Please note: this page contains reviews and opinions sent in by Berkeley Parents Net subscribers. Your own experience may be different. Please always check references before hiring!

Recommendations for fence builders

I need a portion of my fence replaced. Can someone recommend someone they've had a good experience with in the past. Thanks, leslie

Frank is not a licensed contractor, he is more of a craftsman. I think he trades a lot on his personality (he is very charming). He really wanted to do the job without a permit, even though it was a large deck on the front of a house (and there are contractors who live in the neighborhood). He never wrote up an agreement, even though I asked for one several times. Fortunately, I documented all of our conversations and transactions -- after each conversation, I would send him an email outlining what I thought we had agreed to.

I subsequently hired someone else (also not a contractor, Andres Jara) who did a great job. I managed the permitting process myself. Given all the problems that Frank had, I was expecting a complete nightmare, but I was surprised to find how completely straightforward it was and I never had any problems. The project was finished about 3 months after it started and was done at the same price as Frank had bid.

This was the first time I hired anyone to do anything on the house, and I learned a lot in the process. DO NOT pay more up front than you should (I think this is 10% of the job or $2K, whichever is less). GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING. Work with the city (of Oakland) yourself, they would rather deal with a homeowner than a someone who is not a contractor. Follow through matters more than personality. Trust your gut -- when someone stops returning calls, do something. Merrilee

We'd like to a replace our current gate and enclose our front yard with a new fence. We're in Oakland and would like to hear from the BPN community who's reputable and who to stay away from. Thanks! marie

Our neighbors and I are in search of a someone (or company) to fix our mutual fence that's on somewhat ''shaky ground'' since that big storm in January and is barely standing. It would entail clearing out a ton of ivy that surrounds and lives on the fence, and building up a new fence. If anyone has any recommendations for someone reliable and reasonably priced, can you let me know? We're in San Rafael. Thank you!! Molly

Can anyone recommend an honest, knowledgable, skilled, professional, and punctual (in terms of time) fence and gate builder? Part of our back yard fence collasped during a new year eve storm, plus our three gates already have fallen appart before that. We also have little creek running by our property. We got soon-to-be toddlers at home, and we want to put up a fence so that they will not fall off to the creek.

We would like to have a simple in design, yet very sturdy 6 feet fence with good quality wood all around our back yard (applox. 100 feet or so), and three gates to replace our current ones. Our back yard is sloped, so we would like to make sure that the person is skilled to work with a sloped property.

What I do not like to have is a cheap fence which is ready to collapse again within 5 to 10 years.

I looked at UCB parent network recommendation, but it seems that the recommendation is either limited to only a few builders. I have called several of them, but only one person had returned my call. I need more recommendation. Thank you. mika

Just wanted to say that we just worked with Joe Sampietro of Gate Designs and we had a great experience. He came up with an attractive design for three gates and a small side fence that covered our driveway. He was easy to work with and flexible. We have received many compliments about the design and workmanship of the gates. He can be contacted at joesampietro[at]yahoo.com. LS

We wanted a unique fence that would compliment and add charm to our house while giving a ''pop'' to the curb appeal. We hired Joe Sampietro from Gate Designs who specializes in craftsman style gates, fences and doors. His work is exceptional and his attention to detail unsurpassed. Joe skillfully analyzed our home to determine the best choices for type, style and height of the fence and gates. Joe also incorporated our ideas so we definitely felt like the process was collaborative. The detailed work resulted in the fence taking longer to build than a typical fence, but we are more than happy with the results and the numerous compliments we get from neighbors is telling. If you're looking to add a unique new fence or gate to your home then I recommend Joe. Joe Sampietro - 510-526-1771 or joesampietro[at]yahoo.com. Kristin

We recently had about 100 feet of 6' deer fence built on our property. I met with several fence builders who seemed affable and experienced, but ultimately chose Jose Curiel. Recommended on BPN, Jose was punctual, flexible, and generous with his time and suggestions. We are so pleased with the job. His number (510)821-4270. Cheers Hilary

I can highly recommend Matthew Whalley for fence work. He has done several projects for me and I have referred to my family and friends and everyone has been very happy with his work. He is professional and reliable and does a great job. His number is: 925.366.6199 s.maher

For those looking for fences, decks and general handyman recommendations, I recommend DD's Fences and Decks. Don works by himself, so smaller jobs are his specialty. He does beautiful work, and is very reasonably priced. He can be reached at (510)207-2087. kiki

For the person looking for gate and/or fence builders, I'd like to recommend Joe Sampietro of Gate Designs for distinctive gates and fences. Specializing in reclaimed old-growth redwood and cedar, he'll work with you, the landscape, and your home's architecture to create elegant entryways and borders. You can phone or email him for a free consultation at your home or business and he has digital photos and references available on request. joesampietro[at]yahoo.com (510) 526-1771
Dianne

