Serving Tidewater · Mon–Fri 9:00 – 5:00
Norfolk, VA
A new fence for a 100-year-old home, built around the original garage doors it replaced.
A 100-year-old home in Colonial Place needed a fence that could hold up for another 100 years, not just look good for a season. We built it with full 6x6 posts and custom panels made from a mix of southern yellow pine dimensional lumber, giving the whole yard a warmer, more textured look than a standard picket run. Two hand-built gate doors, one on each side of the yard, each got their own custom pergola overhead, so stepping through either gate feels like an entrance instead of an afterthought.
The real standout came from the homeowner himself. When he replaced the home's original garage doors years earlier, he kept them instead of hauling them off. We took those doors and built them directly into the fence line as a working, functional gate — glass panes, weathered paint and all — so the house's original character stayed part of the property instead of ending up in a landfill. It is the kind of detail that only works because the homeowner thought to save it and we were willing to build around something nobody makes twice.
Colonial Place is full of century-old homes with genuine architectural character, and this project was a reminder that a fence does not have to compete with that character to hold up structurally. The southern yellow pine panels were sized and spaced to handle coastal humidity without cupping, the 6x6 posts give the whole line a heavier, more permanent stance than standard 4x4 construction, and the reclaimed garage doors mean this fence tells a specific story instead of looking like it came off a shelf.
Every post is a full 6x6, with custom panels built from a mix of southern yellow pine dimensional lumber — sized to outlast the original fence it replaced.
Hand-built gate doors on two sides of the yard, each topped with its own custom pergola for a framed, finished entrance instead of a plain gap in the fence line.
The homeowner saved the home's original garage doors when he replaced them. We built them into the fence itself, so the old doors got a second life instead of a trip to the dump.
With a house this old, good enough wasn't the goal. The framing and materials were chosen to hold up for the long haul, same as the home it surrounds.
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