Chain-Link Fence in Asheville, NC
Galvanized or black vinyl-coated, three foot to twelve foot, back yards to commercial yards — installed by our own crew since 2006.
Chain-link is the workhorse. Foot for foot it's usually the most economical way to close in a yard, and it does the two jobs people care about most: it keeps the dog in and the deer, traffic and foot traffic out without blocking light or a mountain view. It goes up on ground that would fight a panel fence — slopes, wooded lots, rock — because the fabric follows grade instead of stepping down in blocks.
We install it both ways. Residential runs are typically 11-gauge fabric with 2-inch mesh on a light framework, three to six feet tall, and increasingly in black vinyl coating that fades into the tree line instead of shining at you. Commercial and municipal work moves up to 9-gauge fabric and heavier pipe — storage yards, contractor yards, dumpster and equipment enclosures, ball fields, courts, schools and utility sites, eight to twelve feet where the job calls for it. Either way the walk gates and drive gates are ours, and if a drive gate needs to open on its own we set the operator and wire it, same crew, same phone number.
What it's good at
Where chain-link makes sense
Same fabric, very different builds. The height, gauge and framework we quote depend on which of these you're doing.
Back yards & dog runs
- 4 ft to 6 ft, 11-gauge, 2-inch mesh
- Bottom tension wire pulled tight to the ground
- Walk gate where you actually walk, not where it's easiest
- Black coating if you'd rather not see the fence
Property lines & wooded lots
- Follows slope and roll without stepping down
- Long runs with fewer terminal posts than panel fence
- Keeps a view and lets light through
- Corners and ends braced so the fabric stays tight
Commercial & storage yards
- 6 ft to 8 ft, 9-gauge fabric, heavier pipe
- Twisted (barbed) selvage top where security matters
- Barbed-wire arms on commercial sites
- Double drive gates, or a cantilever slide gate we fabricate ourselves
Ball fields, courts & schools
- 10 ft and 12 ft backstops and sidelines
- Tighter mesh where balls have to stay in
- Windscreen and privacy slats available
- Knuckled top and bottom where kids are around
Dumpster & equipment enclosures
- Slatted chain-link to hide the container
- Drop rods and cane bolts on double gates
- Built to take a hit from a truck backing in
- Corner posts sized for gate weight, not just fence
Pool enclosures
- Barrier height and gaps have to meet code
- Self-closing, self-latching gate hardware
- Mesh size limits apply — see the pool section below
- We flag what the inspector will look for at the estimate
Our chain-link installs
Chain-link photos
Every photo here is our own work, galvanized and black vinyl-coated.
Spec it out
Heights, fabric & framework
Industry-standard specs, so you can compare our quote to anybody else's line for line.
Heights
- 3 ft and 3.5 ft — front yards, garden and flower-bed lines
- 4 ft — the most common residential height
- 5 ft and 6 ft — dogs that jump, privacy with slats, commercial
- 8 ft — storage and contractor yards, security perimeters
- 10 ft and 12 ft — backstops, courts, ball fields
- Fabric follows grade, so no stair-step gaps on a slope
Fabric
- 11-gauge wire — standard residential weight
- 9-gauge wire — commercial, athletic and high-traffic sites
- 2-inch mesh is standard; tighter mesh for courts and security
- Tighter-than-2-inch mini-mesh is a specialty order — ask if you have a small dog, cat or rabbit
- Knuckled top and bottom around homes and kids
- Twisted (barbed) selvage on top where security matters
- Galvanized to ASTM A392, vinyl-coated to ASTM F668
- Class 2 galvanizing where a commercial spec calls for it
- Aluminized fabric available — mostly specialty and commercial work
Framework & hardware
- Line posts and terminal posts sized to the height and use
- Heavier terminal, corner and gate posts — they carry the tension
- Posts set in concrete footings
- Top rail, or top tension wire where a rail isn't wanted
- Bottom tension wire to stop push-through and digging
- Steel pipe to ASTM F1083 / F1043, fittings to ASTM F626
Those ASTM numbers are the industry standards for chain-link fabric, framework and fittings, and they're what we build to. Ask us which ones your material meets and we'll tell you.
Silver or black
Color & coating
The single biggest thing you can change about how a chain-link fence looks.
