4 Things You Should Know About Building a Fence in Milwaukee

Building a fence isn’t as simple as making a decision to build a fence. Every community has its own laws and ordinances which govern fence building.

Today we wanted to turn our attention to fences in Milwaukee. These rules are specific to the city, though you’ll find similar ones in places like Whitefish Bay or Menomonee Falls.

1. A Survey Prevents Headaches

The last thing you want to do is build a fence on someone else’s property. Even building a fence right on your property line can cause problems, because you end up giving half of the ownership of that fence to your neighbor.

And if you accidentally build over property lines your neighbor will have every right to demand that you tear that fence down–at your own expense.

Sometimes the City of Milwaukee Development Center will have copies of property surveys on file that you can look at.

We usually recommend building just inside the property lines for your own sanity and for simplicity. And we don’t ever want to build until we know we’re not encroaching on someone else’s yard.

2. Use approved materials only

On Pinterest, we do enjoy looking at photos of people who have built creative fences using all sorts of recycled or reclaimed materials. But in Milwaukee, those are not approved fence materials.

Milwaukee wants high quality wood, vinyl, aluminum, chain link, or other standard materials. Fortunately, those are the only materials we use here at A1-Fence, so that’s one less thing to worry about if you decide to hire us.

3. History can create complications.

Be careful if you live in a historic district. You won’t have the right to build whatever you want.

Instead, you’ll need to call the Historic Preservation office at (414) 286-5712 before you even enter a contract with us or any other fence contractor. They will have to issue a “certificate of appropriateness” for your proposed fence.

In short, you’ll have to build a fence that matches whatever era your home comes from.

4. You need a permit.

You absolutely need a permit before construction begins. The permit will tell you how tall your fence can be, and even where you’ll be able to place it. There are special considerations for people who live on corner lots, for example, and nobody wants a fence that blocks traffic.

Fortunately, A1 Fence is prepared to help you through the permitting process. We’re well versed in all of the appropriate laws and ordinances, and you won’t have to worry about that much.

Are you ready to get started? Call us for a free estimate on your brand new fence!