These are ten rights I honor for all my clients. It might seem like overkill but this is how I ensure that the right job gets done for a fair price. It isn’t always the job I thought was needed when I made an estimate. Conditions change. Finances change. Aesthetics change. And, sometimes, people change their mind about some aspect of a project after they see what it will look like. That is pretty normal because most people don’t have a clear idea of fine details about fence and gate projects.

Therefore I must be nimble in my business. It must be easy to change gears and I have to be certain to hear when my client speaks about changes, concerns or problems. I have to be able to hear it and respond with a plan to provide what they prefer. Sometimes it means stopping a project and making an estimate for a different project, but usually that isn’t necessary. What is necessary is to make the right thing for the lowest cost. Nobody cares how economical it was to make the wrong thing. Only making the right thing for a client fulfills my end of the value proposition that ultimately yields payment for my service of making fences.

The ability to reliably adapt to a client’s changing needs is essential to success

My Client’s Bill of Rights

1. You have a right to a detailed estimate and a list of assumptions underlying that estimate
2. You have a right to a detailed invoice that explains how every penny was spent
3. You have a right to ask what I’m doing and why at any point in the project. I always have time for your questions except when the concrete is wet.
4. You have a right to my best work. If I’m too tired to work hard my day is over.
5. You have the right to change your mind. It isn’t always free of cost and adding new work may require a change of schedule, but I will always shift to do what you want if it is work I normally do.
6. You have a right to contiguous execution of your project. I won’t leave your project to work on another until yours is done unless it has changed scope significantly.
7. You have the right to cancel a project whether it has begun or not; however, if it has begun you are still responsible for payment for materials already purchased and labor already completed.
8. You never have to pay money if no useful work was done.
9. You have a right to a daily status report that includes details about what was done, how much money was spent, how many hours of labor were spent, and details about any problems, concerns, questions or issues that have come up.
10. If we talk and make any changes to the definition of the project I will always write those changes in a status report so they are in writing.

I Love Building

I’m here to do an excellent job, start to finish. I do all the work myself. I’ve learned from every mistake I’ve ever made and I don’t make those mistakes anymore. I have over 50 years of woodworking experience. I teach woodworking classes at Ace Makerspace in Oakland. I was an expert woodworker before I ever made a fence. Furniture requires an accuracy of 1/64” of an inch. Fences require an accuracy of 1/16”, for example where a lateral 2x4 meets a 4x4. But, I am usually much more accurate than that because I use extraordinary tools, such as my cordless Milwaukee 12” Double-bevel sliding compound miter saw which can cut a miter 60º in one direction and 55º in the other, and can cut a 2x12 at a 45º angle. I run a 100 tooth blade on it for glass smooth cuts. When I make fences on hills I cut boards to an accuracy of about 0.1º. Redwood lasts for many years unless it touches soil. A good job is a joy for a very long time.

Fence Services

Fences aren’t that complicated so it is possible to get very good at a small collection of techniques. That is part of why I focus on fences, gates and pergolas, and those made only from construction heart redwood. Others include that fences and gates don’t require permits as long as you stay within city guidelines, and that almost every house has a fence. They only last so long, say 50 years. That means each year 1 out of 50 houses will need fence work.

There aren’t a lot of people who do this kind of work, but there are plenty of companies that do. The larger the project the more likely a big company will end up costing you less. I can’t be sure but around 200 feet I think a fence company will be a better deal and that will get the work done in about a week. It would take me at least a month to build that much fence and possibly more depending on how hard it is to get the posts ready for a fence. I routinely tell people who want very large fences that I’m not going to be able to compete on price with a big fence company for big fences.

But, big fence companies won’t come out and build just a gate for you. Or repair your fence by replacing a few posts, giving it years more life. A big fence company will not reuse post bases to minimize the carbon footprint of the project without increasing the cost of the project. I will.

A handyman can do all the same kinds of work that I can do; however, it probably won’t be done as well. It takes the right tools and techniques to build a straight and vertical fence. Building a gate that will work for a lifetime is subtle, right down to the angle, position and pre-drilling for all the screws. I use the right kind of wood and the right kind of fasteners and the right kind of concrete when it must be used. The wrong kinds lead to failure later on.

Fence companies and handymen also don’t adhere to my client bill of rights. I do.