Galvanized
- The standard silver finish, zinc-coated for rust protection
- The most economical way to buy chain-link
- Galvanized-after-weaving fabric coats the twists and cut ends, not just the wire
- Class 1 and Class 2 zinc weights — Class 2 carries roughly double the zinc, and is what we supply where a commercial spec calls for it
- Right choice for yards, commercial sites and anywhere looks come second
Vinyl-coated (black or green)
- Colored polymer over galvanized wire — a second barrier against rust
- Black is what most homeowners want now; it visually disappears against woods
- Green is available on request; black is far and away the most common here
- Framework, fittings and gates can be coated to match, not just the fabric
- Costs more per foot than galvanized
Options
Slats, screen & the rest
Privacy
- Privacy slats woven vertically through the mesh
- Windscreen fabric zip-tied to the run — common on courts
- Slats can be added later to a fence that's already up
- Both add wind load, so posts and bracing matter more
Security
- Barbed-wire arms, typically three strand, on commercial sites
- Twisted selvage on top instead of knuckled
- Tighter mesh to make a fence harder to climb
- Padlockable gate hardware and drop rods
Gates
- Walk gates, single and double drive gates
- Cantilever slide gates where a swing gate won't fit
- Gate operators wired by our crew — see gates & operators →
- Self-closing, self-latching hardware for pool enclosures
Two jobs people ask about
Dogs & pools
Keeping a dog in
Chain-link is one of the better pet fences when it's built for it. The failure points are usually the same three: a gap under the fabric, a gate that doesn't self-close, and a dog that goes up rather than under.
What we do about it: bottom tension wire pulled tight to grade, fabric taken down into the low spots instead of bridging them, tighter mesh where a small dog or a puppy is involved, and height chosen for the animal rather than the yard. Diggers get a buried extension or a concrete or gravel toe along the run.
Pool barriers
Pool fencing is the one place where the code, not preference, sets the spec. Under the North Carolina Residential Code pool barrier rules, the barrier has to be at least 48 inches high measured from the outside, gates need self-closing and self-latching hardware, and there are limits on openings a child could get through or climb.
For chain-link specifically, the barrier provision caps mesh at a 2 1/4-inch square opening unless slats fastened at the top or bottom reduce the openings to no more than 1 3/4 inches. That's the detail that gets fences failed on inspection.
We flag what we see at the estimate, but the inspector has the last word — final requirements come from Buncombe County or your city inspections department for your specific pool and lot.
Straight answers
Chain-link questions
Is chain-link really the cheapest fence?
Per foot it's usually the most economical fence we install, and that's a big part of why people choose it for long runs and big yards. It isn't free, though, and the cost swings on height, gauge, galvanized versus coated, how many corners and ends there are, and gate count. Gates and corners cost more than straight run, so a yard chopped into short segments prices differently than one long line. Give us the rough length, the height and what the ground looks like and we can usually put you in a ballpark range on the phone. The firm number comes after we walk it, in writing.
Does black vinyl-coated hold up, or is it just for looks?
Both. The polymer goes over galvanized wire, so you get the zinc plus a second barrier on top of it, and it hides scuffs better than bare steel. What it doesn't do is make the fence stronger — that's gauge and framework. If the fence is going somewhere you'll see it every day, black is worth it. If it's the back of a storage lot, galvanized is the smarter buy.
Can you add privacy slats later?
Yes. Slats weave into fabric that's already up, so you can start with a plain fence and add privacy later. Two things to know: slats catch wind, so on a long or exposed run the posts and bracing need to be up to it, and a fence built with slats in mind from the start usually ends up stiffer than one retrofitted. Tell us at the estimate if slats are even a maybe and we'll build for it.
Do you set posts in concrete?
Yes, footings for line, terminal, corner and gate posts. Terminal, corner and gate posts carry the tension and the gate weight, so they get heavier pipe and bigger footings than line posts. Around here we also hit rock, and how much rock we hit is the thing most likely to change a chain-link install day.
Can chain-link follow a steep slope?
This is where chain-link beats panel fence. The fabric racks with the grade, so it runs down a hill in a continuous line instead of stepping down and leaving triangular gaps at the bottom of each panel. That's also why it's the usual answer on wooded and rolling Buncombe County lots.
Can you repair or extend the chain-link that's already there?
Yes — torn or stretched mesh, bent line posts, a top rail that got hit, tension wire that's let go, gates that sag. If it's a repair rather than a new run, the fastest way to get an answer is to send photos. Send repair photos →
How much of the fence line do you need cleared?
It depends on what's there, which is why we look at it before we quote it. Light brush, briars and saplings in the way of the line are usually just part of getting the fence in. Heavier clearing — real trees, stumps that sit where a post has to go, or a line that's grown over for years — gets looked at and priced at the walk-through, either as part of the job or as its own line item, and we tell you which it is before you sign anything.
Either way, if the line needs work you'll know at the estimate — priced with the fence or as its own line item, so the number covers the whole job.
Quality work at a price that I could not beat (I tried, ended up back where I started). Every detail requested on my end was carried out, and the guys who did the install covered other details I had never thought of. Very happy with the finished product.
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Other fence types
Every fence type has its own page, with our photos, specs and options.