Hired Kennedy (lic 029820) of Paradise Landscape, for a small but very easy fence and gate install and found him to be unreliable. He was referred by ______. Kennedy's work was sloppy (crooked fence boards), which he promised to correct but never did. Once he got paid, left the gate unfinished and did not return (repeated) calls. Besides, his work on the gate was so flimsy that it had to be completely taken out. Ultimately, we had to hire someone else to finish the gate and do it right. Anon

My landscaper, Jose Curiel, just redid a fence in our backyard to match an exiting fence. He is not a licensed contractor, but I am much happier with the fence he built than with the other fence done by ________. Jose listens well and was on the job the whole time so that the fence turned out the way we discussed it. With the other company there was poor communication between Mr. Beckworth and the crew and I had to pay extra money to have them redo things that looked quite poorly and were not well thought out. Jose's number is 510-821-4270. Feel free to contact me with questions. Judy

After interviewing MANY people we chose Peter Keenan from Alameda to build our fence, gate and small garden deck. He mainly works in Alameda, Berkeley and Oakland, but came out to Orinda to do the job for me.

Peter is straight forward, no BS, no exorbitant prices (he buys his lumber wholesale), he completed a computer drawing of the fence and gate he was going to build for me and he completed the job on time. My children and I enjoyed having him around, and he allowed my boys to "help" him (at the end of the day he gave them a $1 for "working hard"!).

I believe I got the recommendation from this network!

K&S Fences, Peter Keenan (510) 865-1100
maya

Someone asked for a recommendation regarding a fence. I've never posted before, and I usually read recommendations with skeptism because I assume they're posted by friends or family. But I just had a really great experience with a fence guy, and someone asked for a recommendation, so here it is. FYI, I have no connection to him other than the fact that we hired him to do the work. We had a fence that needed partial repair and partial rebuild. I tried to get a number of bids, but most people wouldn't show up or said the job was too small. Peter from K&S fencing not only showed up, he gave me a timely bid, did great work, and was wonderful to work with. He's at 510-865-1100. I didn't check his references before I hired him, but I'm happy to be a reference for him. I highly recommend him. Rebecca

We just had our fence repaired by a really great guy. He was dependable, honest, reliable, relatively inexpensive, and did a very good job. He returned my phone calls and gave me a fair estimate in a reasonable time. His name is Tom; phone number: 601-5576. Toby

Hi, David Ward at Sticks-n-Stones is really good. His number is 658-5863. anon

I highly recommend Matthew Whalley (925) 366-6199 for deck, gate and fence work. He built a sturdy and beautiful picket fence, a backyard fence, awning, and a 6 Ft gate. His estimate was the lowest and reasonable. My deck architect was highly impressed with the quality of his work. He was efficient, punctual, great to work with, and cleaned up. Contrary to a previously posted messsage, he happily painted the picket fence and the awning, stained the back fence and did a superb job. His workmanship, rate and attitude are out of this world. I recommend him highly.

Does anyone have experience with JV Fence? Also, any recommendations for deck cleaning and refinishing? Terri

We're hoping to get a recommendation for a good company or person to put in a wooden fence for our front yard and do some other misc construction work, both indoors and out. Any good people/companies out there? - rsladekn

In reponse to the postings re: deck builder/contractor Bill Roberts, the phone number is 510 841-8830. If it is busy in the evening, the teenage daughter is probably on-line. Best to leave a message during the day. Although he prefers to use the phone, e-mail messages can also be sent to me & I will give them to him: randice at uclink4.berkeley.edu (He will respond by telephone, so be sure to leave a phone number.) Randice

Matthew Whalley, whose name we got from this list, did a good job on our white picket fence for a reasonable price (925-366-6199). He painted the fence a bit unwillingly and the paint job was poor, but the fence structure and gate were fine.

Two snags: He's not super cheap (but waaay cheaper than some other bids we got!), and he can be a little hard to get moving. His passion appears to be building fences, not business. Having seen several examples of his work around North Berkeley, we were confident all along that the fence would be great and that it would get finished. I happen to know that business is slow for him right now (like the rest of us) so now would be a good time to talk. He has pictures of our fence in his portfolio, but if you'd like to see it in the flesh, as it were, drop me an email message (johnt at acm.org) and I'll give you the address.

Regarding permits: We did NOT need a permit. AFAIK, only fences taller than six feet need a permit. Beware of arbors or pagodas or the like: Berkeley (for weird historical reasons) discourages them, imposing a stiff permit fee. The folks at the one-stop permit office are very helpful, so best to check the facts with them. They are very good about cutting through red tape and will give you straight answers on the spot. Good luck! --John

Soundproof fence?

We are in need of a fence to be put up ASAP. Any suggestions? We got one quote for a straight line of fence 45 feet long for $5,500. I just can't believe that is the going rate, I mean, it was a quote for a fence 6 feet high with an additional trellis on top, but can it really be so expensive? We need it to block out sound of unattended children in neighboring daycare and the director of said day care who is violent and verbally abusive. Having baby in August-Help! good fence, good neighbor