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New cedar wood fence installed along a manicured lawn at a Fayetteville residence
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Wood Fence Installation in Austin, TX

Cedar, treated pine, board-on-board, and shadowbox wood fences built for Austin’s heat, UV, and clay soils. Locally owned, with over 20 years installing fences across the greater Austin area.

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Wood fence is the most common residential fence type in Austin, and for good reason. A well-built cedar fence frames your property, gives you privacy, keeps kids and dogs in, and weathers to a soft silver that fits the Hill Country. Thrive Landscape and Design installs cedar, Eastern Red Cedar, and pressure-treated southern pine fences across the greater Austin, TX area. We set posts in concrete, work through the caliche and limestone our soil hands us, and finish every fence with the kind of trim work that holds up to Texas heat. Standard residential builds run six feet on side and back lines, four feet in front to meet typical Austin setbacks, with options for board-on-board, side-by-side, shadowbox, and dog-ear pickets. Authoritative wood durability research from the USDA Forest Products Lab and species guidance from Texas A&M Forest Service back every material recommendation we make.

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  • 500+ Projects Completed
  • 19+ Years Experience
  • 5/5 Average Rating
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    Caps, trim, mixed materials, and one-off fence designs tailored to your Austin property.

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  • Clean modern slat fence enclosing a low-maintenance Westlake Hills yard

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  • Range of fence services shown by a slat fence above concrete steps in Westlake Hills

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    See the full range of fence styles, materials, and repair services we offer in Austin.

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Our Process

  1. Wood fence running along a property line behind a flagstone patio in Fayetteville

    Survey & Layout

    We walk the property line with you, mark gate placements, and check height restrictions against your HOA and local setback rules. Where survey pins are unclear, we coordinate locator services. The City of Austin Development Services is our reference for any permit or right-of-way questions. You get a marked layout and an itemized quote before any post hole is dug.

  2. Post Set

    Posts are the failure point on most Austin fences, so this step matters most. We dig 24 to 30 inches deep, drill through caliche or limestone where needed, set 4x4 cedar, treated, or galvanized steel posts in concrete footings, and plumb every post twice. Steel posts are our recommendation for clay-heavy lots, especially in areas with seasonal soil movement.

    Steel posts carrying a cedar slat fence set above concrete steps in Westlake Hills
  3. Cedar pickets installed in a horizontal slat pattern on a new Westlake Hills fence

    Picket Install

    Rails go up first, then pickets in your chosen style: board-on-board, side-by-side, shadowbox, or dog-ear. We use ring-shank or coated screws to hold pickets through years of expansion and contraction. Pickets are spaced and trimmed to a consistent height, with gates squared and hung on heavy-duty hardware rated for daily use.

  4. Trim & Seal

    Top caps, kick boards, and trim go on last for a finished look that also protects end grain. We haul off all debris and walk the fence line with you. If you choose our stain and seal upgrade, we return inside the six-month window to apply a penetrating, UV-rated sealer so your fence holds color and resists cupping for years to come.

    Finished cedar fence with a clean cap line along a Fayetteville lawn
Wood fence running along a Fayetteville yard
Wood fence behind a flagstone patio and fountain on a Fayetteville property
Common Issues

Signs Your Wood Fence Needs Replacing

When Repair Stops Making Sense

Austin’s heat and clay soils are hard on wood fences. If you are seeing more than one of these issues across long runs of fence, replacement usually costs less than chasing repairs.

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  • Once posts work loose in our clay, the whole run starts to lean. If multiple posts are wobbly, replacement with steel posts is the long-term fix.

  • Unsealed pickets cup and split under Texas UV. Scattered bad boards can be swapped, but widespread warping means the wood is at the end of its service life.

  • Soft, dark wood near the ground line is rot. Once it spreads to rails and posts, the structure cannot hold pickets reliably, and patches keep failing.

Cedar slat fence framing a Westlake Hills home
Detail of a cedar horizontal-slat fence in Westlake Hills

Why Choose Thrive Landscape and Design?

