Fence or Landscaping: Which Comes First?

Apr 4, 2018 | Chain Link Fence, Composite Fence, Ornamental Fence, Simulated Stone Vinyl Fence

So you’ve just built or bought a new house, congrats! Now you need to fix up the yard. A common question that comes up is whether you should install the fence or do the major landscaping first. This is not a simple question to answer, instead you need to ask yourself these questions:

Do you have a detailed plan of what you want your yard to look like? Do not start on the fence or the landscaping until you know what the other will look like. This will save you a lot of work and revising because you know that everything will fit together.
Will you have delicate plants around the fence? If you plan on having a flower bed, fresh sod, or other more delicate plants around your fence, you will want to install your fence first. This is because the contractors installing the fence could damage your landscaping while putting up the fence. You don’t want all of your hard work to be destroyed.
Will your landscaping require large trucks or other machinery coming into your yard? If that’s the case, you will probably want to hold off on the fence in order to allow these vehicles access to your yard. You don’t want to put up a fence just to realize that the gate isn’t big enough to finish your landscaping project.
Will your landscaping change the height of your yard? If you plan on filling in a ditch in your yard or leveling out a hill, that should be done before a fence is installed. Otherwise, your fence will not be level with the ground.
Do you have kids or dogs? If you do and you plan on letting them play outside, you probably should put a fence up first for safety and privacy. They can play in an unfinished yard, but it’s unwise to let them out without any sort of protection from a fence.
What can you afford? If you can only afford one project right now, a good option is to put the fence up, because it needs to be done all in one go. Then you can tackle the landscaping as you can afford it, planting a tree here and a flower garden there.

As you can see, there is a different answer for every situation. Hopefully this guide has helped you figure out what’s best for you in putting your new yard together!