Yes. On uneven ground the fence is either racked, so the rails follow the slope, or stepped, so level panels drop in stages. Most Lincoln Park lots are flat, but yards near Ecorse Creek, along the river in Wyandotte and Trenton, and beside drainage swales still have dips that need one or the other.
Racked or stepped: which is better?
- Racked: the rails run with the ground and the boards stay upright. The gap underneath stays small, which makes it the choice for dogs and gentle grades.
- Stepped: each panel sits level and the next one drops. It suits steeper ground and rigid panels, but leaves a wedge-shaped gap under each step.
- Built in place: each board is cut to the ground line. It takes more labor and gives the tightest fit in wood.
I have a dog that digs and a yard that drops. How do I avoid gaps?
Rack the fence or build it in place so it follows the ground, then seal the bottom. A treated board along the base, boards trimmed to the grade, or wire mesh buried along the line will each stop a digger. On chain link, a tension wire or bottom rail keeps the fabric from being pushed out. Lincoln Park suggests keeping wood about 3 inches off the ground, so mesh or a separate base board is the better way to close that gap on a wood fence.
My yard is steep and rocky and two companies turned the job down. Who does this?
Call us and we will look before we say yes or no. Downriver, the hard digging is almost never natural rock. It is heavy clay, thick tree roots or concrete and brick left from an old garage, a driveway or a house that was torn down. We break those out or shift the post a little along the line. It is slower work, so we price it after seeing it.
Do installers dig by hand or with a machine?
Both. A power auger is fast in open ground. We dig by hand near marked utility lines, next to foundations and garage walls, around roots and in the narrow gaps between Lincoln Park houses where a machine cannot fit.
The only real price is one measured on your lot. Call (313) 723-2710 for a free on-site estimate, or text a photo of the fence line to the same number.