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Wellborn Fence Installation: The Fort Worth Owner’s Guide
Wellborn fence installation in Fort Worth typically runs $3,500 – $9,000 for a full perimeter job, depending on linear footage, gate count, and whether we’re working with new materials or matching an existing Wellborn fence line. We stock Wellborn-compatible components and can usually have a crew out within the week for replacement sections, gate hardware, or a complete ground-up install. Most Fort Worth homeowners discover they need us when a gate starts sagging against its hinges, a post leans after a summer storm, or a section of pickets splits along the grain after a few hard freeze-thaw cycles.
If you’re holding a broken picket in your hand or staring at a gate that scrapes the ground, you already know the part failed. What you may not know is whether the rest of the fence is worth saving. That’s the question we answer first on every Fort Worth walkthrough, because replacing a Wellborn fence in pieces can cost more than doing the full run once, done right.
Which Wellborn Models This Applies To
Wellborn produces fence lines in several series, and the hardware specs differ between them. The two we see most often in Fort Worth are the Wellborn privacy series with full-height pickets and the semi-private series with alternating picket spacing. The rails, post caps, and gate hinges are not always interchangeable between those two lines, which catches a lot of homeowners who order parts online and find the post spacing doesn’t match.
Before you buy anything, check the back side of a picket or the underside of a rail. Wellborn stamps a series code there, usually a two-letter prefix followed by a number. If the stamp has worn off, measure the picket thickness. Privacy series pickets run 5/8″ thick, semi-private 1/2″. That measurement alone rules out most fitment errors. For Fort Worth homes, we recommend OEM Wellborn components when the fence is under manufacturer warranty. For older runs where the warranty has expired, a quality aftermarket equivalent from a fence supply house in the Metroplex often matches the profile at roughly 30% less. We’ll quote both and let you decide, with the written price before any work starts.
One more compatibility note worth knowing: Wellborn changed its post cap design around 2019. The newer caps sit flush and snap into a routed channel. The older ones slide over the post top and screw through the face. They don’t mix. If your fence is pre-2019 and you lose a cap in a windstorm, don’t buy the new style and hope to make it work. We keep both styles on the truck in Fort Worth.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Wellborn Fence Installation Is Failing
- Gate sagging at the latch side. This means the hinge screws have stripped or the post itself is pulling out of plumb. On Fort Worth clay soil, posts shift with moisture swings, and a sagging gate is usually the first sign the post footer wasn’t set deep enough.
- Pickets splitting vertically along the grain. Wellborn pickets are kiln-dried, but North Texas summer heat plus a hard August rain will find the weak grain lines. Once a picket splits, moisture gets in and the split travels.
- Rail pulling away from the post. This is almost always a bracket failure or a screw that rusted through. Fort Worth’s humidity plus sprinkler overspray eats cheap fasteners fast. If the rail has pulled out more than a quarter inch, the bracket needs replacement, not just a new screw.
- Post leaning more than 5 degrees after a storm. A single leaning post often means the footer was poured too shallow or the drainage around it changed. If two or more post lean in the same section, the whole run needs to be reset. This is the most expensive repair short of full replacement.
- White chalky residue at the bottom of posts. That’s mineral efflorescence from water wicking up through the concrete footer. It’s a warning sign, not just a cosmetic issue. If left unaddressed, the post rots from the inside where you can’t see it.
See the difference
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For Fort Worth homeowners, here’s what we tell people on the first call. A single post replacement with a new footer runs $450 – $900 depending on depth and access. A gate replacement with new hardware and remounted hinges runs $600 – $1,400. A section of 8 – 10 pickets with a new rail bracket set runs $350 – $800. A full fence installation on a standard Fort Worth lot runs $3,500 – $9,000, with the spread driven by linear footage, number of gates, and whether the old fence needs full removal and haul-off.
Every quote includes the parts, labor, concrete, haul-off, and the written price up front. No surprises after the crew arrives. The 365-Day Done Right Promise covers the work. If a post shifts or a gate binds within a year of installation, we come back and make it right at our cost, not yours.
Call (682) 708-9180 for an exact quote. We’ll walk the fence line with you, measure everything, and hand you a written number before any work is scheduled.
DIY or Call Us?
Replacing a single picket is a reasonable Saturday morning project if you have a drill, exterior screws, and the picket matches. Replacing a post is not. Setting a post in Fort Worth means digging below the clay line, which shifts every season, and pouring a footer with proper drainage. Get the depth wrong by six inches and you’ll be doing it again next spring. Gate hardware is also trickier than it looks, because hinge alignment on a Wellborn gate has very little tolerance before the latch stops lining up.
The structural work on a fence is where we recommend a professional. A wrong footer depth or a misaligned gate wears out the new hardware in a season. We also handle the heavy work so you’re not hauling 80-pound bags of concrete in July heat. Call (682) 708-9180 and we’ll tell you honestly whether your job is a DIY afternoon or a crew day.
FAQs
A properly installed Wellborn fence lasts 15 – 20 years in Fort Worth, though posts set too shallow often fail within 5 – 7 years because our clay soil moves seasonally. The difference is almost always in the footer depth and drainage, not the picket quality.
Yes, in most cases a single post, a gate, or a section of pickets can be repaired rather than replaced, and we’ll always quote the repair option before recommending a full replacement. The deciding factor is usually the condition of the posts, because a sound post can carry new pickets for years while a rotted post will fail again.
A typical Fort Worth fence installation takes 2 – 4 days from post-setting to final gate adjustment, with concrete cure time included. A single post or gate replacement is usually done the same day.
We stock Wellborn-compatible pickets, rails, post caps, brackets, and gate hardware in both the current and pre-2019 styles, so most repairs go faster without a supply-order delay. We also work with KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone components on larger projects where fence work is part of a broader exterior update.
The written price and the final invoice should read the same – if they don’t, that’s on us to explain before we hand you a pen. We write the scope down before a single tool comes off the truck, and that’s the number we honor.
Call (682) 708-9180 to schedule a free fence walkthrough in Fort Worth. We’ll measure, give you the written price, and answer any questions about your Wellborn fence face to face.
Written by Graham Stein, Owner, Elmstead Remodeling Fort Worth at Elmstead Remodeling Fort Worth, serving Fort Worth and nearby areas.
