Doing Your Homework Before Hiring a Fence Contractor
Why It Pays to Check Before You Hire a Fence Contractor
If you are considering a new fence for your home, farm or business, choosing the right contractor matters as much as the materials. The good news is that most of what you need to check is public, free and takes about ten minutes.
Start With the Licence
Tennessee assigns licensed contractors a monetary limit — a ceiling on the dollar value of project they may legally bid. An Unlimited classification carries no cap.
Ask any contractor for their licence number and search it at verify.tn.gov. The record shows:
- Licence classification
- Monetary limit
- Status — active, expired or otherwise
- Expiration date
For a backyard fence the monetary cap is usually irrelevant, and plenty of good contractors hold a limited classification. It matters when a project is large enough to exceed someone's limit.
Then Check the Rest
A short checklist that separates contractors quickly:
- Licence and classification — verified at verify.tn.gov, not just claimed on a website.
- Bonding capacity — extended by a surety after it reviews financial statements and work history. It is a third-party assessment rather than a self-claim.
- Insurance — general liability and workers' compensation, with certificates available on request.
- In-house crews or subcontractors — this changes who is accountable when something needs fixing in three years.
- Post depth and spacing, in writing — the single biggest predictor of whether a fence stays plumb in East Tennessee clay, and the most common place a cheap bid gets cheap.
- Firm pricing — ask whether the quoted number is what you will pay, and what circumstances would change it.
- Review volume, not just rating — a 5.0 from nine reviews tells you less than a 4.6 from two hundred. Read the middling ones.
Ten things worth checking on any fence contractor
Where We Stand on That List
We would encourage you to run those checks on us as well as on anyone else you are considering.
- Tennessee Unlimited Contractor Licence #54371 — no cap on project size
- $6M aggregate bonding capacity, $5M general liability, workers' compensation in force
- SAM.gov registered as a federal contractor, CAGE code 37ZM1
- BBB accredited since August 2004
- 4.6 stars from 211 Google reviews
- In-house crews, including the electrical side of automated gates
- Operating from Lenoir City since 1973
Our commercial and institutional record includes the University of Tennessee, Neyland Stadium, U.S. Department of Energy facilities, the TRISO-X fuel facility in Oak Ridge, TVA and Lenoir City Utilities Board.
Everything third parties say about us, and how to verify each of it
One Honest Caveat
We are based in Lenoir City. If your priority is same-day response on a small repair and you are at the far edge of our service area, a contractor closer to you may serve you better on that specific thing. We would rather tell you that than waste your time.
Get a Free Estimate
We will walk the property, tell you which rules apply to your address, and put a firm written price in your hand at no charge.
Call (865) 988-9935 or request a free quote.
Serving Knoxville, Loudon County, Lenoir City and East Tennessee since 1973.
