Every picket fence we build comes with the same core scope: layout, post setting, pickets, gates, and cleanup. Here is what is covered, and what we will flag before we start if your lot needs something different.
We mark the fence line with stakes and a string line, confirm property boundaries, and contact Colorado 811 for utility locates before any digging starts. A front-yard fence is the most visible fence on the lot, so the layout has to be exact.
Picket posts go deep in concrete — frost depth in the Denver metro is commonly cited at about 36 inches — because a low fence on a shallow post still leans in freeze-thaw ground.
We build with cedar pickets on pressure-treated rails, or vinyl pickets where the homeowner wants no upkeep. Cedar takes stain; vinyl holds its color. We talk through which suits the house.
The walk gate gets a braced frame and a latch that meets the post. We hang it, test the swing, and adjust the latch before we leave. A front gate is used every day, so it has to work every day.
We check the Denver rules for your address — 4 feet in front of the primary facade — and the Landmark rules where they apply. In a historic district, a fence needs a permit at any height, and front fences must stay low and mostly open.
Everything old — picket fence, concrete footings, scrap — goes in the trailer. We rake the work area and sweep the driveway, then walk the line with you before we leave.
Picket fence installation Denver CO is the process of setting posts, hanging rails, and fastening pickets with even spacing to create a low, open front-yard fence — usually 3 to 4 feet tall, at or under Denver's 4-foot front limit. The work is in the spacing: the pickets have to be even, the top has to be level, and the gate has to be built to the walkway, not the other way around.
Most Denver homeowners choose a picket fence for a front yard, a garden edge, or a small dog. It marks the lot without blocking the porch, the street, or the light, and it suits the Craftsman bungalows, Denver Squares, and Victorians that make up much of the city's older housing. The honest limit is privacy: a picket fence does not screen anything, and it will not keep a large dog in.
Every job follows the same four steps, whether it is a 30-foot front run in Congress Park or a garden edge in Highland. You will know what happens each day.
Call
Call (720) 697-2456, Monday through Sunday, 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Tell us about the picket fence, the yard, and the lot, and we will set a time to measure.
Measure & plan
We measure the front run to the picket spacing, check the ground and the slope, note trees and roots, and confirm the 4-foot front height rule and the Landmark rules for your address.
Build
Posts go in concrete and cure, rails and pickets go up level and evenly spaced, and the walk gate is hung and tested. We keep the site tidy as we go.
Walk-through
The last step is a walk of the finished picket fence with you — every gate and latch checked, the site cleared before we leave.
Post hole digger and auger
Used to bore clean holes deep enough to clear the frost line. A low fence on a shallow post still leans in freeze-thaw ground.
String line and level
The string line keeps the fence straight, and the level keeps every post plumb and every picket top level. A picket fence is all top edge — a wavy top shows from the street.
Spacer jig
A spacer block keeps the gap between pickets even across the whole run. Even spacing is the difference between a picket fence and a pile of boards.
Circular saw and nail gun
The circular saw cuts pickets and rails to length, and the nail gun fastens them fast and consistent. We set the depth so nails sink flush without crushing the cedar grain.
Tamper and wheelbarrow
Soil tamped around each footing keeps the picket fence post from shifting, and the wheelbarrow moves concrete mix to the hole.
Level and square for gates
The walk gate is built square and hung on a braced post. We check the diagonal before the gate goes on the hinges, not after.
Posts set below Denver frost depth
Denver metro frost depth is commonly cited at about 36 inches, and the exact code figure for fence posts is not settled in the sources we reviewed. Our rule: 36 inches is the floor, never the target, and picket fence posts are set in concrete.
Even spacing, level tops
Pickets are spaced with a jig and the tops are kept level across the run. A picket fence lives or dies on its top edge, and we check it from the street as well as the yard.
Kiln-dried pickets
We use kiln-dried cedar pickets so boards do not twist after install. A twisted picket on a low fence shows immediately.
Front-yard height kept legal
Denver caps front-yard fences at 4 feet in front of the primary street-facing facade. We build to that limit, and we check the Landmark rules where they apply.
