The Town of Highlands was incorporated in 1875, became a city in 1885, and was annexed by Denver in 1896 — some sources say 1890, and the variance is worth noting rather than smoothing over. Potter-Highlands, the historic core, was platted with a limit of one mansion per block, and its square blocks — 374 by 370 feet — hold interior “carriage lots” with 19th-century barns and garages along the alleys, which makes rear fence lines unusually complex. The Potter Highlands Historic District is a Denver landmark district, established 20 April 1979 and enlarged 25 February 1987, covering about 276 acres and 571 contributing buildings between Federal Boulevard, Zuni Street, 32nd Avenue, and 38th Avenue. Inside it, Landmark Preservation reviews fences and a permit is required at any height. The Scottish Highland subdivision next door, with its curving streets named Dunkeld, Fife, and Argyle, is a National Register district. Check per address, never per neighborhood.
LoHi — Lower Highland, the eastern portion of the neighborhood — is a restaurant and nightlife strip, not a separate neighborhood. Its spillover reaches the residential streets: nightlife foot traffic, parking pressure, and rear fences and gates that take more wear and need locking hardware. The pedestrian bridge to Union Station, built in the early 2000s, made the eastern edge a high-foot-traffic gateway, so front fences there face constant passers-by. And Victorian brick now sits shoulder-to-shoulder with glass-and-steel townhomes, which means new builds overlook Victorian yards and drive privacy-fence demand on the older side.
Highland work runs from estate iron and brick piers on Potter-Highlands mansion lots to cedar privacy at the rear of bungalows, modern horizontal slat on new townhomes, and lockable gates on the LoHi edge.
Highland has its own set of fence problems, from the local housing stock, the ground, and the streets around it. Here are the four we see most often.
Square blocks with interior carriage lots and 19th-century barns and garages along the alleys make rear fence lines unusually complex. Alleys, outbuildings, and interior lots all intersect the fence line.
Victorian brick sits shoulder-to-shoulder with glass-and-steel townhomes. New builds overlook Victorian yards, driving privacy-fence demand on the older side.
The Lower Highland restaurant and bar strip brings nightlife foot traffic and parking pressure to residential streets. Rear fences and gates take more wear and need locking hardware.
Highland sits above the river bottom, so the slope down to the river creates grade-change fencing on the eastern edge, with stepped or racked panels.
Highland fences range from 1880s iron to brand-new horizontal slat. These are the signs yours needs work.
Iron fence is rusting at the base or at welds
Period iron rusts at ground level in clay soil. Early repair keeps it standing; late repair means fabrication.
Your Victorian yard is newly overlooked
A glass townhome next door is the most common privacy-fence trigger in Highland right now.
Alley gate drags or will not latch
Carriage-lot alleys and daily use move gate posts in clay. The gate is usually fine — the post is the problem.
Cedar is gray and soft at the ground line
High-altitude UV strips the finish, then moisture rots the pickets where they meet the soil.
Brick pier is cracking or leaning
Clay heave works on masonry as well as wood. A leaning pier will take the iron panels with it.
Four things about Highland that decide what fence goes where — and what rules apply to it.
Established 20 April 1979 and enlarged 25 February 1987, about 276 acres and 571 contributing buildings, bounded by Federal Boulevard, Zuni Street, 32nd Avenue, and 38th Avenue. Landmark review applies inside it — check per address.
374-by-370-foot square blocks with interior carriage lots and 19th-century barns and garages along the alleys. Rear fence lines are unusually complex here.
The eastern restaurant and nightlife strip. Rear fences and gates take more wear and need locking hardware; front fences face constant foot traffic from the Union Station bridge.
Highland was settled because it sits above the flood-prone river bottom. Fences here do not face the floodplain problems of Globeville, but the eastern slope needs grade-change fencing.
We work across Highland's Victorian streets, the Potter-Highlands district, and the LoHi edge, and across the Denver neighborhoods listed below. Every job starts with a call, not a form — tell us your Highland address and we will confirm coverage.
Adjacent cities such as Aurora and Lakewood are not served. Call (720) 697-2456 to confirm we cover your Denver address.
Payless Fence Company is rated 4.9 out of 5 from 27 Google reviews. We show the aggregate rating here, not individual review text. Call (720) 697-2456 and we will talk through your Highland fence job.
Highland's fence calendar follows the ground, not the calendar on the wall — and the high ground, since the neighborhood sits above the flood-prone river bottom and its fences have always told that story. Spring is the rush, summer the prime build, fall the repair window, and winter the ground's call. Denver's hail season runs roughly mid-April through mid-September, peaking in May and June.
Spring is when Highland's fences show the winter: leaned posts, heaved footings, estate iron that has shifted on a mansion lot. The ground thaws and the damage shows up all at once — spring is the time to find and fix it.
Walk your fence line in March and look at the ironwork as well as the posts — estate iron shows a lean early.
Summer is the prime building season on high ground: long days, dry ground, fast-setting concrete — and peak demand and peak hail. Iron and steel take hail better than vinyl, which matters on a Highland front where the fence is part of the streetscape.
After a hailstorm, check iron panels and picket tops for bends and splits before the damage spreads.
Fall is the practical window, while the ground is still workable and before the first freeze. Posts go back in concrete, and LoHi-edge gate hardware gets adjusted before ice makes a dragging gate worse.
Walk the fence line in September and fix the small things before the first freeze.
We build through the winter with frost augers and concrete additives, except below about 25°F, in heavy snow, or on saturated ground. Every freeze–thaw cycle lifts a shallow post a little higher.
Snow load finds the weak posts fast — check the line after the first big storm.
Highland sits among Denver neighborhoods with their own housing stock and fence rules. These are the closest pages in our Denver set.
(Denver neighborhood)
Craftsman bungalows and Denver Squares going through intense scrape-and-rebuild, with the Tennyson Street spine.
View Berkeley(Denver neighborhood)
1920s bungalows around the lake, where lake-view lots need low, open fencing on the view side.
View Sloan Lake(Denver neighborhood)
Victorian Curtis Park streets and the Welton Street jazz corridor, with the RiNo warehouse edge to the north.
View Five PointsReal answers for the questions we hear most often before a job starts in Highland.
If you need a fence installed, repaired, or replaced in Highland, call Payless Fence Company at (720) 697-2456. We are open Monday to Sunday, 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM, and we will talk through your mansion lot or bungalow, your LoHi edge, and the rules that apply to your address.
Call (720) 697-2456 to talk about your fence in Highland. Tell us whether it is estate iron on a Potter-Highlands mansion lot, cedar privacy behind a bungalow, or a rear fence on one of the square 374-by-370-foot blocks, where the interior carriage lots and 19th-century barns along the alleys make the rear line unusually complex — and whether you are inside the Potter Highlands Historic District, where Landmark review applies. We are a phone-only business, open Monday to Sunday, 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Tell us your address, what the fence is doing now, and what you want it to do.
Phone
(720) 697-2456Address
Payless Fence Company LLC, Denver, CO 80201, US
Hours
Monday–Sunday: 7:00 AM – 8:00 PM
