Building a Fence on a Slope in Northwest Arkansas

The Ozark foothills don't hand out flat backyards. Between Bella Vista, Fayetteville and Prairie Grove, a lot that drops six feet from the back door to the property line is ordinary, and the fence has to deal with it. A fence on a slope fails in a particular way: it either leaves a gap beneath it or it looks like a staircase, and both are avoidable.

The pre-fab panel problem

A pre-fab panel is a rigid rectangle built in a shop, commonly around 6 feet tall and 8 feet wide. On level ground it works fine. On a grade, the only way to fit a rectangle is to step it, setting each panel a bit lower than the one before. Each step leaves a wedge-shaped gap under the high end, and on a steep hill those gaps get big.

Those gaps cost you privacy at ground level, and a dog or a small child can fit through a surprising opening. They also tend to collect leaves and weeds that no one wants to clear.

Why building on site helps

Privacy Fence builds every fence custom on site. That lets the crew follow the natural lay of the land and avoid the large gaps at the bottom that pre-fab panels often leave. Instead of dropping a finished rectangle onto a hill, they set the posts, hang the rails, and fit the boards to the ground as it actually falls.

A cedar board-on-board fence in their photo gallery tapers down a hill with the boards following the grade, and the bottom edge stays close to the soil the whole way. One Google reviewer wrote that their house has a pretty steep hill on one side and the crew made the fence look amazing there.

Horizontal styles and steep grades

Horizontal wood fences are popular, and they look sharp on a level lot. They're harder on a steep slope. Boards that run horizontally want to stay level, so as the ground falls, the fence has to step down in sections, and every step shows. A vertical-board fence lets the tops of the boards ride the grade smoothly or step in small increments.

That doesn't rule horizontal out. A gentle slope can work fine, and Privacy Fence has built horizontal cedar fences with columns, with a patio screen, and with gates. If you love the look and your lot has a real grade, ask for a candid assessment on site before committing. Part of that conversation is deciding which sections should step and where.

Ornamental iron and chain link on hills

Iron panels are rigid too, so they step in level sections or use a raked design. Privacy Fence lists a 3-rail flat top with a rake bottom among its ornamental iron styles, a panel shape intended for sloped ground. A tall black iron fence along a slope is in their gallery as well. Chain link is the most forgiving of the three, since the fabric flexes and follows the ground, which is why you see it running down wooded hillsides across Northwest Arkansas.

Things to settle before the crew arrives

• Where the property line actually runs. On uneven ground it's easy to misjudge, so find your property pins or ask about a survey if boundaries are unclear.
• Which way gates will swing, and whether rising ground will block them.
• How you'll handle water. A fence that traps runoff on a hillside needs a plan.
• Whether a full privacy style or something more open suits the grade.
• What's underground. Privacy Fence contacts Arkansas 811 (ARUPS) to have utilities marked before any digging.

Gates deserve a special look on a grade. A gate swings in an arc, and if the ground rises on the latch side, the bottom rail will catch on it. A crew that builds on site can set the gate height and the swing direction to suit the actual ground, which a pre-made gate can't do.

Posts hold the slope

On a hillside the posts carry more load, because the ground itself pushes and settles. Most Privacy Fence posts go 24 to 36 inches deep, set in wet-mixed concrete. If your yard is a steep one, the PostMaster steel post option, which resists rot, shifting and ground moisture, is worth asking about.

Every slope is different, and the only way to price one honestly is to stand on it. Call (479) 751-7894 for a free on-site estimate, or use the online design tool to draw your fence on a satellite map and get an instant quote to start from.