Idalou, a short drive up the highway
Idalou is in Lubbock County, about 12 miles northeast of our shop on County Road 6170, straight out US 62/82 toward Ralls. From the north side of Lubbock it is one of our quickest trips, so Idalou calls get worked into the same week as Lubbock jobs more often than not. Blake has done fence work in Idalou and knows the town.
Town lots and farm fences
Idalou is a farm town first. Inside the city limits the lots are mostly older, with wood privacy fences around the back yards and chain link along the side streets. Outside town, the calls are different: a long chain link run around a shop or a pen, a gate wide enough for equipment, or a yard fence on a farmstead where the nearest windbreak is a tree row. We build both kinds, and we load the materials before we leave instead of running back to Lubbock for them.
The two kinds of property ask different things of a fence. A back yard in town usually needs privacy and a safe place for the dogs, which points to 6 ft cedar on steel posts with a walk gate beside the house. A farmstead needs a line you can see through and drive through: chain link with a top rail, tension wire at the ground and a drive gate set where the pickup and trailer already turn in. Tell us which one you have and roughly how long the run is, and the right posts, rail and pickets ride out on the first trip.
Common fence problems in Idalou
Wind off the open fields is the biggest cause of fence repairs around Idalou, as it is across the South Plains, and sun and farm use add their own wear. These are the signs to look for, each with the page that explains the fix.
- A section leaning hard or flat on the ground after a front crossed the cotton fields: see wind and storm damage repair.
- Wood posts gone soft at the soil line, so the whole fence rocks when you push on it: wood fence repair on new steel posts.
- A long chain link run around a pen or shop yard sagging between posts, or a top rail bent where a trailer caught it: chain link fence repair.
- A drive gate that drags a groove in the dirt, or one too narrow for what you pull through it: drive gate repair and new gates.
- Farm dogs slipping out of a yard that has never had a real fence: a new chain link dog yard.
- Pickets turned grey and cupped on a fence nobody ever sealed: fence weather treatment.
- Posts loose from one end to the other on a fence that has been patched for years: fence replacement.
Fence repair in Idalou
Fence repair in Idalou is mostly wind work: failed posts are replaced with steel and the sound panels are rehung. Blake starts at the bottom of the fence, pushing on every post along the damaged run instead of only looking at the panels that fell, because a panel stood back up on a loose post goes over again in the next blow. Posts that failed are pulled, and steel ones are set in concrete in their place. Sound panels are rehung, split pickets and cracked rails are swapped for new cedar, and the good sections stay as they are. Our fence repair page lists everything we fix, and no job is too small to call about.
New cedar fences in Idalou
When an Idalou fence is past patching, we build its replacement from cedar pickets on steel posts, 6 ft or 7 ft tall. You pick from three looks: dog ear, board on board or gothic point. Board on board overlaps its pickets, so it blocks the most wind and view, and that counts on a lot that backs up to a field. Dog ear uses the least material and suits a plain back yard line. The privacy fence styles page shows how the three differ, and cedar fencing explains why we never build with pine pickets.
Chain-link, gates and acreage in Idalou
Around Idalou we build galvanized or black vinyl chain link and metal-frame gates for yards, pens and shop lots, and past the city limits the job is mostly distance. A long run around a shop yard or a set of pens means more line posts, more corners and more gates, so Blake walks or drives the line with you and measures the real footage before he prices it. Terminal posts at the corners, ends and gates are set in concrete, top rail ties the line together, and the fabric is stretched tight. Read chain link fencing for the build, and gate installation and repair for drive gates on metal frames, single or double.
Staining and weather treatment in Idalou
Staining and weather treatment in Idalou puts an oil-based stain on cedar that stands in full sun and takes whatever dust the wind lifts off the fields. Bare cedar turns grey within a season under that. A new fence gets its first coat of oil-based stain once the wood has dried, which in our dry air usually takes a few weeks; that job is fence staining. An older fence that was never sealed is repaired where it needs it, cleaned and re-sealed under fence weather treatment. The same stain goes on pergolas, and there are nine Wood Defender colors to choose from.
Open ground means more wind on the fence
With cotton fields on every side of town, there is very little to break the wind before it reaches an Idalou fence. We build for that. Every wood fence goes on steel posts set in concrete, and we use cedar pickets, never pine pickets, because cedar stays straighter and holds stain longer in the sun. When a spring front lays a panel over, our wind and storm damage repair crew resets the posts and rehangs the section without replacing the whole line.
Open country changes the details too. A solid privacy fence takes each gust broadside and hands the whole load to its posts, so post spacing is set for West Texas wind. A 7 ft fence catches more of it than a 6 ft one, which is one more reason the posts are steel. On the flat ground around Idalou the panels run level, so there is no stepping to plan, but the gate still needs thought: it hangs from its own steel post in concrete, on a metal frame that cannot rack when the wind swings it. Chain link lets most of the wind pass through, which is why it suits the long exposed runs out on the county roads.
Guides for Idalou homeowners
Our Learning Center answers common questions before a bid. Three of its guides fit Idalou fences closely.
- What to do after wind knocks your fence down: the first steps when a section is lying toward the field and the dogs need out.
- Cedar vs pine fence pickets in West Texas: why pine pickets twist in dry air, and what we build with instead.
- When should a new cedar fence be stained?: the simple water test that tells you a new fence is ready.
Getting a bid in Idalou
Pick up the phone and call (806) 535-5351. Blake writes every bid himself, so the person who looks at your fence is the person who prices it, and the crew that builds it has worked with him for over 10 years. Our free estimates apply inside Lubbock; for Idalou, ask about the trip when you call. If it is a repair and you mention our website, you save 5%, up to $200. We are open seven days a week, 7:30 AM to 8:00 PM, and you can also request a call back online.
Fence services in Idalou
How the job runs
-
Call or send the form
You will usually talk to Blake, the owner. He asks a few questions about the fence, wood or chain link, what broke, roughly how long the run is.
-
Free in-town estimate
We look at the fence in person, check the posts, measure the run and talk through what you want. Estimates inside Lubbock are free.
-
A quote before work starts
You get the price before anything is torn out or built. Reviewers have pointed out that the final bill matched the quote.
-
The crew does the work
The crew repairs, builds or stains the fence, works around gardens and pets, and cleans up when the job is done.
Questions from Idalou homeowners
Do you work on fences outside the Idalou city limits?
Is there a charge for an estimate in Idalou?
Can you build a chain link fence strong enough for farm dogs?
How long does a cedar fence last around Idalou?
What should I tell you when I call about a fence the wind knocked down in Idalou?
Do you haul off the old fence when you replace one in Idalou?
Not sure if your property is in our area? Call (806) 535-5351 and ask.
