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AfterCertainTeed Fence Installation: The Los Angeles Owner’s Guide
CertainTeed fence installation in Los Angeles typically runs $4130 – $10620 installed, depending on fence height, linear footage, post style, and whether we’re replacing a failed section or running an entire perimeter. We stock the most common CertainTeed Bufftech and EverNew post, panel, and gate hardware on our trucks, so a sagging gate or split post often gets matched and fixed in one visit. Most owners call us after noticing a gate that drags, a post that leans after the winter rains, or a panel that cracked at the bottom rail where sprinklers hit it every morning.
Which CertainTeed Models This Applies To
CertainTeed has made vinyl and composite fencing under two main lines since the early 2000s: Bufftech (which CertainTeed acquired and then rebranded) and EverNew (the current retail line, known for its matte finish and CertaGrain wood-texture option). The compatibility gotcha we run into weekly in Los Angeles: Bufftech posts from the pre-2010 era have a slightly different internal rail channel than EverNew posts, so a new EverNew panel will not always seat cleanly into an older Bufftech post without a retrofit bracket or a shim. If you don’t have the original paperwork, flip the panel and look for a small raised manufacturer code on the bottom rail near the end cap, or pull a gate hinge to check the post wall thickness: old Bufftech is usually .135″ or .150″ wall, EverNew runs .070″ to .110″ in standard residential grades. On OEM versus aftermarket: we generally recommend genuine CertainTeed panels when matching an existing run, because aftermarket whites and tans fade differently under Los Angeles UV, and two years of sun will make a mismatched panel obvious from the street. Penhallow Remodeling is an independent service provider; we are not affiliated with CertainTeed, but we install their product lines regularly because the warranty support on genuine parts is straightforward when a replacement claim is needed.
Signs Your CertainTeed Fence Installation Is Failing
- Gate dragging or sticking at the latch – This is almost always hinge sag from a post that has lost its footing in clay soil, not a bent hinge. Los Angeles winters swell the ground, summers shrink it, and a post set in less than 24 inches of concrete will work loose within a few seasons. The fix is re-setting the post deeper and re-hanging the gate with a fresh hinge plate.
- Bottom rail cracking at the picket seam – Vinyl expands and contracts with temperature. When a bottom rail is installed tight against a concrete patio or a sidewalk with no expansion gap, the rail binds and splits at the picket socket. We see it on the west side of properties most often, where afternoon heat is the longest.
- Post leaning at the gate or corner – A gate post carries a live load every time the gate opens. Corner posts carry the pull of the entire fence line. Both need a deeper, wider concrete footing than line posts, and when they were not installed that way, the lean gets worse each year.
- Brown or chalky streaks down a picket face – This is not a material failure; it’s usually rust staining from a sprinkler that hits the fence with hard water, or runoff from a planter. CertainTeed’s vinyl cleans well with soap and a soft brush, but if the staining has sunk into the matte CertaGrain texture, a panel swap is the cleanest fix.
- Wind rattle and a visible panel jump at the top rail – The panel is no longer seated in the post channel, usually because the post cap cracked and let the channel open, or a top rail bowed in a Santa Ana event. Left alone, the panel can blow out of the channel entirely.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
For a standard 6-foot-tall residential run, a full CertainTeed fence installation in Los Angeles lands between $4130 and $10620. On the lower end, that’s a straight 60 to 80 linear feet on flat ground with healthy existing posts. On the upper end, you’re looking at 150-plus linear feet, a gate or two, and posts that need full re-setting. What drives the number: linear footage first, then post condition, then gate hardware and whether the old fence needs haul-away. Every bid includes parts, concrete, labor, haul-away, and a written fixed price before we start. If we open up the job and find a rotted post footing that was not visible from the surface, the number on your proposal does not move. We also put our 365-Day Done Right Promise on every fence job in writing: if a post shifts or a gate binds because of our installation inside that year, we come back and make it right at no charge.
DIY or Call Us?
What you can safely check yourself is simple: look at the post caps, wiggle the gate, and note where panels meet concrete. But actually pulling and re-setting a CertainTeed post means digging below the existing footing, mixing enough concrete to fill a 30-inch-deep hole, and then waiting a full day for it to cure before you re-hang the gate. That’s a two-person job with a post-hole digger and a level that most Los Angeles homeowners don’t have sitting in the garage. The dangerous part is the gate: a 6-foot vinyl gate with the post footing failing will drop hard and suddenly, and a gate that weighs 80-plus pounds can take a hand or a finger with it if it comes off the hinge while you’re working alone. Give us the whole picture first, then we pick up the tools. If you’re not sure whether the post is just out of plumb or the footing is cracked, call (936) 259-2607 and we’ll come take a look before anyone touches a shovel.
FAQs
A properly installed CertainTeed vinyl fence in Los Angeles should last 20 to 30 years. The factors that shorten that in our climate are UV exposure (which dulls the finish and makes panels brittle over time), sprinkler water (which stains and promotes algae at the bottom rail), and clay soil movement (which shifts posts that were set too shallow). The panels themselves rarely rot; the posts and gate hardware fail first.
In most cases, no. Vinyl panels are welded or fused at the factory, and a cracked picket socket or split bottom rail cannot be glued back to full strength. What can be repaired: a leaning post can be re-set, a dragging gate can be re-hung on new hinges, and a panel that has slipped out of its channel can sometimes be re-seated with a new post cap. Call (936) 259-2607 and we’ll tell you over the phone whether what you’re describing sounds repairable.
A gate or single post re-set is usually a half-day job plus cure time. A full perimeter fence replacement of 100 linear feet with tear-out, new posts, panels, and one gate typically takes our crew two days. Concrete footings need a day to cure before we hang gates on them, so we stage the work to keep your gate functional as long as possible.
We stock common EverNew and Bufftech panels, post caps, hinge sets, and gate hardware in white and tan on our service trucks, and we can order less common colors and the CertaGrain finish through the same supply chain we use for our kitchen and bath brands like KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone. If we arrive and the part we need is not on the truck, we’ll tell you before we leave, and we’ll tell you the day it will be installed, not a vague window.
Written by Trevor Nash, Owner, Penhallow Remodeling at Penhallow Remodeling, serving Los Angeles and nearby areas.