Have you walked out to your backyard recently and noticed a distinct tilt to your once-perfect fence? It is a common frustration for property owners across Texas.
We understand how annoying it is to look at a sagging gate every single day. Extreme weather puts those outdoor boundaries to the test.
Fixing it does not have to be a massive headache.
Our professional service team fixes these exact issues across the state every single week. Sharing these simple solutions helps you know exactly what to expect.
Let’s go through this step-by-step to get your yard looking great again.
What Does Fence Repair Include?
Fence repair covers the specific parts that wear out or break before the rest of the structure fails. Pine pickets usually last just 5 to 12 years in the brutal Texas heat. Cedar boards hold up much longer, often surviving 15 to 25 years with proper care.
We see many fences around Boerne that still have plenty of life left in them. Replacing a few failed parts is often all it takes to restore your property.
Here is what we fix most often:
- Leaning and broken posts. We pull the damaged post and the old footing completely out of the ground. Proper depth in fresh concrete makes the new post incredibly sturdy.
- Rotted pickets and rails. Water pooling on 2x4 rails causes them to rot out first. We swap these sections out and secure everything using hot-dipped galvanized hardware, which prevents ugly black rust streaks down your wood.
- Storm- and wind-damaged sections. High winds can take down an entire panel overnight. We rebuild the damaged area with fresh posts, rails, and pickets carefully matched to your existing layout.
- Sagging and dragging gates. Heavy gates put constant stress on their hinges. We reset the primary hinge post, square up the frame, and install a heavy-duty anti-sag kit to keep it perfectly aligned.
- Wrought iron weld repair. Metal fences require fixing cracked welds, straightening bent pickets, and cleaning rusted joints. Our crew grinds out the rust and repaints the area to protect the joint from future corrosion.
Why Do Fence Posts Keep Leaning?
A leaning post is almost always a symptom of a hidden problem. Treating the root cause is essential before pouring new concrete. We inspect the ground carefully, because a replacement set the same incorrect way will eventually lean again.
Post rot at grade
Wood posts rot fastest right at ground level, where soil moisture and oxygen mix perfectly. The upper half of the post usually looks completely fine. Give it a solid push and it shifts, simply because the wood right below the surface has turned soft and spongy.
Even pressure-treated pine posts rated for ground contact often show significant rot at the base within 5 to 8 years in our humid climate. We solve this by setting a brand new post in a solid concrete footing. Crowning the concrete at the top ensures that rainwater runs away from the wood.
Posts set too shallow in rock
Boerne’s hard limestone means a standard post hole digger often hits solid rock just a foot down. Many original installers stopped digging right there. We frequently find that these posts never had the required 24 to 36 inches of depth needed to hold up a 6-foot structure.
A shallow post simply cannot withstand regular wear and tear. Our team brings in specialized core drilling equipment to break through that limestone. Taking the time to drill deep ensures your replacement post has the leverage to stand straight.
Wind load on solid fences
A solid privacy fence acts exactly like a giant wooden sail. Wind gusts in the Texas Hill Country can easily exceed 60 miles per hour during spring storms. We see this constant pressure gradually wiggle loose any post lacking a deep foundation.
A loosened post eventually fails completely. This specific wind stress is why storm-damaged sections often go down in a row. Once a single post snaps, it drags its connected neighbors straight to the ground.
Clay that moves
The loamy Blackland Prairie clay common in local creek terraces behaves like a sponge. This specific soil swells up to 10 percent in volume when saturated with rain and shrinks dramatically during summer droughts. We know this constant movement exerts thousands of pounds of pressure on buried wood.
Shallow posts just get pushed out of alignment over a few wet seasons. Going deeper is the absolute best defense against the shifting earth. Our preferred fix requires a deep hole and a heavy concrete footing to keep the framing perfectly plumb.
Repair or Replace? A Straight Answer
We always prefer fixing a fence rather than selling you a brand new one if a repair will genuinely hold. The general rule is simple. If a few isolated posts or panels have failed and the rest of the structure is solid, you should choose a repair.
Extensive rot reaching multiple posts and rails changes the math completely. We recommend replacement when damages affect more than 20 percent of the total fence line.
Paying for constant, small patch jobs eventually costs more than starting fresh. We will always tell you straight when replacement makes better financial sense. A new 6-foot wood privacy fence generally runs $25 to $45 per foot installed in the 2026 market. Tearing out and hauling off the old materials adds an additional $3 to $6 per linear foot.
Our guide on whether to repair or replace an old fence walks through the visual signs of failure. You can also check our detailed fence repair cost guide to see a breakdown of prices by specific job types.
To help you decide, here is a quick comparison of what to expect:
| Factor | Fence Repair | Full Replacement |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront Cost | Generally under $1,000 | $3,750 to $6,750 (150 ft of 6 ft wood) |
| Time Required | A few hours to one day | Two to four full days |
| Best For | Isolated rot, single leaning posts, minor storm damage | Widespread rot, structural failure, upgrading materials |
Gates and Iron Need Their Own Fixes
Gates take significantly more daily abuse than any other section of your yard. A walk gate that drags usually suffers from a loose hinge post or a wooden frame that has pulled entirely out of square. Tightening the existing hinges will not hold the weight for very long.
We permanently fix this by resetting the hinge post and using a heavy-duty turnbuckle kit to square the frame. Steel anti-sag cables pull the outer bottom corner up toward the top hinge to eliminate the drag.
For massive drive gates and complex electronic operators, check our driveway and automatic gates page. We handle all those specialized repairs over there.
Wrought iron refuses to rot like wood. It does crack at the factory welds and rust heavily where the protective finish has worn away. We carefully repair the broken weld, clean the surrounding rust down to bare metal, and repaint the spot.
To ensure the repair lasts, we follow three crucial steps:
- Grind to bare metal: Removing all surface rust prevents it from spreading under the new paint.
- Weld the joint: Fresh steel welds restore the structural integrity of the heavy panel.
- Apply rust-inhibiting enamel: A fresh powder coat or protective layer stops corrosion in its tracks.
If you are considering upgrading to iron for a brand new section, please review our wrought iron fences page for great options.
After a fresh repair on a classic wood fence, your new replacement boards will look much brighter than the weathered older ones. Our fence staining and sealing service blends those colors together beautifully and slows down the next round of daily wear. Reach out to our team today to schedule an inspection, and let us get your property secured and looking its absolute best.