# Fence Replacement in Hammond, LA > Fence replacement in Hammond, LA: tearing out the old fence and its footings, protecting boundary markers, and rebuilding what failed to today's rules. URL: https://palisadeshammondfence.com/fence-replacement/ Service Old fence and footings out and hauled away, boundary markers protected, and a new fence built to fix what made the old one fail. Get an Estimate [(985) 866-3827](tel:+19858663827) Last Updated: November 1, 2026 A replacement starts with what comes out: boards, rails, posts and the concrete around them. The new line goes in where the survey puts it, not where the old fence stood. Replacing a fence the same way it was built usually buys the same failure on the same schedule. Mon to Fri 8 to 6 · Sat and Sun 9 to 2 Replacement is two jobs priced together: taking the old fence out, and building a new one that fixes what made the old one fail. [Palisades Hammond Fence](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/) replaces wood, vinyl, chain link and metal fences across Hammond and the surrounding towns of Tangipahoa, St. Tammany and Livingston parishes, from a single side run to the full perimeter of a lot. Installation is carried out by licensed and insured fence contractors. Most replacements come down to the posts. A fence that leans along its whole length, or whose posts are soft at the ground line from end to end, has run out of structure even if many boards look fine. The sections below cover how to tell, what tear-out involves, how the boundary is protected, and what the new fence should do differently. ## When replacement makes more sense than repair A repair fixes a part; a replacement fixes a system. The useful test is whether the failure is isolated or spread through the line. Posts set on the same day, in the same soil, with the same treatment, age together. When two or three have rotted through at grade, the rest are usually not far behind, and replacing posts one at a time just moves the next failure down the run. Signs that point to replacement: - Most posts move when pushed at shoulder height, or feel soft when probed just below grade. - Rails are rotted where they meet the posts all along the run, not in one bay. - Boards are split, cupped or too far gone to hold new fasteners. - The fence is too tall or the wrong material for its spot under the current code. - A survey shows the fence off the property line or inside a servitude. If only a post or a section has failed, [fence repair](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/fence-repair/) or [fence post replacement](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/fence-post-replacement/) is the smaller job. The [repair or replace guide](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/guide/repair-or-replace-fence/) works through the decision with costs in view, and the [fence lifespan guide](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/guide/how-long-does-a-fence-last/) explains why posts tend to fail close together. ## What tear-out involves Taking down the boards and rails is the quick part. Posts are the slow part, because most are set in concrete, and a concrete collar that has been in wet ground for years does not let go easily. Each footing is either pulled out whole, broken up in the hole, or left in place with the new post set to one side. Which one depends on the footing’s size, how close it sits to a slab or a neighbor’s fence, and where the new layout needs a post. Old chain link comes apart differently. The fabric is cut from its ties and rolled, the top rail is unbolted, and the steel posts are pulled or cut. Where the posts are set in concrete, the same footing choice applies. Everything that comes out is loaded and hauled away for disposal when tear-out is part of the quote, and it is priced as its own line so you can see it. Holes the new fence does not reuse are backfilled and tamped so they do not become soft spots in the yard. Treated wood is not burned. ## Boundary markers and the line under the old fence The old fence is not the property line, and tearing it out is the moment to confirm where the line actually runs. Fences drift: an earlier owner may have set one a foot inside to avoid a ditch, or a foot over without knowing. Since the City of Hammond approves a new fence’s location from a survey or parcel map, the replacement is built to that document, not to the old post holes. Boundary markers need protecting during tear-out. Iron pins and other markers often sit near fence corners, where a post puller or a backhoe bucket can disturb them. Louisiana Civil Code article 791 makes anyone who removes boundary markers without court authority liable for it, and fixing a boundary out of court is a shared cost under article 790. Markers are located before the first post comes out and left untouched. A fence on the boundary is presumed common to both neighbors under article 685. That affects who shares the cost of a replacement, and it means a common fence should not come down without the neighbor knowing. Building the new fence just inside your