An Established Town, Not a New One
Lakeway is older than most of the places we work, and that changes what the job usually is.
A lot of these homes have been here for decades, and so have their fences. What we’re asked for here is more often replacement and repair than a first fence, which is close to the opposite of somewhere like Leander or Buda.
That matters because an old fence on an established lot sits in a landscape that has grown up around it. Trees that were small when the fence went in now have roots under the line. Planting has matured against it. Slopes have moved slightly. You can’t simply pull the old one and drop a new one into the same holes.
We plan a fence replacement around what’s grown there since, which usually means a slightly different line and a conversation about what you want to keep.
Steep Lots, and Why They Change the Job
Lakeway falls away toward the lake, and a lot of these properties have real grade on them.
A fence on a slope either steps down in sections or racks to follow the ground. Stepping looks deliberate and formal, leaves triangular gaps at the base, and suits a property where the fence is meant to read as a boundary. Racking follows the contour and keeps the base tight, which matters if you’re keeping a dog in.
Neither is the right answer everywhere, and the decision wants making before anyone digs rather than on the day.
On the steeper sections the footings also change. A post on a slope takes load differently from one on flat ground, and the downhill side needs more support than a standard footing provides.
None of this is exotic. It just needs someone who has done it before and isn’t pricing from a map.
Views, and Where Not to Put a Solid Fence
Plenty of Lakeway properties were bought for what you can see from them, and a six-foot privacy fence across that line undoes it.
We build a fair amount of low ornamental iron and aluminum here, along with hog wire framed in cedar. Those hold a boundary and keep the sightline, and on an exposed lot they take far less wind than a solid panel does.
The usual answer is a mix. Solid cedar where you’re screening a neighbor or a road, open fencing where the view matters, with the change placed where it looks intentional rather than accidental.
Golf course lots have their own version of this. You want a line without closing off the frontage, and in most cases an open design is both the better look and the easier approval.
What Fails on an Older Lakeway Fence
Post bases, first and most often. Twenty years of wet and dry cycles does what it does, and a post can look sound above ground while being soft three inches below it. That’s why we dig before giving an opinion.
Gates, which move constantly while the fence beside them stands still. A gate that needs lifting to latch is telling you the post has shifted.
Sections where roots have pushed the line out of true. That’s frequently a reset rather than a rebuild, provided the posts themselves are good.
Downhill posts on sloped runs, which carry more than their share and tend to go first on a steep lot.
And rot where irrigation hits, which is avoidable and extremely common on well-landscaped properties.
A careful look on a fence this age usually finds a repair. We’d rather do that than sell a replacement that isn’t needed yet.
What We Do in Lakeway
Fence replacement, including removal and haul-off of the old fence.
Repairs and post resets, which on these older properties is frequently the better answer.
New installation in cedar, ornamental iron, aluminum, hog wire and chain link, built for the terrain rather than dropped onto it.
Gates, including drive gates on long approaches and automatic openers.
Staining and sealing, after any fence repairs rather than over the top of them.
Mixed-material and custom builds, which come up here more than in most places we work.
The Neighborhoods
We work across Lakeway proper, The Hills, Rough Hollow, Flintrock Falls, Lakeway Highlands and the surrounding Lake Travis area.
The Hills and Flintrock are golf course communities with associations that take appearance seriously, and open fencing is often both the better look and the easier approval.
Rough Hollow and Lakeway Highlands are newer, so there’s more first-fence work and more disturbed soil to account for.
Older Lakeway closer to the lake is where the replacement work is, on established lots with mature planting and real grade.
HOA Approval and Permits
Most Lakeway communities have associations, and in the golf course neighborhoods they tend to be particular about what faces the course or the street.
Submissions usually want material, height, a drawing of the line and the finish. Getting it complete the first time is what saves weeks, because incomplete applications go to the back of the queue.
Send us the guidelines with your quote request and we’ll price to them, so your submission matches what we’d actually build.
Where a permit is needed as well, we work with trusted third-party permit partners and handle that as part of the job.
What Working With Us Looks Like
We walk the property, because on a sloped lot with a view there’s no honest way to quote it otherwise. Grade, rock, wind and sightlines all change the job and none of them show up on a map.
We’ll talk about where privacy actually matters and where it’s costing you the view. That conversation usually changes the design, and it costs nothing to have.
You get a written quote with the work itemized, including how the slope is being handled and whether removal is included.
We’re fully insured. If what you need is a repair, we’ll say so and show you what we based that on.
Deer, Planting and What Holds Up
Deer are a genuine factor on this side of the metro, and fencing is only part of the answer.
A standard six-foot privacy fence will keep deer out of an enclosed yard. An open design at the same height usually won’t, because they’ll go through a gap they can see light through rather than over the top.
If deer are the actual problem, height and continuity matter more than material. A tall fence with a gap at one corner is a tall fence with a door in it.
Planting is the other half. A fence line that’s smothered in climbing growth holds moisture against the wood and shortens its life considerably, however good the build was. Leaving a hand’s width of air behind the planting does more for a fence than most finishes do.
We’ll point out where that’s happening when we walk the property. It’s usually an easy thing to fix and it’s rarely the thing people were expecting to hear.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should my fence step down the slope or follow it?
It depends what the fence is for. Stepping looks formal and deliberate but leaves gaps at the base. Racking follows the ground and keeps the bottom tight, which matters if you’re containing a dog. We’ll walk it with you and show you both.
Will a fence block my lake view?
It will if you put a solid one across the view line. We usually mix it: solid cedar where you’re screening a neighbor, low iron or hog wire where the view matters. Open designs also take far less wind on an exposed lot.
My fence is twenty years old. Does it all need replacing?
Not necessarily. We check every post and show you the count. If under roughly a third have failed, a repair usually makes more sense. Plenty of older Lakeway fences have years left once the bad posts are reset.
Can you work around mature trees and planting?
Yes, and we route around roots rather than cutting them. Cutting a major root to save an hour often costs the tree a few years later. On an established lot that’s a bad trade and we won’t make it.
Do you install drive gates on long approaches?
Yes, with posts sized for the weight and the wind, plus automatic openers where access needs it. A drive gate post is a different piece of engineering from a fence post and we treat it as one.
Will my HOA need to approve this?
In most Lakeway communities, yes, and the golf course neighborhoods are particular about what faces the course. Send us the guidelines and we’ll quote to them so the submission and the build agree.
Are you insured?
Yes, we’re fully insured on every job.
Get a Free Estimate
If you want a straight answer on what your fence needs, we’ll come out and give you one. Walk the line with us, tell us what you’re trying to solve, and we’ll put it in writing with everything itemized. No pressure attached.
