Most fence projects do not go wrong at the install. They go wrong in the three weeks before it, in the steps nobody told the homeowner existed.
We have walked thousands of Tulsa homeowners through their first fence project since 1955, and the process is smooth when it runs in the right order. This is the complete sequence, from the first conversation to the finished fence, with every decision in its place.
The Whole Project in One View
A fence project has three phases: decisions, groundwork, and the build. Homeowners usually obsess over the first, skip the second, and worry about the third. The second phase, the groundwork, is where the schedule is actually won or lost.
- Decisions: what the fence is for, what it is made of, where the gates go.
- Groundwork: property line, city rules, HOA approval, utilities, yard prep, neighbors.
- The build: the part we handle, usually the fastest phase of the three.
Phase One: The Decisions
- Step 1: Name the fence’s job. Privacy, pet containment, curb appeal, pool safety, or some combination. One honest sentence about the top priority makes every later choice easier, because different jobs point to different fences.
- Step 2: Choose the material and style. Western Red Cedar privacy for screening, chain link for economical containment, ornamental steel for definition with sightlines, and framed systems for architectural privacy. Our style guide covers the wood options in depth.
- Step 3: Plan the gates like they matter, because they do. Count your routes: trash carts, mowing, vehicle access, the far side yard. Size each gate for the widest thing that will ever pass through. Our complete guide to fence gates is the full playbook.
- Step 4: Set budget expectations. Footage, height, material, gates, and site conditions drive the number. If financing helps, we work with two partners, HFS Financial for larger projects and Oklahoma Central Credit Union for smaller ones; see our financing page.
Phase Two: The Groundwork
This is the phase that separates two-week projects from two-month projects. All of it can run in parallel while you finalize the design.
- Step 5: Confirm your property line. Find your survey pins or plat. Empire may be able assist with our pin finder, but knowing where the boundary sits is the homeowner’s responsibility, and we install to the boundaries you direct. Our guide to fences and property lines covers what to check.
- Step 6: Check your city’s rules. Height limits, front yard restrictions, corner lot sight triangles, and permit triggers vary by city, and securing any required permit is the homeowner’s responsibility. Our fence permit guide for the Tulsa metro has the city-by-city rundown and the one-phone-call checklist.
- Step 7: Get HOA approval in writing. If you have an HOA, approval comes before installation, and it is separate from any city permit. Our HOA approval guide covers the submittal package that gets to yes the first time.
- Step 8: Deal with what is underground. We contact Okie811 (Oklahoma One-Call) to mark public electric, gas, and cable lines before digging. Private lines are the homeowner’s responsibility to identify and mark: sprinklers and septic especially. Walk the fenceline and flag what you know is down there.
- Step 9: Talk to the neighbors. Share the dates, mention the yard will be open during the build, and let pet owners plan. The homeowner who contracts the project pays the full cost; any sharing is between neighbors. Our answer on who pays for a fence between neighbors settles the common questions.
- Step 10: Prep the fenceline. Clear vegetation and stored items at least 2 feet on each side of the line so the crew has workspace. Installation pauses if the workspace is not clear, so this step protects your own schedule.
Phase Three: The Estimate and the Build
- Step 11: Get your numbers. Start with our instant quote tool for a fast read, then schedule the free on-site estimate. We walk the property with you, talk through the design, and the written estimate is often back within about one business day after the site visit, depending on the project.
- Step 12: Schedule. Our Scheduling Team coordinates the start date, and weather in Oklahoma always gets a vote, so build in a little flex. If winter timing worries you, it should not: our answer on winter fence installation explains why.
- Step 13: Installation. Posts set first, then the build. A typical residential fence takes a few days, and the yard may be open to neighboring properties during that window, which is why step 9 matters. Our installation page and our post on the step-by-step process show what to expect day by day.
- Step 14: The check behind the crew. Our crews build to our exacting installation standards, and on residential projects the completed fence is reviewed by our QA inspector against our quality standards, with any issue corrected before the project closes. Most qualifying new installations earn our Gold Seal Certificate of Excellence, and new installations carry our 1-year workmanship warranty, with extended 3-year coverage on eligible steel-post components, subject to the written warranty terms.
What to Have Ready for Your Estimate
The estimate goes from good to great when the homework is in hand. Bring these to the site visit and the design conversation gets specific fast:
- Your plat or survey, with the fence line and any easements visible.
- Your one-sentence goal and any style photos you have saved. Our project gallery is a good place to collect them.
- Your gate list: where, how many, and the widest thing each one has to pass.
- Your HOA’s fence rules, if you have them, so the spec we write is the spec you submit.
- Known underground items: sprinkler zones, septic, buried downspout drains, anything you would rather the auger miss.
None of it is required, and we walk plenty of properties cold. But every item on that list turns a follow-up question into a same-day answer.
How Long the Whole Thing Takes
The honest answer: the build is days, and everything before it is what varies.
- Decisions: as fast as you make them. Most homeowners settle material, style, and gates in a week of looking at options.
- Groundwork: the wild card. A city permit check is a phone call, but an HOA review runs on the committee’s meeting schedule, which is why step 7 starts early. Run everything in this phase in parallel and it rarely gates the project.
- Estimate to scheduled start: the site visit is quick, the written estimate is often back within about one business day after the site visit, depending on the project, and the start date depends on the season’s backlog.
- The build: a typical residential fence takes a few days on site.
The Three Things That Blow Up Fence Timelines
When a project drags, it is almost always one of these, and all three are preventable.
- The HOA submittal that went in late. The committee meets when it meets. Submitting after you have picked an install week means the install week moves.
- The surprise underground. An unmarked sprinkler main or a utility easement discovered at dig time stops work while it gets sorted. Ten minutes with your plat and a walk of the line prevents it.
- The unprepped fenceline. Vegetation, stored lumber, and old wire on the line pause the crew before the first post. Two feet of clear workspace on each side keeps your own schedule intact.
For the full catalog of avoidable trouble, our guide to the top 10 fence buying mistakes pairs with this one.
After the Build: The First Year
Two things are worth calendaring. First, walk the fenceline after post-setting and test your sprinkler zones, so any surprise surfaces immediately. Second, if you chose cedar and plan to stain, timing matters: our answer on when to stain a new cedar fence covers it, and our guide to extending the life of a wood fence covers the long game.
The Bottom Line on Planning a Fence Project in Tulsa
Run the groundwork early and in parallel: line, city, HOA, utilities, neighbors, prep. Decide the fence’s job before its style, and the gates before the panels. Do those things and the build itself, the part that felt intimidating, becomes the easiest week of the project.
That sequence works the same in Owasso, Broken Arrow, Jenks, and Bixby, because we run it every week in all of them.
Ready to Start Your Fence Project?
Empire Fence has guided Tulsa homeowners from first call to finished fence since 1955. Start wherever you are in the sequence.
- Get an instant quote to put early numbers on the project.
- Schedule your free estimate and we will walk the whole plan with you.
You can also reach us directly at (918) 437-1671.
Empire Fence installs fences across Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma. Explore our installation process to see how a project comes together.
