How to find the best horse fencing contractor for your project.

If you are looking to design your horse property, Fencing Contractors are inarguably one of the most important partners who can turn your vision into reality. But it’s extremely hard to make a choice and know who to trust with the final installation of your fences. 

Fencing Contractors are an extremely critical part of a project who implement your plans on-ground. The problem is if you hire the wrong one, your entire efforts and hard work you’ve put in for months like deciding the fencing, designing the layout, visualising your horse property and all your money invested in the fencing material can be in a jeopardy. 

Most significantly, it’s possible you won’t be able to build your horse property the way you imagined. 

At Stock & Noble, we provide the finest fencing solutions to high-end property owners across Australia and New Zealand. We have years of experience and expertise in executing projects from start to end, and a list of well-established installers in different locations who help achieve our customer’s fencing goals. 

Our vision to create the most beautiful equine properties is clear and we want to empower you with the knowledge to make the best decisions when it comes to finding and hiring the fencing contractor. 

In this article we will discuss: 

1. The key traits to look for in a Fencing Contractor 
2. The steps to find the right installer for your horse property 
3. Roles and responsibilities of a Fencing Contractor 
4. The most important factors to consider while hiring a fencing contractor 

In the end, you will be well-versed in hiring a Fencing Contractor who is perfect for your horse property and delivers your dream fencing with the least hassle and stress. 

Traits of a good fencing contractor 

Good Communication skills  

A Fencing Contractor should be able to communicate well whether the news is good or bad so you can plan and prepare accordingly. 

Highly Recommended 

If your Fencing Contractor comes through a reference of friends, family or someone you trust, it’s a good idea to favour the recommendation. 

Easy going 

In our experience, the projects we’ve had the most successful outcomes with have been where the Fencing Contractors are adaptable and not too stubborn about making changes. A good installer understands that if you are building your forever property, there might be alterations and is comfortable working with you through the changes as long as your requests are fair and reasonable. 

Steps of hiring a Fencing Contractor 

When you start looking out for a Fencing contractor there are two ways to go around finding and hiring one.

First Method: Connect with your fencing supplier first who would then recommend an installer. 

1. Once you’ve identified your fencing supplier and the product or products you want, narrow down your selection, speak to your supplier and ask for a recommendation of an installer, best suited for your chosen product.
2. When you receive all details, reach out to your Fencing Contractors and check their availability, discuss the timelines or request an in-person site visit. They will assess your property and understand the project further, whether the ground is undulating, flat, rocky, wet, overgrown and more.  
3. Post assessment you will receive a supply quote that will include the installation cost as well. If you are happy with the quote for installation as well as fencing material, then go ahead and say yes to the quote. 

 If the Fencing supplier and contractor have a good relationship even before you begin, it will be a big step towards helping your project run smoothly and successfully.  

Second Method: Connect with Fencing Contractor first who would then suggest the fencing material and supplier 

1. You can choose to reach out to the Fencing Contractor first, who then assesses the nature of your project, recommends the fencing and even sources it.
2. The fencing contractor then shares a quote for the installation and gets a separate quote from the fencing supplier. 

However, be cautious of connecting with the Fencing contractor first since they usually prefer fencing materials that they are most comfortable installing. So, the recommended horse fencing might be best for them, but not necessarily for you and your property. They might influence you towards a product that might not fit your vision.  

Roles and responsibilities of a Fencing Contractor 

Advise on the fencing project 

Typically, the role of a competent Fencing Contractor is to provide advice and serve as a sounding board. Fencing Contractors make a recommendation based on their experience while you are responsible for the final decision. In most cases, you’re paying fencing contractors not for equipment and work, but for their experience, mistakes, and lessons learned. Their experience is highly valued to achieve desired results. 

Dial before you dig 

Once the fence is marked out, “Dial before you dig” is a service that comes and checks that there are no wires etc. under the fence. So, the Fencing Contractor doesn’t drill through the electric wires/services. Most installers would include and coordinate this service within their quote. 

Delivery and unloading of goods 

Every installer works differently. Sometimes when Fencing Contractors are responsible for the entire project, they will source the material, coordinate the delivery and will even load and unload the goods at the site. 

 It’s recommended to check with your Fencing Contractor whether this service is included in the contract. 

Installing the fence 

As the name suggests, the biggest role of an installer is to put up the fence and leave the site safe, clean and orderly. 

The most important factors to consider while hiring a fencing contractor 

1. Be clear on what you want from your Fencing Contractor, right at the start 

The key to a successful project and relationship with your installer is communication. If you’re particular about any details or have unique requests, you should communicate with the Fencing Contractor. If there are any cost implications, they can be incorporated into the quote. 

Make sure you cover what should be done if there is additional work needed. Will the Fencing Contractor charge an hourly rate for the extra work or will a quoted be shared based on the work? It’s best to have a conversation in the beginning, rather than an argument at the end! 

2. Make sure the experience of the installer matches your requirements 

The Fencing Contractor you engage should ideally have the experience or capability to install the fencing you’ve chosen. Not all installers are necessarily good at all types of fencing. Some are very good at large rural fencing, where details aren’t as critical. Whereas others are adept at working with fencing that requires high-quality work and details. While hiring Fencing Contractors, look for a match of values with the type of work they’ve done in the past. 

3. Discuss timeframes early 

If you do have a deadline, check whether the installer meets those deadlines, based on his availability and also other projects. It’s best to understand the timelines and also accept the uncontrollable factors that can lead to the delay like the weather. 

4) Have a Plan B 

There might be an issue when your Fencing Contractor isn’t able to start the project or wrap up on time. That’s why it’s important to have a Plan B from the beginning. 

For example, if you only have temporary fencing, if the installation gets pushed your horses might need to go to an agistment property. 

Also, sometimes if the reason for the delay is weather and you cannot do anything. So accept it, be considerate towards your installer and having a Plan B here could mean waiting for the right weather conditions and for the installer to become available. 

5) Write to remember 

Whenever you have an important conversation with your Fencing Contractor, it’s good to always follow up with an email comprising the details of all that you discussed. Often fencing project spans a reasonable period of time and if you forget the communication over a certain part or timeline, you can always refer back to it. 

Ready to find and hire the right Fencing Contractor for your project? 

You want to create a beautiful equine property and finding the right installer is critical to achieving your desired vision. Now you know how to choose the right Fencing Contractor, the qualities to look for, and how important it is to communicate effectively right from the start. 

You also learnt the overall roles and responsibilities of a Fencing Contractor, however, it’s best to discuss the details while hiring. Even after careful planning with your installer and taking care of the factors to ensure your project finishes well, there might be problems in your fencing project. It’s a good idea to be aware of them and learn the best ways to tackle them. 

If you want more information on Fencing Contractors in your location, book a consultation and one of our fencing advisors will soon call to share a list of selected installers with you. You can go ahead and choose the one that’s perfect for you and your property.