01
What we do:We measure the front run, talk through cedar pickets with a flat or pointed top, and check the Landmark rules for the address. A low picket fence suits a Craftsman bungalow in a way a solid fence does not.
→ A front fence that frames the porch and the garden, and looks like it belongs to the house.
02
What we do:We measure the front run, talk through tight picket spacing and a self-closing walk gate, and build it at or under the 4-foot front limit. The fence keeps a small dog in without blocking the street.
→ A front yard the dog can use, with a gate that latches every time.
03
What we do:We measure the garden run, talk through a low picket edge, and build it. The fence marks the garden without shading it or blocking the view from the porch.
→ A garden with a boundary that does not become a wall.
04
What we do:We check the district rules for the address — in a Denver landmark district, a fence needs a permit and a Certificate of Appropriateness at any height, and front fences must stay low and mostly open. Then we build the approved design.
→ A front fence that passes design review and suits the streetscape.
The picket fence is Denver's oldest front-yard fence, and the rules around it are the strictest: 4 feet in front of the primary facade, a permit at any height in a historic district, and front fences more than 50 percent open inside a district. The material is simple — cedar or vinyl pickets on a pressure-treated frame — and the job is small. We keep this page because the front yard matters, not because picket is a big market: it is the weakest-supported fence page in the research, and we would rather say that than oversell it.
Victorian and Queen Anne homes from the 1870s to 1890s on narrow lots. Part of Baker is a Denver landmark district, where a fence needs a permit at any height and front fences must stay low and mostly open — check per address. On these streets, a low picket fence is the usual call.
Settled on high ground west of the South Platte and annexed by Denver in 1896 (some histories say 1890). The Potter Highlands Historic District covers about 276 acres and 571 contributing buildings — check per address before planning a fence. A low picket fence is the usual call on these streets.
About 80 percent of buildings date from 1900 to 1929, with the highest concentration of Denver Squares in the city. Part of the neighborhood falls in the 7th Avenue Historic District, and 7th Avenue Parkway triggers a permit at any height. These streets usually call for a low picket fence.
One of Denver's oldest neighborhoods, with the Curtis Park Historic District inside it and the Five Points Historic Cultural District designated in 2002. Victorian fronts call for low iron or picket; solid privacy belongs at the rear. On these streets, a low picket fence is the usual call.
Platted in 1885 with lots twice the standard Denver size. The Montclair Historic District, designated in 1975, covers only the central heart — Landmark review applies inside it, and period iron and masonry suit the front streetscape. A low picket fence is the usual call on these streets.
Historic-district review is block-specific
In a Denver landmark district, a fence needs a permit and a Certificate of Appropriateness at any height, and front fences must stay low and mostly open. District boundaries are block-specific — never assume a whole neighborhood is or is not in one. For a picket fence, we check the district boundary for your address before we quote.
Denver permit and sight-triangle rules
Denver caps fences at 4 feet in front of the primary street-facing facade and 6 feet behind it, and any fence over 4 feet needs a zoning permit. Corner lots have sight-triangle limits near intersections, and fences sit at least 6 inches back from the public sidewalk. On a picket fence job, the height rule and the sight triangle are checked for your address first.
Freeze-thaw cycles that heave shallow posts
Denver's freeze-thaw ground lifts shallow posts within a winter or two. Frost depth is commonly cited at about 36 inches in the metro, and posts set shallower than that are the usual cause of a leaning fence. A picket fence only holds if the posts are set below the frost line in concrete.
Mature trees and root zones
Many Denver blocks have 100-year-old street trees. Post holes have to be routed around root zones, and a fence line sometimes shifts a few inches to keep a tree healthy. For a picket fence, post holes are routed around root zones — the line sometimes shifts a few inches to keep a tree healthy.
Most picket calls start with a problem, not a wish list. Here are the four we hear most often, and how we handle each one.
Problem
A low fence on a shallow post still leans in freeze-thaw ground, and a leaning picket run shows immediately from the street.
