Vinyl Straight Picket Fences, Built to a Level Top Line

What does ‘straight’ actually name on a picket fence?

Straight names the run line: the line the picket tops draw across the yard. Here it holds level, first post to last.

The cap on each top is a separate decision, which is why a run can be straight and dog-ear at once. Shaped alternatives bend the line: arched climbs to a crown mid-section, scalloped dips to a low center. Ask for the opposite of a scalloped fence and this level line is it. Sideways pickets are the horizontal style’s question.

Every picket top stands exposed, and each takes a cap

The pickets do not stop at the top rail. They pass through it and carry on above, so the tops sit exposed, each under its own cap. Ten pickets to a section, ten caps.

Pickets measure 7/8 in by 3 in across a 69 in section, on posts of 5 in by 5 in under External caps. A cap is a separate piece fitted over the picket top. Dog Ear ships as standard on our Queensgate panel; External, Gothic, Internal, Internal Flat and Spade suit the same picket, and any can be installed.

That exposed, capped top is also what separates this fence from the vertical style, whose pickets stop at the top rail and go no further. The rail closes them off, so no picket caps go on.

How is a picket line kept straight across a yard?

A run line goes up before the first post does, and everything after is held to it.

Post length is part of the job: a 42 in fence stands on 66 in posts, a 48 in fence on 72 in posts, each set plumb to that line, in footings dug to match. That is what stops a top line from waving. The bottom rail, 2 in by 3.5 in, keeps a 69 in section from sagging between posts, and on Clay and Tan panels it carries a metal insert. Looks vinyl from outside, but there is metal inside.

Sloping ground: keep the top level, or keep the bottom tight

On graded ground you get one or the other: a level top line, or a bottom that stays tight to the ground.

Step the run and each section sits level between its own posts, raised or dropped against its neighbor. Every top edge stays horizontal, so the level look survives the grade. The cost is underneath: a triangular gap opens below the downhill end of each section, widening with the grade.

Rack it instead and the rails angle to follow the grade while posts and pickets stay plumb. The bottom holds tight to the ground while the top line travels with the slope. Our estimator makes that call on the lot, with a tape.

Two heights, and the front-yard limits behind them

This style stands 3.5 or 4 feet, and the narrow band is no accident: it is what front yards are usually allowed.

A level line makes the height one number for the whole run, which is the number the limit applies to; a crowned or dipped line is measured at its tallest point. Front-yard caps across the cities we serve sit in that 3 to 4 foot band, with the figures in the tabs below. Confirm the limit for your address; an HOA can be stricter still.

Where is a spaced picket run the wrong call?

Gaps are the point of a picket run, and they rule it out of two jobs.

It cannot serve as a pool barrier. California’s standard allows no gap a 4 inch sphere could pass and no more than 2 inches of clearance beneath, and it requires self-closing, self-latching gates. Height settles it anyway: pool barriers start at 60 inches, above anything this style reaches.

Screening is the other: a hidden yard is a privacy build. Small dogs come down to gap and height together, so ask rather than trust a promise.

Built to your run, with the gate and the warranty to match

What gets ordered is a run, built to size: custom heights, widths and proportions.

A matching gate repeats the color and the cap style, metal frame under vinyl cladding, and it carries no motor. The material side is the transferable limited lifetime warranty, with 5 years from us on the labor.

Footage, height, ground works, old-fence removal, gates and yard access move your number. The figure comes from the visit, which is free.

Color on a level run

Run your eye along a level top and the color travels the whole length with it. This style keeps to three: White, Tan, Clay. Pigment sits inside each board instead of on the face, so a rail scuff shows the same tone underneath rather than raw white. No paint, no stain, no touch-up.

• White

  

• Tan

  

• Clay

  

Beyond a level top line

A level top line is one profile we cut. We also build the taller solid runs, the scalloped and arched tops, and the gates sized to match whatever stands beside them. Same shop, same crew setting the posts.