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Unilock Fence Installation: The Fresno Owner’s Guide
Unilock fence installation in Fresno typically runs $3,500 – $9,000 fully installed, depending on fence length, post depth, and whether your existing concrete base is still sound. If you already have Unilock panels or posts on site and just need the installation work, we can usually schedule you within a week or two once materials are confirmed. The most common way this comes up is a homeowner who bought Unilock fence panels, started the project, hit Fresno’s hardpan or clay soil, and realized the post-setting is more than a weekend job. We see it often enough that we keep a dedicated crew schedule block for fence work through the spring and fall, when Fresno ground is actually diggable.
Elmstead Remodeling Fresno is an independent contractor, not affiliated with Unilock. We install the product, we stand behind our work, and our written price comes before any material gets moved.
Which Unilock Models This Applies To
Unilock makes several fence and screen systems under the Estate Wall and Terrace lines, plus the more residential-friendly panel-and-post setups sold through Fresno hardscape suppliers. The compatibility catch is the post sleeve: Unilock hollow posts accept either standard 4×4 pressure-treated inserts or a square aluminum core, and mixing the two mid-fence creates a visible offset at the cap line. If you’re holding a leftover panel and not sure which generation it is, check the underside of the panel for a molded date stamp and a three-letter series code. That code tells us which post height and cap profile match, and it’s the first thing we ask for when you call.
For anything still in production, we recommend OEM Unilock panels and posts because the color and texture lot numbers stay consistent across a single run. For discontinued series, a quality aftermarket panel from a Fresno supplier can save you 15 – 25%, but the color match on older sun-aged Unilock will never be exact. That’s just how concrete pigment works after a decade under a California sun. We’ll tell you plainly if a match will be close or not before you spend the money.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Unilock Fence Installation Is Failing
- Post lean at the base, especially after a wet winter. Fresno clay expands and contracts aggressively with moisture, and a post set in a shallow hole or without proper gravel drainage will walk itself off plumb within three to five years.
- Cracked or spalling post caps. Water pools in the cap recess, freezes on the rare cold snap, and pops the concrete surface. This is almost always a drainage issue, not a product defect.
- Panels shifting between posts. The aluminum insert or wooden core inside the post has bowed, or the original installer used the wrong spacer. Panels should sit with a consistent 1/8-inch reveal on both sides.
- Fence line gaps at the gate latch. A sagging gate pulls the adjacent post inward over time. Correcting this usually means resetting one post, not replacing the whole fence.
- Base course sinking into the soil. If the bottom panel or plinth is disappearing into the ground, the base was likely set on uncompacted fill. We see this on newer Fresno subdivisions where the ground is still settling.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
For a typical Fresno backyard fence of 40 to 70 linear feet, installed pricing runs $3,500 – $9,000. The biggest variable is linear footage, followed by whether we’re removing an old fence line and hauling it, and how much concrete work the post footings need. A shorter accent fence or a single side of a front yard terrace might land near the lower end. A full perimeter with gates and a curved run will push toward the top.
Every installed price from us is written before work starts and includes the post excavation, gravel and concrete, panel and post setting, cap installation, gate adjustment, and full cleanup. Our workmanship is covered by the 365-Day Done Right Promise: if the fence is not right after the job is done, we make it right. No change orders, no discovered charges after the crew arrives. That’s the whole point of writing it down first.
See the difference
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AfterDIY or Call Us?
You can safely inspect your own fence. Check post plumb with a $12 level, look for cap cracks, and run a string line along the top to catch alignment drift. That’s useful, and you should do it before calling anyone so you can describe what you see accurately. Where DIY goes wrong on Unilock fence installation is post setting. The panels are heavy, they do not forgive a post that’s out of square by an inch, and Fresno’s clay wants to hold water against whatever you bury. Get the post wrong and you’ll be redoing the whole run in three years. Digging, setting, leveling, and curing concrete is also a full weekend of work for something that should last twenty years.
If you’d rather spend that weekend with your family, call us at (559) 540-8453 and we’ll come walk the fence line with you.
FAQs
A properly installed Unilock fence should last 20 to 30 years in the Fresno climate, with the posts being the first thing to show wear if drainage was done wrong. The panels themselves are concrete and hold up well to sun and heat, but the post-and-footing system is what determines lifespan. Call (559) 540-8453 if you want us to inspect posts before you plan a replacement.
Yes, a leaning post can often be reset and re-plumbed without replacing the panel run, as long as the post itself isn’t cracked through. We excavate the footing, correct the drainage, re-set the post, and re-level the adjacent panels. Call (559) 540-8453 and we’ll tell you honestly if resetting is worth it or if replacement is the better money.
Most residential Unilock fence jobs in Fresno take two to four working days, including removal of the old fence and concrete curing time for the posts. Weather and ground conditions can stretch that, but we’ll give you a written timeline before we start. Call (559) 540-8453 for a schedule estimate based on your fence length.
We keep common post caps, spacers, and gate hardware on the truck, and we source Unilock panels and posts from Fresno hardscape suppliers within a few days. For discontinued series, we’ll locate aftermarket equivalents and show you samples before committing. Call (559) 540-8453 and we’ll check availability while you’re on the phone.
Ready for a Written Price on Your Unilock Fence?
If you’ve got Unilock fence panels sitting in the garage, or a fence line that’s starting to lean, let’s talk. We’ll come out, measure, and give you a written price before any work starts, on paper, with the scope spelled out. We’ll also bring a sample of the panel color, show you how the posts will be set, and answer any question about drainage, gate hardware, or the cap system. Write it down before anything comes off the truck, that’s how we work.
Call (559) 540-8453 to schedule your free estimate. A live person answers, twenty-four hours a day.
Written by Graham Stein, Owner, Elmstead Remodeling Fresno at Elmstead Remodeling Fresno, serving Fresno and nearby areas.