Our Fix
We dig out the failed footing, reset the post deep in fresh concrete, and rehang the rails and pickets. If the wood is still sound, you keep it.
Problem
Pickets cut from green lumber twist as they dry, and a twisted picket on a low fence shows from the street. The fix is in the build: kiln-dried pickets, set straight.
Our Fix
We replace the twisted pickets with kiln-dried stock and check the rest of the run. If the fence was built with green lumber, the twisting will keep coming — and we will say so.
Problem
A front gate is used every day, and a dragging gate means the frame is racking or the post has leaned. Keep forcing it and the hinges pull out of the post.
Our Fix
We diagnose the cause first — post, hinges, or frame — and fix the actual problem with a braced frame and proper hardware, then test the swing and the latch.
Problem
A front fence over 4 feet, or a solid front fence in a historic district, draws a violation notice fast — and in a district, the fence may be ordered removed.
Our Fix
We review the Denver height rules and the district rules for the address, measure the fence, and work out whether a height adjustment or a new Certificate of Appropriateness brings it into compliance.
A picket fence is the front-yard fence: low, open, and built to frame the house. Here is what you actually get when we build yours — and the limits we will not hide.
Frames the house, does not hide it
A low picket fence marks the lot and frames the porch and the garden without blocking the street, the light, or the view from the porch.
Suits the older housing stock
Denver's bungalows, Denver Squares, and Victorians were built with low front fences. A picket fence looks right on those houses in a way a solid fence does not.
Repairable picket by picket
When a picket twists or a gate drags, we replace that picket or fix that gate. You do not replace the whole fence for one bad board.
What picket fencing costs in the Denver market
Third-party market guides published in October and November 2026 put wood picket fencing, 4 feet tall, at $19.94 to $28.28 per linear foot installed. Vinyl picket runs higher. Sources: NumeralQ, 26 Oct 2026. Those are market ranges, not Payless Fence Company prices. Call (720) 697-2456 with your fence length and material and we will talk through a quote for your yard.
Google ★★★★★4.9 out of 5
Rated 4.9 out of 5 from 27 Google reviews. Read the reviews on our Google Business Profile, or call (720) 697-2456 to talk about your fence.
Picket fences in Denver are small jobs with strict rules: the 4-foot front limit, the Landmark review where it applies, and the freeze-thaw ground that leans a shallow post. We build them for those conditions: deep concrete footings, kiln-dried pickets spaced with a jig, and a walk gate that works every day.
Payless Fence Company is rated 4.9 out of 5 from 27 Google reviews. The aggregate covers all of our Denver fence work, picket included. Call (720) 697-2456 to talk about your picket fence.
★★★★★
4.9 out of 5
Based on 27 Google reviews for Payless Fence Company. We do not publish customer quotes on this page; read the reviews on Google, then call us to talk about your fence.
Call (720) 697-2456Real answers to the questions we hear most often on picket fence jobs, from local homeowners and property managers.
Cedar and pressure-treated pine fences built for Denver clay, frost, and hail. Pairs with a low picket run on the same lot.
View Wood Fence InstallationLow-upkeep vinyl privacy and picket fences that hold up to Front Range sun. Often built on the same lot as a picket fence.
View Vinyl Fence InstallationPowder-coated aluminum that will not rust, sized for front yards and pools. A common companion to a picket fence.
View Aluminum Fence InstallationOrnamental iron and steel fencing for entries, courtyards, and period homes. Pairs with a low picket run on the same lot.
View Wrought Iron Fence InstallationFull-height 6-foot privacy runs for backyards, alleys, and patios. Often built on the same lot as a picket fence.
View Privacy Fence InstallationPost, rail, picket, and gate repairs, including storm and freeze-thaw damage. A common companion to a picket fence.
View Fence RepairCall (720) 697-2456 to talk about a picket fence. We answer Monday through Sunday, 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Have your approximate fence length, the style you are considering, and your neighborhood ready, and we can talk through the next steps on the call.
Phone
(720) 697-2456Address
Payless Fence Company LLC, Denver, CO 80201, US
Hours
Mon–Sun 7:00 AM–8:00 PM
