Free written scope consultation - allowances, timeline, and change-order rules on paper before a single trade is scheduled
Wellborn Fence Installation: The San Antonio Owner’s Guide
Wellborn fence installation in San Antonio typically runs $3,500 – $9,000 installed, depending on linear footage, fence height, gate count, and whether we’re replacing posts set in clay or limestone. Most Wellborn fence sections we install are matched, set, and finished within two to three working days once materials are on site. The usual discovery moment is a gate that suddenly drags, a post that leans after a hard rain, or a section that rocks when a dog jumps against it, and by then the fasteners or post bases have usually been quietly failing for months.
We stock Wellborn-compatible fence hardware and commonly ordered replacement rails, pickets, and post caps on our trucks, so a first visit often turns into a finished repair rather than a two-trip job. Elmstead Remodeling San Antonio is an independent contractor, not a Wellborn dealer or factory representative, which means we can match aftermarket equivalents where they hold up better in Texas heat and tell you plainly when OEM is the smarter spend. Graham Stein writes every fence scope down before a single tool leaves the truck, so the price you sign is the price you pay, and that starts with a free site measurement.
Which Wellborn Models This Applies To
Wellborn fence lines are built around a few recurring profiles: 6-foot and 8-foot privacy sections with dog-ear or square-top pickets, 4-foot estate or garden panels, and matching gate frames in single and double widths. The compatibility gotcha most San Antonio owners hit is rail thickness. Older Wellborn sections often used a 1-3/8-inch top and bottom rail; newer production switched to 1-5/8-inch rails, which means a replacement picket from one era won’t seat cleanly into a rail from the other without a shim or a rail swap. Before ordering anything, we measure the rail opening on site, check the picket width (usually 5-1/2 inches or 7-1/2 inches), and photograph the post cap profile.
For OEM Wellborn fence components versus quality aftermarket equivalents, our rule is simple: match OEM for gate hardware and post caps where the profile has to stay identical, and consider a heavier-gauge aftermarket for fasteners and post bases, since San Antonio’s clay soil expands and contracts more aggressively than the hardware Wellborn originally spec’d for drier climates. We also check for aluminum versus galvanized steel post inserts, because mixing those two metals up against pressure-treated lumber invites the kind of fast corrosion you don’t see until a post lets go. If you have KraftMaid, Cambria, or Silestone products elsewhere in the home, our parts desk handles those as well, but fence work stays on the Wellborn line.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Wellborn Fence Installation Is Failing
- Gate drags or won’t latch: The gate frame has sagged, usually because the hinge screws pulled free from a post that absorbed years of San Antonio’s seasonal clay movement. Tightening rarely holds; the post or the hinge mount needs resetting.
- Post leans after rain: Water pooled at the post base and softened the fill, or the original post was set too shallow for this area’s soil. We see it most in neighborhoods east of Highway 281 where clay sits close to the surface.
- Section rocks when pushed: The rails have pulled loose from the post brackets, or the brackets themselves have corroded through. This is the stage where kids and dogs leaning on the fence start to make it visibly sway.
- Pickets are splitting at the nail line: Repeated heat-and-humidity cycles in San Antonio cause wood pickets to expand and contract around the fastener, splitting along the grain. This is a picket replacement, not a nail fix.
- Rust streaks below post caps or hardware: The galvanized coating has failed, and the exposed metal is bleeding into the wood. It looks cosmetic, but it means the hardware is losing structural thickness.
See the difference
Before
After
Before
After
Before
AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For San Antonio Wellborn fence work, you’re looking at these installed numbers:
- Partial section replacement (one to three sections): $800 – $2,600, depending on whether posts can be reused
- Single gate replacement with new hardware: $600 – $1,800, including frame, pickets, hinges, and latch
- Half-fence replacement (40 – 60 linear feet): $2,500 – $4,500
- Full Wellborn-style fence installation (100 – 150 linear feet): $3,500 – $9,000
What moves the price within those ranges is post condition, fence height, how much old concrete has to be broken out, and whether we’re in backyards with tight access through a side gate. Every quote includes parts, labor, haul-away of the old section, post setting with concrete mixed for San Antonio’s clay, and a written line-item price before any work starts. The 365-Day Done Right Promise applies: if the fence isn’t right after we leave, we make it right.
DIY or Call Us?
A homeowner can safely check a few things: whether a gate is dragging because the latch screw has simply backed out, whether a post was left with standing water at its base, and whether the pickets are split at the nails versus along the grain. Those observations help us give you a tighter phone estimate. Where DIY goes wrong on Wellborn fence sections is the part most people don’t expect: pulling old posts set in concrete that has bonded to San Antonio clay requires a jack or a post puller, and the wrong angle on that pull will snap the post and leave you with a hole full of broken concrete. Digging new post holes through limestone outcroppings along the I-10 corridor is another spot where a weekend turns into three weekends.
If the post is leaning, if the rail has pulled free, or if a gate frame has sagged past the latch, call us at (432) 233-0976. We’ll measure, write the scope, and price it once before anything starts.
FAQs
A properly set Wellborn-style wood fence in San Antonio lasts 15 to 20 years, but the hardware and post bases usually need attention around year 10 because of seasonal clay movement and humidity. Call (432) 233-0976 and we’ll inspect the sections that matter most.
Yes, if the post itself isn’t rotting, we can reset it in fresh concrete, replace the brackets, and reattach the rails and pickets the same day. Call (432) 233-0976 for a free assessment.
Most single-section replacements and gate resets are finished in one day; a full fence installation runs two to three working days once materials arrive. We’ll include the schedule in your written estimate.
We stock common rail sizes, pickets, post caps, gate hardware, and post bases for Wellborn-compatible fence sections, so most first visits include the repair itself. Call (432) 233-0976 to confirm what’s on the truck before we come out.
If your Wellborn fence is leaning, dragging, or splitting, call (432) 233-0976 for a free estimate. We’ll put the scope in writing, price it once, and leave your yard cleaner than we found it, with a photo of the cleanup before the crew leaves.
Written by Graham Stein, Owner, Elmstead Remodeling San Antonio at Elmstead Remodeling San Antonio, serving San Antonio and nearby areas.
