Wood Fence Installation
Wood fencing in North Hollywood, California
A cedar or redwood privacy fence is the warm, classic backyard boundary, and it suits the older bungalows and ranch homes that fill North Hollywood. We build ours to screen a close lot, resist the termites that come with old housing stock, and stand straight on flat valley ground.
Why homeowners choose wood here
North Hollywood's housing runs old and characterful, 1920s bungalows, Spanish revivals, and California ranch homes, and nothing sits with those elevations like real wood. Cedar or redwood screens a full six feet on a lot where the neighbor is practically at your elbow, carries the warm tone the arts-district streets around Lankershim and Magnolia are built on, and undercuts vinyl or iron once the run gets long. Wood also bends to a custom look more easily than anything else: cap it with lattice, run a good-neighbor board-on-board pattern, or lay the boards horizontally for a remodeled front.
The price of that is maintenance, and we will not pretend otherwise. Plan on stain or sealer every two to three years, because the NoHo sun pulls the color out of a bare board fast and leaves it gray, checked, and sometimes cupped. If the thought of ever touching the fence again bothers you, vinyl is the honest recommendation. If you want the grain and can live with a weekend of sealer every couple of years, wood is still the better-looking fence.
Cedar or redwood, and the styles we build
Nearly every wood fence we put up in North Hollywood is western red cedar or construction-heart redwood. Pine cannot touch either one on rot and insect resistance, which counts for a lot in a neighborhood where the older houses already deal with termites, and both take stain evenly and shrug off the dry heat. As for style, these are what people here actually order:
- Dog-ear or flat-top privacy. The plain six foot backyard workhorse, boards pushed tight against each other so nothing shows through.
- Board on board, the good-neighbor build. Boards overlap so both yards see the same face, which goes a long way on a shared line.
- Horizontal slat. A crisper, modern face that lands well on the NoHo remodels and newer infill homes.
- Lattice or trellis cap. Solid below, open above, so you gain height and daylight and give a gust somewhere to go.
Style is the part you see. The posts are the part that decides how long it stands. Ours go in pressure-treated or steel, set in concrete footings sized to the run and the wind, because a wood fence almost always gives out at the post while the panels are still fine.
Building a wood fence on a small North Hollywood lot
The tight NoHo lot drives how the job runs. Access comes first: on a narrow property, or where the backyard is reached only through a rear alley, we plan how the lumber and concrete get in and the old fence gets out before we start, because that logistics piece is a real cost on these blocks. Property lines on the older homes are often unrecorded or fuzzy, so a quick survey check before we dig keeps a shared boundary fence a friendly project rather than a dispute.
The ground helps. The flat valley floor is sandy to loamy alluvial soil that digs cleanly, so posts go in straight and concrete sets solid without hitting rock. The thing to manage is drainage and rot: flat lots shed water slowly, and standing water at the base is what kills a wood post early, so we set posts above the low spots, backfill for drainage, and keep the wood off the dirt. Done that way, a cedar or redwood fence here has every chance to reach its full life.
Wood, sun, and wind
Two things age a wood fence in North Hollywood: the sun and the wind. The dry summer sun is relentless on an unsealed board, so we recommend a stain or seal within the first year and every two to three after, which holds the color and slows the surface checking. Wind is the other factor, because a solid six foot fence catches the fall Santa Ana gusts like a sail even on flat ground. On exposed runs we set posts deeper and closer together, and where a line really takes the wind we will suggest a lattice or slat top that lets some through rather than fighting all of it. That is the detail that keeps a wood fence upright through the season instead of leaning after the first big blow.
Wood fence pricing in North Hollywood
| Length of run | Installed range | Where it shows up |
|---|---|---|
| 75 linear ft | $2,250 to $4,500 | One side yard or a short back line |
| 150 linear ft | $4,500 to $9,000 | A standard NoHo backyard |
| 250 linear ft | $7,500 to $15,000 | A corner lot or full perimeter |
Those figures include posts, panels, hardware, and labor. Pulling out an old fence, an alley-only backyard, stepping up to lattice or board on board, and any gates will walk you toward the top. Our North Hollywood fence cost guide breaks it all out.
Get your wood fence priced in writing
We measure the line at your place in North Hollywood, look at the access and the grade, and hand back a fixed quote on paper. No charge, no strings.
Get a fast quoteWood fence questions
How much does a wood fence cost in North Hollywood?
Budget $30 to $60 per linear foot installed. Six foot cedar or redwood privacy across 150 feet generally totals $4,500 to $9,000, and where you land inside that depends on which wood you pick, whether an old fence has to come out first, and how tight the access is on a narrow lot or down a rear alley.
What wood lasts best in the North Hollywood heat?
Western red cedar and construction-heart redwood. Both stand up to rot and insects far better than pine, which matters in the older NoHo housing stock where termites are common, and both take the hot, dry summers in stride. Seal it every two to three years and you hold the color and slow the surface checking that strong sun causes on any wood fence.
Does a wood fence look finished from both sides?
It can, and on close North Hollywood lots that matters. A board on board or good neighbor pattern overlaps the boards so the fence reads the same from your yard and the neighbor's, which keeps a shared boundary fence friendly and satisfies the neighbor whose side would otherwise face the plain frame.
How tall can a wood fence be in North Hollywood?
The City of Los Angeles allows a residential wood fence up to six feet in the side and rear yards, and eight on any lot of forty feet frontage or more outside a designated Hillside Area, which is most of the NoHo grid. Inside the required front yard the limit is 42 inches. Corner lots and driveway openings carry a visibility triangle capped at 42 inches. Anything above the ceiling for your lot has to be permitted through LADBS.
Keep reading
The complete run through is fence building in North Hollywood.