own line keeps it yours to maintain. The [Louisiana fence laws guide](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/guide/louisiana-fence-laws/) explains the options. ## What the new fence should change Rebuilding the same fence the same way buys the same failure on roughly the same schedule. The tear-out is useful evidence: the broken posts show whether the wood rotted at grade, snapped in wind or was eaten by termites, and the old footings show how deep and how wide they were. | What failed | What the new fence changes | | --- | --- | | Posts rotted at grade | Ground-contact treated or galvanized steel posts; footings with gravel at the base and concrete crowned above grade | | Run blew over in a storm | Heavier, deeper posts, closer spacing, or a semi-open face on exposed runs | | Gate sagged | A heavier, deeper hinge post and a braced or steel gate frame | | Fasteners rusted out | Hot-dip galvanized or stainless fasteners and hardware | | Boards rotted at the bottom | A gap between boards and ground so the wood can dry | | Fence sat in standing water | A line moved off low spots or ditch banks where the survey allows | Material can change too. A pine fence can come back as cedar boards on steel posts, as [vinyl](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/vinyl-fence-installation/), or as a [wind-resistant design](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/wind-resistant-fence/) with a semi-open face. The [why fences fail guide](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/guide/why-fences-fail/) explains each failure in more depth. ## Replacing old chain link Chain link is often the fence being replaced, especially across a front yard. Hammond’s code does not allow chain link or barbed wire in front of the house, and limits front-yard fences to 4 ft of wood, metal, wrought iron or masonry. An old front-yard chain link run is usually replaced with [aluminum](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/aluminum-fence-installation/) or a [picket fence](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/picket-fence-installation/), while side and back runs can come back as chain link, wood privacy or vinyl. In the Hyer-Cate overlay, open wire and chain link are likewise barred beyond the front building line. ## Permits and the locate for the new fence Hammond’s code requires a fence permit before a fence is placed, and a replacement places a new one, so the new fence goes through the permit like any other. The residential fee is $10 and doubles if work starts first. Covington’s permit asks for a drawing of existing and proposed fences, and the [fence permit guide](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/guide/fence-permits/) covers the other towns. Louisiana 811 is notified 48 to 120 hours before new holes are dug, not counting weekends and holidays. ## What fence replacement costs Removal and the new fence are priced separately. Typical Hammond-area tear-out and haul-away runs about $2 to $8 per linear foot; concrete footings, long runs of chain link and tight access push it up. The new fence follows the installation ranges: about $15 to $45 per foot for 6 ft pine privacy, $22 to $55 for cedar privacy, $20 to $60 for vinyl privacy and $10 to $30 for residential chain link, plus about $150 to $600 per walk gate. These are budgeting ranges, not quotes. The [fence installation cost guide](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/guide/fence-installation-cost/) shows what moves a price within those ranges, and the [fence cost estimator](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/tools/fence-cost-estimator/) gives a range for a rebuild of your length. If a storm brought the old fence down, the [storm-damaged fence repair](https://palisadeshammondfence.com/storm-damaged-fence-repair/) page covers documentation for a claim before anything is hauled off. ## What's included - A walk of the old line to see what failed and why - Boundary markers located and protected during tear-out - Removal of boards, rails, posts, wire and concrete footings - Haul-away and disposal of the old fence, priced as its own line - Old footing holes backfilled where new posts do not reuse them - A new post plan that changes what failed in the old fence - The permit drawing and Louisiana 811 locate for the new posts - The new fence, gates, cleanup and a final walkthrough ## Repair the old fence or replace it | What the line shows | Repair usually fits | Replacement usually fits | | --- | --- | --- | | Posts | One or two soft or leaning; the rest solid at grade | Most posts move when pushed or are soft at grade | | Rails and boards | A few broken or loose | Rails rotted at the post ends along the run | | Age and match | New parts can match the old ones | Parts no longer made, or the old wood is too far gone to fasten to | | Rules | The fence meets current height and material limits | Too tall or the wrong material for its spot under today's code | | Location | The line is on the right spot | A survey shows the fence off the line or in a servitude | ## Related