  • Built For Austin Soils

    We set posts deep, drill through caliche and limestone, and offer galvanized steel post systems so your fence stays plumb in our clay-heavy ground.

  • Cedar & Treated Options

    Western Red Cedar, locally grown Eastern Red Cedar, or pressure-treated southern pine. We walk you through cost, life span, and look so you choose with eyes open.

  • Style Options That Last

    Board-on-board, side-by-side, shadowbox, and dog-ear pickets, plus caps, kick boards, and trim for an upgraded look that hides hardware and protects end grain.

  • Stain & Seal Inside 6 Months

    We offer a UV-rated stain and seal service inside the six-month window after install, which is when sealing pays the most dividends in fence life.

Our Service Areas

Austin’s Go-To For Wood Fence Installation

We install cedar, treated, and custom wood fences across Austin and the surrounding Hill Country, with full attention to local soil, setback, and HOA requirements.

  • Lakeway
  • Driftwood
  • Westlake Hills
  • Round Rock
  • Lake Point
  • Bee Cave
  • Shoal Creek
  • River Place
  • Cedar Park
  • Steiner Ranch
  • Pflugerville
  • & more
Our Portfolio

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Cedar, treated pine, board-on-board, shadowbox, and custom wood fence projects from across the greater Austin, TX area. Two decades of fences that hold up to Hill Country sun and clay.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

  • A properly built Western Red Cedar fence in Austin lasts about 15 to 20 years with regular maintenance. Eastern Red Cedar runs similar. Pressure-treated southern pine usually lasts 10 to 12 years before pickets warp or rot. The single biggest factor is the posts. Galvanized steel posts outlast wood posts in our clay soils, and sealing the fence within six months of install adds years to its life.

  • Cedar looks better, resists rot naturally, repels insects, and ages to a soft gray if left untreated. Pressure-treated southern pine costs less up front but tends to warp and twist in Austin heat, and the green tint takes a year or more to fade. For most Austin homeowners, Western Red Cedar is the better long-term value. If budget is tight, treated pine pickets on steel posts is a solid compromise.

  • Posts are the failure point on Austin fences. Our clay soils swell and shrink with rain and drought, which works wood posts loose over time. Galvanized steel posts shrugged off in a sleeve under the picket line stay tight for the life of the fence, often 25 plus years. Wood posts are cheaper and look traditional, but plan on replacing them before the pickets. We offer both and explain the tradeoffs during your quote.

  • Side-by-side pickets butt up next to each other for a clean, economical privacy fence. Board-on-board overlaps pickets across the rails, hiding any gaps that open up when the wood dries and shrinks. Board-on-board uses more material and costs more, but it stays private year after year. Shadowbox alternates pickets on each side of the rails and looks the same from both sides, which is great for shared fence lines.

  • Yes. We offer stain and seal as an add-on, and we strongly recommend doing it within six months of install. Texas UV is brutal on bare cedar. Sealing locks in the color, slows cupping, and pushes the life of the fence years longer. We use penetrating oil-based stains rated for high UV exposure.

  • Standard residential post holes go 24 to 30 inches deep, with concrete footings flared at the base. Where we hit caliche or limestone, we use a rock auger or jackhammer to break through enough material to seat the post and lock it with concrete. Skipping that step is why so many Austin fences lean within a few years. We do not shortcut post-setting in rock.

  • Some movement is normal. Wood is a living material and Austin summers are punishing. Cedar moves less than pine, and a sealed fence moves less than an unsealed one. We use kiln-dried pickets where possible and stagger fasteners to keep boards flat. The biggest defense against warping and cupping is sealing the fence within the first six months of installation.

  • Call us at (512) 503-1935 or fill out the contact form on this page. We schedule free on-site quotes within one business day. You will get an itemized estimate that covers picket species, post type, height, gate count, and stain options, with no pressure to decide on the spot.

Let’s Build Your New Wood Fence

Cedar, treated pine, board-on-board, or custom — we install wood fences across Austin that are squared, sealed, and built to last. Call (512) 503-1935 or request a free on-site quote.

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