly see what stage the project is in and what to expect next. MW Fence strives to provide constant communication with the homeowner throughout the entire process. Read more detailed information about what’s in our 13-step process here!

Lead Time Transparency

Down Payment

At MW Fence Co, the first factor that influences our installation schedule is the date we receive your down payment. We schedule installations first according to the order in which a down payment is received, and second according to when materials are delivered. When we first meet our customers at the free site assessment, we typically provide an educated GUESS on a potential start date. This timeframe can vary drastically between the time of your site assessment and receipt of your down payment. We typically have about 20 quotes pending approval at any given time, so if all of those quotes in the queue at the time of your site assessment were converted to sales prior to receiving YOUR down payment, there would then be 20 more new jobs ahead of yours! At a bare minimum, we tend to be at least 30 days out on installations.

Material Availability

The second factor affecting planned lead time is material delivery. We keep a lot of wood and chain link fence materials on hand, as those are our biggest movers. But we typically don’t keep vinyl, aluminum, or steel fencing in stock. Lead times for these materials vary, but typically they are about 30 days from order unless it’s a specialty item.

Staffing

A third factor affecting our schedule is staffing. It seems these days everyone is more prone to illness than in years past. We have four installation crews that work hard to stay on schedule, but illness takes over at times and can delay projects.

How Does Weather Affect My Project?

Weather delays

Weather is ALWAYS a factor here in Tornado Alley in the Midwest. There are frequent rain and snow delays throughout the year which push our schedule out. And frequently the wet weather affects many yards even AFTER the weather has passed. If your yard tends to get soft or spongy, or if you’ve got a freshly seeded or sodded yard, it will be too soft for us to work for many days after the weather has come and gone.

How Does Fence Installation Impact My Yard?

This is a yard by yard variable determined by your input and our experience. We want to leave as little of a footprint on your turf as possible during the installation process!

Yard Impact

When we start construction of your fence project, your yard will literally become a construction zone. It is imperative that you understand there will be wear and tear on your yard from the back and forth traffic of the installation crew and their equipment.

If the weather has been rainy and your yard is soggy, we or you may decide not to work on your project until it dries up a bit. We strive to minimize damage to the project area, but there will likely be some depressions in the yard that you can take care of with some garden soil.

If it’s been dry and hot, your grass will be “depressed” and the wear and tear will be more surface oriented. The grass will grow back and fill in, it will just need to be watered well for several weeks. If we’ve created more damage than this normal construction “wear and tear”, we will attempt to repair it to your satisfaction.

Other Potential issues

Property boundaries are probably the most important thing to consider when determining where your fence will go. MW Fence Co highly recommends having your property surveyed in order to identify your property boundaries. MW Fence Co. IS NOT physically or financially responsible for relocating a fence after installing it in an improper location as directed by a customer. The cost of any re-work as a result of these issues is the sole responsibility of the homeowner.

Neighboring fences present challenges at times, as there can be conflicting views of who owns a shared fence. Disputes sometimes do occur. This needs to be completely understood prior to any work being performed in order to avoid potential issues. It is very costly to remove and relocate a fence. Again, MW Fence IS NOT physically or financially responsible for resolving these issues. The cost of any re-work as a result of these issues is the sole responsibility of the homeowner. We highly recommend discussing the installation of your new fence with your neighbor’s prior to planning, especially when there are SHARED fences being removed.

Private underground lines never seem to be completely understood. They are typically buried lines that a public utility is not responsible for maintaining. Thus, they pose the greatest risk of damage and can be costly to repair. MW Fence Co will try to help you determine if there might be private lines buried in your yard, and what type they are, but assumes no liability for providing an exhaustive list of what is buried in your yard. You will be responsible for identifying and marking anything buried in your yard, especially if it is in the path of the fence. MW Fence Co IS NOT physically or financially responsible for damaging any unmarked private underground lines in the project area. The cost of resolving these issues is the sole responsibility of the homeowner. If you can’t or don’t want the hassle of trying to get these identified and marked, we offer Excavation Insurance to help mitigate the cost of potential repairs. More details for the insurance are available during and after the site assessment. Private lines are typically as follows:

- - Water and sewer lines from the house to the city main lines. The city only marks the main lines, they will not mark the lines from the house to where they connect to the main.

- - Irrigation lines are never marked by public utilities, they are a completely private line. You can usually get your irrigation vendor to mark these, or at least some of them.

- - Electric lines are always marked, but only to the meter base on your property. Any lines buried from the meter base to the house, or to other buildings on the property will not be marked.

- - Natural Gas lines also are always marked, with the exception of Propane tank lines, but again only to the meter, which is usually beside the house. Any lines from the meter to points of use will not be marked.

- - Propane Tanks and their distribution lines are NEVER MARKED!

- - Septic System tanks and lines are NEVER MARKED!

City codes, right of ways, easements – When we apply for your permit, there are times when the city will question the layout, or mandate a change. It doesn’t happen often because we are well versed in what each city requires per their respective fence codes. In which case, we will reach back out to you immediately to discuss options, and or refer you to the city inspector. Much of these are outlined in detail on a survey if you have one.

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