We had over 500ft of aluminum fence put up by Atlantic Fencing

Identifying our needs

We purchased our home back in November of 2020, and the lot was a huge influence. It's over 1 acre of heavily-wooded and rolling topography and it backs up to a creek with an additional 80+ acres of untouched forest. The neighboring properties are all farms with an equally-wooded perimeter.

We love nature, and so do our two Great Danes. We also understand and accept the responsibility that comes with being pet owners, and despite the fact that our dogs are well-trained, we know we can't control everything that they do - especially if they decide to chase a deer into the woods in an effort to make friends with them!

We needed a fence for everyone's safety.

Finding the "Perfect" fence company

We started our search the way most folks in our situation do - by checking the landscape of potential fence companies and digging through their Google reviews so we could get a solid list as a starting point.

We looked at the reviews for each company and immediately discounted businesses that had more than three or four "3 star or below" reviews in the last few months, taking care to assess the content of each review to rule out what I like to call "perpetually dissatisfied customers" - aka people who cannot be pleased.

Once we had this list, we moved on to the next step: We asked our neighbors who had fences and asked the following question:

• Who did you use?

• What did they charge?

• Are you happy with their work?

• Do they warranty their work?

• Do they have insurance?

• Do you recommend them?

There was one company that our neighbors and friends kept recommending, and that was Atlantic Fencing, Inc. Fantastic reviews, a solid social media presence, and they had been around for years at that point.

There were four other companies that I called first - one was a national chain, and the other three were local fence builders. The national brand acted like they were doing me a favor by even taking my call, so they were out immediately. The others were too high-pressure with their sales tactics or tried quoting much higher than market rates based on my research and rough estimates on material (at consumer pricing) and labor - which felt a bit predatory to me, so I politely informed them that I was going with someone else.

First contact & Getting a quote

Getting in contact with Atlantic Fencing was incredibly simple. I dialed their number and they picked up on the first or second ring, and I was immediately speaking directly with one of the owners - Mr. Clay Wagner.

The conversation flowed easily and felt almost casual. In the first few minutes we got to know one another a bit and he told me about his background in the structural engineering space once he found out that I have an engineering background as well - software engineering, but I definitely felt at ease knowing that I was dealing with someone that had a fundamental and demonstrable understanding of what I like to call "trade math" (physics, algebra, geometry, etc).

Eventually he asked me the big question that I wasn't really expecting: "So obviously you'd like a fence since you reached out, but what problems are we trying to solve?". None of the other four companies I spoke with tried to understand my needs as a homeowner and potential customer to see if we'd be a good fit or not. Mr. Wagner immediately put my wife and I at ease by demonstrating that he actually wanted to contextualize the project to ensure he was giving us the information required to make a truly informed decision.

We weren't a lead in a sales funnel, and that's an invaluable relationship to have with a service-based business.

He asked thorough questions about our dogs' breeds, if we had children, a pool, and what the lot looked like. Since he's intimately familiar with the entire region and is an avid outdoorsman, we were able to discuss the fence's impact on wildlife and how effective the different types of fences are at keeping certain problem animals out. We talked a bunch about termites, sun rot, staining, general maintenance/upkeep, and he was able to help us figure out what kind of fence we'd need to tick all of our boxes.

Before we made any decisions, he came out same day and met with us on-site. He walked us through the measuring process, explained what he was doing and why, and had us mark every point where we wanted the fence and any gates (we went with two singles and a double).

Once we had the perimeter of the proposed fence lined out, he provided us with the following:

• A sheet containing the measurements

• A catalog of available fence styles in the size and material we picked out - 5ft Aluminum

• A quote estimate based on current material pricing and labor, with the gates we had selected

What it cost

We decided to build our fence when aluminum prices were at an all-time-high during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the material price definitely reflected that. However, the labor was right where it should have been.

For 560 linear feet of 5ft aluminum fence in a premium style with one double gate and two singles (all with locks), we paid roughly $22,000. At current material prices (August 2026), the cost would have been about half of that.

How the work went

In one word? Phenomenally. Atlantic Fencing is one of the few fence companies which utilizes fully in-house installation crews - they don't sub-contract things out, so the work remains consistent. The utility lines were marked properly, nothing was damaged, and they left my yard cleaner than when they first showed up - with much fewer rocks! The entire fence was installed over the span of a couple of days.

The craftsmanship of the fence installation was literally perfect, and I got to see Clay performing multiple quality control checks throughout the entire process. The lines are straight, nothing was damaged, and it flows with the grade seamlessly.

How it's holding up

About five years have passed since it was installed, and we're thankful every day that Clay clearly informed us of every pro and con of each fence material type. It still looks just as nice as the day they installed it, and has required ZERO maintenance. There is no pollen staining or warping or rust. The locks all function exactly as they should, too. Zero dog escapes or unwanted animal visitors, too!

Would I use them again?

I don't even have to answer this hypothetically - we are using them again! We're putting in a pool and pool house/home office, and they're going to be extending the fence around both for us. I'll be updating this page and writing about our experiences with the other service providers we're using once things get wrapped up, so be sure to check back later!