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Wellborn Fence Installation: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
Wellborn fence installation in Fort Lauderdale typically runs between $3,500 and $9,000 for a complete install, depending on linear footage, gate hardware, and whether post footings need concrete work in our sandy coastal soil. We stock the hardware, rails, and post caps needed for most Wellborn configurations and can usually start within a week of the estimate. Most owners discover a problem the same way: a gate starts dragging against the latch, a post leans after a hard rain, or a section of rail pulls free at the bracket because the salt air finally got to the fasteners.
Fort Lauderdale is hard on fences. Between the humidity, the afternoon thunderstorms, and the salt breeze off the Atlantic, a fence that would last 20 years in Orlando might start showing real fatigue in 12 down here. That’s not a knock on Wellborn, their millwork is solid. It’s just the reality of building anything outdoors in this climate, and it’s why we approach Wellborn fence installation a little differently than a crew that mostly works inland.
Which Wellborn Models This Applies To
If your fence carries the Wellborn name, you’re working with a company better known for cabinetry than exterior fencing, which means their fence line is a smaller run and parts aren’t sitting on every shelf in Broward County. We handle the full Wellborn fence range: the classic dog-ear privacy panels, the board-on-board shadowbox design, and the spaced picket style. The post dimensions are the tell. Wellborn uses 4×4 posts on their standard 6-foot privacy runs and steps up to 6×6 on any gate opening wider than 48 inches. If you’re unsure what you have, check the inside face of a picket near a corner for a burned-in stamp. Wellborn stamps the batch number and mill date on the backside of one picket per panel, usually the third picket in from the left.
One compatibility gotcha we see a lot in Fort Lauderdale: Wellborn’s aluminum post caps and rail brackets are sized for their exact lumber dimensions, not the nominal sizes at the big box stores. A “4×4” from a home center measures 3.5 inches, which is fine, but Wellborn’s corner brackets assume a full 3.75-inch true mill cut. Off-the-shelf brackets leave a gap that lets water sit against the post and start rot from the top down. That’s the kind of thing that looks fine for two years and then costs you a post replacement. When we install, we either source the matching Wellborn hardware or shim and seal the connection so water never pools. For OEM versus aftermarket, we’re honest: Wellborn’s aluminum inserts and hinges are worth paying for because they’re powder-coated for coastal use. For the wood itself, a quality pressure-treated Southern yellow pine from a local Fort Lauderdale lumber yard is every bit as good as what left Wellborn’s mill, often better after our supplier re-treats the cut ends.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Wellborn Fence Installation Is Failing
- Gate dragging or catching at the latch. This usually means the hinge side post has started to lean from wind load or the gate itself has sagged because the diagonal brace has loosened. In Fort Lauderdale, a 60-mph gust from a summer squall puts more force on a gate post than most people realize. The fix is usually re-setting the post in fresh concrete and re-hanging the gate with new hinges.
- Post wobble you can feel by hand. A healthy fence post should not move when you push on it. If it does, the concrete footing is failing or was never deep enough. Fort Lauderdale sits on a mix of sand and limestone, and a post set at only 18 inches will loosen after a few heavy storm seasons. We set posts at a minimum of 24 inches, deeper on gate posts.
- Rails pulling free of the post brackets. Salt air corrodes uncoated steel fasteners faster than anything indoors. When screws shear off or brackets rust through, the rail loses its anchor and the panel sags. This is repairable if caught early, but you’ll want stainless or coated fasteners for the replacement, not the box-store zinc screws that put you back in the same position in three years.
- Pickets splitting at the top or bottom. This is sun and moisture cycling. The tops of the pickets take the brunt of the UV, and the bottoms wick moisture from the soil. Once a picket splits through the fastener line, it’s done. Swapping individual pickets on a Wellborn fence is straightforward if the rails are still solid.
