From the Yard
Tips, guides, and material notes covering fence selection, maintenance, temporary fence planning, and jobsite questions that affect the work.
Your property doesn't care where the township line runs — but the permit office sure does. Here's how to handle a fence that crosses two municipalities without getting torn down or fined.
A Philadelphia contractor's straight-talk guide to Pennsylvania pool fence law — height minimums, gate hardware, gap rules, and what your insurance actually wants.
PA's Uniform Construction Code measures height and setbacks differently than you think — especially on a slope. Here's what homeowners need to check before designing.
A straight-talking rundown of why fence inspections get red-tagged in Pennsylvania — and the fixes you should know before the inspector shows up.
A Philly contractor's straight-talk guide to finding cheap salvaged fence wood, iron, and hardware in Pennsylvania — plus how to spot the junk before you haul it home.
Skip the 'buy in winter' advice. Here's how fence supplier inventory cycles actually work — which materials discount, when the real windows hit, and how to talk to a yard manager to get a deal.
Your new fence looks great. Then your neighbor's basement floods. Here's what most homeowners get wrong about grading, swales, and stormwater rules before they put a shovel in the ground.
A Philly contractor's straight talk on why stacking a fence on a retaining wall usually means two separate permits, an engineer's stamp, and a lot more paperwork than homeowners expect.
Utility easements let power, water, and gas companies force homeowners to tear out fences, sheds, and pergolas — often with no compensation. A Philly contractor breaks down when it's legal and how to avoid the mistake.
A Philly contractor lays out exactly what PA One Call is, when you have to call, what the paint means, and what happens if you skip it and hit a gas or electric line.
A retired Philly contractor breaks down exactly what a stop-work order on your fence job means, why it happened, and the real steps, costs, and timelines to get it lifted.
A no-nonsense homeowner's guide to fence encroachments, adverse possession, and how to sort out a boundary dispute without turning your neighborhood into a war zone.