Mercer Island sits in the middle of Lake Washington, so almost every street runs downhill to the water. Lots are steep, the tree canopy is old and tall, and the shoreline lots have banks that move when runoff from the street above has nowhere else to go. A solid fence across the way water walks to the lake will flood the uphill side. We break the fence for water, or we do not cross that line with a board at grade.
King County · ZIP 98040
Do not fence the drainage into a pond
Privacy where you sit, open or gapped where the yard sheds. Posts are set like any wet lot, deep and crowned. We do not run a tall solid fence down the bank as a staircase of boards that catches debris.
If the goal is to keep a dog in and the view open, we build that, not a stockade. Tell us which problem is real.
The ground in Mercer Island
Most of our work here is on slopes. A patio or terrace has to be cut into the hill with a real base and a drain behind any wall, or the first wet winter shows where the water wants to go. On the lakefront lots we keep native shrubs on the bank, because they hold the soil better than lawn, and we take runoff to a drain or a rain garden instead of letting it sheet over the edge.
The city is strict about removing large trees and about work near the shoreline. We check what needs a permit before we cut or dig, and we plan around the trees you have to keep. Under those firs and cedars the ground is shady and mossy, so we often turn worn-out lawn into planting beds and stone paths that stay clean year-round.
How we do the work
A fence in this county fails at the post. Wood rots where it meets wet soil, and a post set in a soft hole leans when the clay shifts. We set posts deep, we crown the concrete or the rock so water does not pool on the wood, and we keep the bottom of a board fence off the ground so it is not wicking mud.
Cedar for the boards, pressure-treated or steel where it touches the soil. We do not bury untreated lumber. Gates are built as gates, with a brace, not as a short panel that sags by August.
What we look at first
- The property line, before we dig
- Slope, and whether the fence should step or rack
- Who keeps the good side, and where the gates need to swing
- Sprinklers and the neighbor’s grade
Gates
A diagonal brace in the right direction, hinges that can carry the weight, and a latch you can open with one hand. The gate post is bigger or deeper than the line posts. A sagging gate is a build problem, and it shows up fast.
How long cedar lasts
A well-set cedar fence in this rain is often in the fifteen to twenty year range, longer if the bottom stays dry and you stain it before it goes gray and split. The posts outlive a careless bottom board. We build so you can replace boards later without replacing the line.
Stepped or racked
Stepped panels on a real slope, so the boards stay plumb and the gaps stay even. Racking a flat panel down a hill twists the frame. We pick the method from the grade, not from a photo.
More from this crew
- Fence installation across the region
- Retaining walls in Mercer Island
- Gravel installation in Mercer Island
- Hardscaping in Mercer Island
- Landscaping in Mercer Island
- Fence installation in Sammamish
Sources for the climate and the water
- USDA plant hardiness map for choosing plants that can take a King County winter.
- EPA WaterSense on watering less once a lawn or a new planting is established.
- EPA Soak Up the Rain on keeping roof and yard water from becoming someone else’s problem.
