Do I need Jekyll Island Authority approval to repair my fence?

A like-for-like repair, same height, same material, same footprint, is generally treated differently from a new fence, but the Authority's guidelines govern and we do not guess on your behalf. We describe the repair in writing, and if it changes anything visible we help you check with the Authority before starting. What we will not do is quietly turn a repair into a new, taller fence.

My fence was built before the current guidelines. Can it be repaired as is?

Often, yes, as long as the work is a genuine repair. If the fence is far enough gone that most of it has to be rebuilt, that is effectively a new fence and the current guidelines apply. We will tell you which side of that line your fence is on.

Can you match the natural finish on my existing fence?

Yes. Most Jekyll fences are natural or muted, and we match new treated boards by sealing the whole run together so the color evens out over a few months rather than leaving a patchwork.

Why does hardware rust so fast on Jekyll?

The residential streets sit between the Atlantic and the Jekyll River, so almost every lot gets salt from two directions. Plated-steel hinges and screws rust in a season or two. We replace them with stainless steel as part of any repair, which stops the rust streaks on the boards as well.

A storm took down a section. What happens next?

Send a photo. We prioritize storm repairs where a pool or a yard is left open, rebuild the section to match, reset the posts deeper in fresh concrete, and photograph the finished work for you if you are off island. If the damage is extensive enough to count as a rebuild, we say so.

How does the causeway affect a small repair?

Every trip across the Downing Musgrove Causeway pays the entry fee, so we try to do a repair in a single visit. That is why we ask for good photos first: we want to arrive with the right posts, boards and hardware on the truck.

Fence repair on Jekyll Island: honest repairs on leased lots with salt on both sides

On Jekyll, the difference between a repair and a rebuild is not just cost. It decides whose rules apply.

Jekyll Island is a Georgia state park, and the homes along Beachview Drive, Riverview Drive and the streets between them sit on lots leased from the Jekyll Island Authority. The Authority reviews exterior changes, and its residential design guidelines set what a fence can be. Repairing a fence that is already there is generally a different matter from building a new one, but the line between the two is real: patch a few boards and reset two posts, and it is a repair; rebuild most of the fence, and it is effectively new, and the current guidelines apply. Golden Isles Fencing and Excavation repairs fences on Jekyll with that line in plain view, and we will tell you which side of it your fence is on.

We are a family-owned, Christian-based company based in Brunswick. Because so many Jekyll owners are on the island part time, we work from photos, do the job in as few trips as possible, and send pictures of the finished work.

Salt from two directions

The residential district on Jekyll is a narrow strip with the Atlantic on one side and the Jekyll River and marsh on the other, and there is very little sheltered ground. The plated-steel hinges, latches and screws that come with most fence kits rust within a season or two here and streak the boards below them. Replacing all of it with stainless steel is part of nearly every repair we do on the island, and it is usually the single change that makes a tired fence look cared for again. Where rust has stained the wood we wash it or replace the board.

Weathered wood under the canopy and on the beach side

Jekyll's residential lots sit in a maritime forest, and the mix of deep shade and salt air is hard on wood in two different ways. Under the oaks, boards stay damp and grow mildew; toward the beach, sun and salt gray and check them. Gray is not rot. We check each board, seal the sound ones with a penetrating sealer chosen for the exposure, and replace the soft or split ones with treated pine. We seal the whole run together so new and old weather to the same natural tone, which matters on Jekyll where most fences are meant to blend into the forest rather than stand out from it.

Posts, roots and the forest floor

A leaning section on Jekyll usually means a post footing has lost its grip in barrier-island sand or the post has rotted at grade in the high water table of the lower streets. We reset posts deeper in fresh concrete with a crowned footing, and replace any post that is soft at the ground line. The Authority is strict about the protected trees around every lot, so digging near a trunk is done by hand, and if the original post went through a major root we move the post a foot rather than cut the root. We keep our equipment inside the leased area and off the forest floor.

Storm damage

Tropical systems hit Jekyll from the ocean side first, and the exposed runs of any solid fence are the ones that go. After a storm we prioritize calls where a pool or a yard is left open, rebuild the downed section to match the rest, and reset the posts properly. If the damage is extensive enough that most of the fence has to come back, we say so and explain that a rebuild goes through the Authority's review as a new fence. We can write up the damage for an insurance claim and photograph the finished repair for owners who are off island.

Vinyl and aluminum

Vinyl fences on Jekyll fail at posts that cracked in wind for lack of an internal stiffener; we replace the post with an aluminum insert and reset it. Aluminum fences, the most common new fence on the island, rarely need more than a bent panel replaced or a pool gate rehung on stainless hardware with a working self-latch, which is a safety item we test before we leave.

One trip across the causeway

Photos first. Send pictures of the damage and the street. We want to arrive with the right posts, boards and hardware on the truck, because every crossing of the Downing Musgrove Causeway pays the entry fee.
Written estimate. Repair priced honestly, with a rebuild option if the fence is close to that line.
Approval check. If anything visible would change, we help you confirm with the Authority before starting.
Repair. Stainless hardware, deep-reset posts, matched and sealed boards.
Photos back. So you can see the finished fence from wherever you are.

Estimates for fence repair on Jekyll are free. Send us a photo and your street and we will tell you what we think it needs.

Fence repairs in Brunswick and on St. Simons

For a fence on land you own outright, read about fence repairs in Brunswick, GA, fence repairs on St. Simons Island, and everything we do as a fence company on Jekyll Island.

If the fence has to be replaced

A rebuild on Jekyll goes through the Authority, so see our aluminum fencing on Jekyll Island, vinyl fencing on Jekyll Island, wood fencing on Jekyll Island, and fence repair service overview.

Questions and answers

Common questions about fence repairs on Jekyll Island

Repairing a fence on a leased lot in a state park raises its own questions.

A like-for-like repair, same height, same material, same footprint, is generally treated differently from a new fence, but the Authority's guidelines govern and we do not guess on your behalf. We describe the repair in writing, and if it changes anything visible we help you check with the Authority before starting. What we will not do is quietly turn a repair into a new, taller fence.
Often, yes, as long as the work is a genuine repair. If the fence is far enough gone that most of it has to be rebuilt, that is effectively a new fence and the current guidelines apply. We will tell you which side of that line your fence is on.
Yes. Most Jekyll fences are natural or muted, and we match new treated boards by sealing the whole run together so the color evens out over a few months rather than leaving a patchwork.

The residential streets sit between the Atlantic and the Jekyll River, so almost every lot gets salt from two directions. Plated-steel hinges and screws rust in a season or two. We replace them with stainless steel as part of any repair, which stops the rust streaks on the boards as well.
Send a photo. We prioritize storm repairs where a pool or a yard is left open, rebuild the section to match, reset the posts deeper in fresh concrete, and photograph the finished work for you if you are off island. If the damage is extensive enough to count as a rebuild, we say so.
Every trip across the Downing Musgrove Causeway pays the entry fee, so we try to do a repair in a single visit. That is why we ask for good photos first: we want to arrive with the right posts, boards and hardware on the truck.