Yes. A fence on a slope is either racked, with each section angled to follow the ground, or stepped, with level sections that drop in stages. Racked leaves the smallest gap underneath. Most of Modesto is flat, but slopes turn up along the Tuolumne River and Dry Creek, on the river bluffs in Riverbank and Waterford, and in the rolling ground around Oakdale.
Racked or stepped: which is better?
- Racked: rails follow the slope and pickets stay plumb. Best on gentle to moderate grades and for yards with dogs.
- Stepped: each section is level and the next sits lower. Used on sharp grades and with rigid factory panels. It leaves a triangle of open space under each section.
- Built on site: boards are cut one by one to the ground line. This gives the cleanest result with wood on uneven ground.
I have a dog that digs and a yard that drops. How do I avoid gaps?
Choose a racked or site-built fence so the bottom follows the soil, then block the bottom edge. A treated kick board at ground level, a strip of wire mesh buried along the line, or a narrow concrete mow strip under the fence all stop a digger. Check the line again after the first winter, because clay settles.
My yard is steep and rocky and two companies turned the job down. Who does this?
Call us and we will look at it before giving an answer. Around here the hard jobs are less about steepness and more about what is under the surface: hardpan a foot or two down, and river cobble near the Stanislaus and Tuolumne. Those take a heavier auger, a rock bar and more time per hole. On a bluff or creek bank, posts on the low side go deeper, and we ask about setbacks from the water before building.
Do installers dig by hand or with a machine?
Both. A powered auger does most holes on open, level ground and is the practical way through hardpan. Hand digging is used next to house foundations and block walls, near marked utilities, around sprinkler and drip lines, under trees and in side yards too narrow for a machine.
We can only give a real number after seeing the fence line. The estimate is free. Call (209) 231-7679 or text us a photo of the yard.