- Milky white staining or soft wood at the base. That’s dry rot or termite activity. Subterranean termites are a fact of life in Fort Lauderdale, and fences that touch soil are an invitation. If the rot extends into the posts, you’re looking at replacing the affected section, not just patching it.
See the difference
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
A full Wellborn fence installation in Fort Lauderdale lands between $3,500 and $9,000. At the lower end, you’re looking at a straight run of about 50 to 60 linear feet with one walk gate, flat terrain, and no major demolition of an existing fence. At the high end, you’re into 150-plus linear feet with multiple gates, old fence removal and haul-off, and posts that need diamond-blade cutting through limestone. Every quote includes the same line items: lumber and hardware, concrete and post depth, gate installation with hardware, debris removal, and a walkthrough before we call it done.
The price we write down is the price you pay. That’s not a slogan, it’s how we’ve run work in Fort Lauderdale for years under The Relay Visibility Guarantee. You get a written price before any work starts, a live arrival time on the day of install, and photo updates when the job is underway and when it’s wrapped. The labor carries our 365-Day Done Right Promise. If a post shifts or a gate starts dragging within a year of the install, we come back and fix it at no charge. That’s in writing on every fence job, no fine print.
DIY or Call Us?
You can absolutely handle the inspection side of this on your own. Walk the fence line, push on each post, check the gates for sag, and look for rot at the ground line. That’s smart maintenance, and it tells you whether you’re dealing with one bad section or a full replacement. Replacing a single picket is a reasonable Saturday project if you have a drill, a level, and stainless or coated screws. Most homeowners can do that in an afternoon and get a good result.
Where DIY goes sideways on Wellborn fences in Fort Lauderdale is the posts. Pulling a rotted post from a limestone pocket, pouring a proper footing, and re-hanging a gate so it closes true takes experience and the right equipment. A post set out of plumb by an inch at the base becomes a visible lean by the top, and a gate that doesn’t latch in a storm swings hard enough to damage the hardware or the house. If your posts are compromised or the gate is involved, call us at (754) 354-7423 and we’ll give you an honest read on whether it’s a repair or a replacement.
FAQs
A Wellborn fence in Fort Lauderdale typically lasts 10 to 15 years with good drainage and stainless fasteners, compared to 15 to 20 in drier inland climates. The posts go first, since they sit in soil and take the full force of every storm season. If your fence is past year 12 and you’re seeing multiple soft posts, replacement is usually the better money than patching one post at a time. Call (754) 354-7423 and we’ll walk the line with you and tell you straight what’s worth saving.
A leaning post can often be straightened and re-set in fresh concrete if the wood itself is still sound. We dig out the old footing, reset the post plumb, and pour new concrete with proper drainage slope. If the bottom of the post is soft or termite-damaged, there’s nothing solid to anchor, so replacement is the call. Either way, the estimate is free and we’ll show you what we found before any work starts.
Most Wellborn fence installations in Fort Lauderdale take two to three days: day one for demo and post setting, day two for rails and pickets, and a final walkthrough on day three for gates and hardware. Weather can push that a day, since we don’t set concrete in an active downpour. You’ll know the schedule before we start, and The Relay Visibility Guarantee means you get photo updates as the job progresses.
We keep Wellborn-spec rail brackets, post caps, gate hinges, and fasteners on hand in Fort Lauderdale, along with pressure-treated lumber matched to Wellborn’s mill dimensions. That means small repairs often go from quote to done in a week or less. If we need to order a specific matching piece from Wellborn’s supplier, we’ll tell you up front and give you a real timeline, not a vague “we’ll call when it’s in.”
We do. Alongside our Wellborn fence work, we install and service kitchens and baths with KraftMaid cabinetry, Cambria and Silestone countertops, and handle the full range of remodel work across Fort Lauderdale. Same crew, same written price before work starts, same 365-Day Done Right Promise.
Written by Luca Romano, Owner & Lead Contractor, Sawyer Remodel Fort Lauderdale at Sawyer Remodel Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