resources Decision Guide Should You Repair or Replace Your Fence? The one question that settles most cases, a walk-the-line check you can do yourself, the middle options between a patch and a rebuild, and the costs, rules and neighbor questions on each side. Learn Why Do Fences Lean, Rot and Blow Down Around Hammond? How fences are built here, the ways they fail in wet ground and storm wind, how to read the symptoms, and what a repair or a rebuild should change. Learn How Long Does a Wood Fence Last Around Hammond? Why no honest figure fits every fence, which parts wear out first in this ground and climate, how sun weathers each material, and what to do to stretch the years. Learn What Are Louisiana's Fence Laws for Property Lines and Neighbors? What the Louisiana Civil Code says about enclosing land, fences on a shared line, boundary markers and long possession, and where city codes take over for height and front yards. Cost Guide How Much Does Fence Installation Cost in Hammond, LA? Typical installed ranges for every common fence type, the site conditions that move a job within them, and the public figures that sit inside a Hammond fence price. Learn Do You Need a Permit to Build a Fence in Louisiana? Louisiana leaves fence permits to each city and parish. Here is what Hammond and Covington require, what is known about Mandeville, and how heights, setbacks and corner lots shape the application. ## From the first call to the last gate 1. First call You describe the fence, the yard and the timing, and set a visit. 2. Site visit The line is walked and measured, gates and slopes noted, and the soil and drainage checked. 3. Permit and 811 The permit drawing goes to the city or parish, and utilities are located before any digging. 4. Build Posts are set and allowed to cure, then rails, panels or fabric and gates go up. 5. Walkthrough Gates are adjusted, the site is cleaned, and you check the finished line. ## What this work looks like Old weathered gray fence boards and posts stacked neatly on a small open utility trailer parked on a concrete driveway beside a brick house A row of open post holes and a small pile of broken concrete post plugs along a back property line where an old fence has just been removed A new pale pine privacy fence partly built along a back yard, the new section meeting the last remaining section of old gray fence that is still waiting to come out A finished new pine privacy fence with a walk gate along a back yard where the lawn is raked smooth along the base of the fence Before After ## Questions about fence replacement ### Should a replacement fence keep the old post spacing? Not by default. Old spacing often reflects the material sold when the fence was built, and old footings sit in the way of new holes. A new fence is laid out for its own panels or boards, and new posts usually go beside the old holes rather than in them, so they bear on undisturbed soil. Tall solid runs that blew over often get closer spacing. ### Who pays to replace a fence that sits on the property line? A fence on the boundary is presumed common to both owners under Louisiana Civil Code article 685. Where both lots are enclosed, one owner can compel the other to contribute to making and repairing a common fence; where they are not, only local ordinances decide. Many neighbors simply agree on a split in writing before the old fence comes down. ### Can an old front-yard fence be replaced at the height it is now? Only if it meets the current rule. Inside the City of Hammond a fence in front of the house is limited to 4 ft and to wood, metal other than chain link or barbed wire, wrought iron or masonry. An old 6 ft privacy fence or chain link run in a front yard is usually rebuilt lower or in a different material, or moved back behind the front of the house. ### What happens to the old fence after it comes down? When tear-out is part of the quote, the boards, rails, wire, posts and broken concrete are loaded and hauled away for disposal, and the holes the new fence does not reuse are backfilled. Treated wood should not be burned. Typical Hammond-area removal runs about $2 to $8 per foot, with long runs of concrete footings toward the top. ### What should I photograph before asking for a fence replacement price? The whole line from each end, the posts at the ground line, any leaning or fallen sections, the gates, and the corners where the fence meets a house or a neighbor's fence. Add the address, a rough length and what you want built instead. A survey or parcel map helps, because the new fence is permitted from one. ## Related services ### Fence repair → Wood, vinyl, chain link and metal fences repaired part by part, after finding whether one component failed or the whole line is wearing out. ### Wood fences → Pressure-treated pine, cedar and cypress fences in dog-ear, board-on-board, shadowbox, picket and horizontal styles, on posts set for wet ground. ### Wind-resistant fences → Privacy and open fences detailed for storm wind: heavier or steel posts, shorter bays, stronger rail connections and corrosion-proof fasteners.