Yes. Sloping ground is handled in one of two ways. A racked fence tilts its rails to run parallel with the grade. A stepped fence keeps each section level and drops at the posts. Racked keeps the bottom closest to the ground.
Racked or stepped: which is better?
- Racked: pickets stay plumb while the rails follow the hill. Good on mild and medium slopes and wherever animals must be kept in or out.
- Stepped: level sections descend like stairs. Used on steep grades and with stiff panels. Each step leaves a wedge-shaped opening underneath.
- Built on site: steel is cut and welded to fit the ground and the rocks. Most hillside view fence in Scottsdale is done this way.
I have a dog that digs and a yard that drops. How do I avoid gaps?
Use a racked or site-built fence so there is no stepped opening, then seal the bottom. A concrete curb under the fence, mesh trenched in along the line or fitted rock at the base will each stop a digger. Those details also discourage javelina and make it harder for a snake to slip through.
My yard is steep and rocky and two companies turned the job down. Who does this?
Let us walk it before giving an answer. Steep granite lots are ordinary around Pinnacle Peak, Troon and the McDowell foothills. They are slower, not impossible. Holes are cored into rock, posts are sometimes fixed with base plates or epoxy anchors, and steel is carried in past the cactus. Mention any retaining wall under the fence line, because Scottsdale requires engineered plans for retaining walls and looks at the total height.
Do installers dig by hand or with a machine?
They use both. A powered auger suits open, soft ground. Granite and caliche defeat a small auger, and the crew changes to a rock bit, a breaker or a core drill. Hand tools are used beside block walls, close to marked utilities, in narrow side yards and next to protected desert plants.
A real price needs someone to stand on your lot and measure. That visit is free. Call (480) 530-6409, or text a photo of the fence line to the same number.