The Ranking
Our top 7 fence companies in New York
Fencing in New York City looks different from fencing in the suburbs. Most lots are narrow, many lot lines are shared with a neighbor, and a large share of the work is short runs: a front yard fence on a Queens two-family house, a cedar privacy fence behind a Brooklyn brownstone, a chain link run along a Staten Island driveway, or an iron fence and gate that has to match a stoop railing put up a century ago. That is why this list leans on metal shops. In our searches, most well-reviewed fence builders with a shop inside the city limits were iron and steel fabricators, while many dedicated vinyl and wood fence companies that serve the city are based in Nassau, Westchester or New Jersey and did not qualify.
Weather drives material choice. New York winters bring repeated freeze and thaw, which can heave posts that are set too shallow, so ask every contractor how deep posts will go and whether they are set in concrete. Near the water, in places like the Rockaways, Coney Island and Staten Island's South Shore, salt air speeds rust on bare steel, which is why galvanized, powder coated, stainless and aluminum fences are common there. Wood posts sitting in damp soil also rot over time, so ask whether the posts are pressure treated lumber or metal even when the boards are cedar.
The common materials here are PVC vinyl panels, red and white cedar, aluminum, galvanized or vinyl coated chain link, and welded steel or wrought iron. Vinyl and cedar give the most privacy in a backyard. Aluminum and steel picket fences suit front yards, where many owners want to see the street. Chain link remains the cheapest way to fence a long side lot or a driveway.
Rules matter in the city. A fence taller than 6 feet needs a permit from the Department of Buildings, and zoning can set lower limits for some yards, so confirm the height for your lot before materials are ordered. If your house sits in a landmark district, work visible from the street may need a permit from the Landmarks Preservation Commission. A pool needs a barrier at least 4 feet high with self-closing, self-latching gates. Co-op boards, condo boards and the homeowner associations found in parts of Staten Island and Queens often have their own rules on height, color and material, so check those too.
Before anyone digs, the contractor should call 811. In the five boroughs and on Long Island that call goes to New York 811, while Dig Safely New York covers the rest of the state; a locate request is free. On shared or uncertain lot lines, get a property survey rather than relying on an old fence, because a fence built on the neighbor's side can become a dispute later.
Finally, check the licence. New York City requires contractors who do home improvement work on residential property to hold a Home Improvement Contractor licence from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. You can look up any company by name or number on the DCWP licence search. We checked every company here against the city's open licence data and note in each profile whether a licence number is published and whether we found a matching record.
