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CGI Fence Installation: The Fresno Owner’s Guide
CGI fence installation in Fresno typically runs $3,500 to $9,000 for a complete perimeter job on a standard residential lot, and we can usually start within a week or two of the site walk. Most owners call us after a windstorm or a hit from a delivery truck leaves a section leaning, or when they notice the bottom rails pulling away from the posts. The part you’re replacing might be as simple as a set of U-brackets, or as involved as full post replacement if the concrete footer cracked in our clay soil. Written pricing comes before any work starts, every time.
Which CGI Models This Applies To
CGI produces commercial-grade ornamental fence systems, and the most common lines we see in Fresno backyards are the CGI Sierra and CGI Titan series. These are welded steel tube-and-picket assemblies that use a specific post-to-panel bracket system, not the universal brackets you’ll find at a big-box hardware aisle. If you look at the inside face of a rail, near the post, you can usually find a small stamped tag with the series name and a part number. If the tag is gone or painted over, measure the rail profile: CGI rails are typically 1″ or 1.5″ square tube, and the pickets are either 5/8″ or 3/4″ square. That measurement matters because a Sierra panel will not seat correctly onto a Titan post without shimming or cutting, and that’s where we see owners and handymen get into trouble.
On the OEM versus aftermarket question: for the bracket hardware, posts, and gate hinges, we recommend staying with OEM CGI parts. The galvanized coating thickness and the weld alignment are built to CGI’s spec, and aftermarket brackets can leave the panel sitting proud of the post face by a quarter inch, which throws off the gate swing. For picket replacements on non-structural sections, a quality A513 structural steel tube in the same gauge will match and hold paint fine.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your CGI Fence Installation Is Failing
- Panel sag at the hinge side of the gate. This almost always means the post has shifted in its footing. Fresno’s clay soil expands when wet and shrinks when dry, and over three or four seasons that movement works the concrete loose until the post leans enough to drag the gate on the latch side.
- Bracket rust at the bottom rail. CGI brackets are galvanized, but irrigation overspray and pool splash strip that protection faster than rain ever will. We see this a lot in Woodward Park and Sunnyside where automatic sprinklers hit the fence line twice a day. The bracket fails first, not the rail.
- Pickets rattling inside the rail channels. CGI panels use a punch-and-lock system to hold pickets in the horizontal rails. When the galvanized coating wears inside the channel, the pickets work loose and start chattering every time a dog barks or the wind picks up.
- A post that sounds hollow when you tap it. That means the concrete has cracked below grade and the post is no longer fully set. Tapping a solid post gives a dull thud. A loose post rings. If you can rock the post with one hand, the footing is gone.
- The gate won’t stay latched. The latch bar and striker plate wear together, but a gate that suddenly drops out of alignment is rarely a hardware-only problem. The post on the hinge side is the first suspect, followed by a bent hinge pin from a kid swinging on the gate.
See the difference
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After
Before
After
Before
AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
Here’s what CGI fence installation actually costs in Fresno, based on what we see in the field:
- Single panel replacement with new brackets: $350 – $700 depending on panel height and series
- Post replacement with new concrete footing: $450 – $900 per post, including demolition of the old footing
- Gate replacement with new hinges and latch: $600 – $1,200 for a standard 4-foot walk gate
- Full line replacement on a typical 60 – 80 foot property front: $3,500 – $6,500
- Full perimeter replacement (150 – 200 linear feet): $7,500 – $9,000
Every one of these includes the written price before we start, the OEM CGI parts or the matching structural steel we specified, new fasteners, haul-off of the old material, and a photo of the clean-up before the crew leaves. The price we write down is the price you pay, even if we run into something under the surface. We pull the permit when the city or county requires it for the fence line. Our 365-Day Done Right Promise covers the work: if something isn’t right, we make it right.
DIY or Call Us?
A few things are genuinely safe for an owner to check. You can look for the stamped CGI tag on the rail. You can measure the rail profile and the picket spacing so you know what series you’re dealing with. You can tap posts with a rubber mallet to see which ones ring hollow. That gives you a real diagnosis to talk through with us on the phone.
What we’d steer you away from is resetting a post in a concrete footing, especially if the gate hangs from it. The post carries the full rotating weight of the gate every time it opens, and a footing that’s poured too shallow or without the right gravel base will fail again in a season. Same goes for welding on galvanized steel if your neighbor’s cousin offered to do it: the zinc vapor from welding galvanized metal is genuinely dangerous to breathe, and a bad weld on a gate hinge is a pinch point for someone’s fingers. Let us put eyes on it. Call (559) 540-8453 and we’ll work up the written price from the actual measurements, not a guess.
FAQs
A properly installed CGI fence with intact galvanized coating will last 25 to 30 years in Fresno’s climate before the rails begin to need structural attention. The hardware fails faster than the panels do, and irrigation overspray on the brackets shortens that timeline by a few years. Call (559) 540-8453 and we’ll tell you honestly what’s left in your fence.
Yes, if the concrete footing is intact and the post itself is not rusted through, we can sometimes straighten and re-secure the post with a reshimmed bracket rather than pouring new concrete. If the footing is cracked or the post base is rusting, replacement is cheaper in the long run than a repair that fails again next winter.
Most single-panel or single-post replacements in Fresno are done in one day, including the concrete work if the footing needs to be redone. A full perimeter replacement on a typical home runs three to five days depending on the gate count and the access.
We keep CGI-compatible brackets, rail stock, pickets, hinges, and latches on hand for the most common series we see, and we can order OEM Sierra or Titan parts with a short lead time for anything unusual. You won’t be sent to a supply house with a part number and a handwave. The same goes for the other surfaces in your home: we also stock and work with KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone on remodeling projects.
Written by Graham Stein, Owner, Elmstead Remodeling Fresno at Elmstead Remodeling Fresno, serving Fresno and nearby areas.
