The hinges and screws on my fence are rusting and streaking the boards. Can that be fixed?

Yes. This is one of the most common island fixes. The original hardware was plated steel, which gets nibbled by salt air in a couple of seasons. We replace all hinges, latches, and fasteners (those that are exposed) with stainless steel. If we have any rust stains on wood, we do either an oxalic acid wash (clean it) or replace the board.

My wood fence has gone gray and rough on the ocean side. Is it done for?

No, not necessarily. If you're looking at dry gray wood on the East Beach side, generally speaking, it's good wood beneath, just weathered by salt and sun. So long as the boards aren't soft, a wash, a little sanding and a good penetrating sealer and you're back in business. If it's soft or split, it's replaced. We don't guess, we look at them.

Can you repair a vinyl or aluminum fence, or only wood?

All three. The vinyl on the island usually blows a post out. Post cracked in the wind without stiffener. We would replace the post with aluminum insert. Most of the time on the aluminum fences it's a bent panel that needs to be replaced. Or a pool gate that needs to be rehung with stainless hardware and a working self latch.

A storm knocked over a section on my rental. How fast can you get there?

When we have storms we try to do islands first. Anything with a down fence that has a pool left exposed or a yard accessible we try to jump on. We prioritize things with guests coming in for rentals. If you take a picture and give us the next check in date we can get it on the schedule.

Does an HOA need to approve a repair?

Most of the time, like for like repairs do not require new approval. However, if it is changing the height, style, or color, most committees on St. Simons prefer to be notified. If the repair you are looking to make falls into this category, we will let you know.

The repair is near a live oak. Will you have to cut roots?

We try to stay away. If you reset a post by an oak you're doing it by hand. If there was a big root that the original post went in we generally just offset it a foot instead of excavating the root. Glynn County has tree protection ordinances. Same for fixing as for installing the fence.

Fence repair on St. Simons Island: salt damage, storm sections and rental turnarounds

Island fences fail from the outside in. Salt eats the hardware, sun and wind take the surface, and a storm finishes the job.

St. Simons Island fences don't live as long as the Brunswick fence does. Rusted plated steel hinges, screws. Atlantic Ocean salt air east side at East Beach. Frederica River west side. Boards down from these look orange after a couple of seasons. Then the wood on all exposed runs gets gray from the sun and wind. Then a tropical storm comes through and takes out the weakest parts. At Golden Isles Fencing and Excavation, we repair fences all over the island. A lot of the repairs we do are attributed to the three issues above.

Family-owned, Christian-based company out of Brunswick. We have a lot of second homes and vacation rentals in our island repairs. The owner isn't there to see it until a visitor mentions it. We go from pictures. We're working around the bookings. We get to the root of the problem so you won't be calling us next season.

Wood shadowbox gate with heavy black strap hinges hung between a house wall and a hedge — A shadowbox gate on heavy strap hinges. Gate hardware is what fails first, so it is worth the money.

Rusted hardware: the most common island repair

Walk down to a fence at the southern end of the island and inspect the hinges. Are they plated steel hinges? Yeah, they're rusting. You're seeing the rust dripping off the boards. You need to replace all hinges, latches, gate springs and exposed fasteners with stainless steel. We clean off the stain on the wood with an oxalic acid wash for places the rust has stained and replace the board for places the rust has soaked in. This little project transforms the look of the entire fence. Also stops all of the hardware from seizing.

Gray, weathered wood on the ocean side

If you are talking about the East Beach side of things...or anything that's got a straight run to the water.....that's going to get gray and rough in a year or 2 unless it was sealed. It's not rotting...just gray. We inspect each board. If they're good below it gets washed. A very slight sand. Penetrating sealer....with UV protection. This brings the color back. Slows the next phase of sun deterioration. Split...soft...cupped boards get replaced with treated pine. Seal the whole run up so it'll weather uniformly. On the shaded lots inland where it's got lots of oak shade etc. the issue is more mildew. Not sun. Mildew resistant stain and getting a little more airflow at the bottom of pickets solves the problem.

Storm damage and pools

Tropical systems with onshore wind put a lot of stress on a solid privacy fence. The posts on the exposed part of the lot are the first to fail. We are going to get island calls in high priority after a storm if someone has a fence down leaving a pool exposed or the yard unprotected. If we have rentals where people are on their way they are top priority. We repair with the same section and replace the posts at a deeper level with fresh concrete. The footing will be wider in the sand as well. Often times we will recommend a shadow box or semi privacy replacement on the section of fence being repaired in order to give the next storm a place to pass through. If the fence is a pool fence then we check the operation of the self closing hinge and the self latch before we depart. It's a safety issue as well as a county inspection issue.

New pressure-treated wood privacy fence along a side yard with tools still on the ground — A treated pine privacy fence replacing an old wire line down a side yard.

Posts in island sand

St. Simons is a barrier island of pure sand. Drains well, so good for the wood. Doesn't hold a post as tight as mainland clays. Post could loosen in the wind if set too shallow for the original fence. We always reset post deeper than original. Wider footing with a crown at grade. Hand dig near live oaks. If the original post went through a major root, we move post, not cut root. Glynn County's tree rules apply to repair as well as new fence.

Black aluminum fence and gate enclosing a covered carport slab beside a house — Aluminum panels closing in a carport slab, with the wood perimeter fence carrying on behind.

Vinyl and aluminum

Mostly wind related cracks on ground level post in vinyl fence (no internal stiffener when put in) on the island is what fails. We switch out the post, add in aluminum insert and put back in concrete. Cracked rails and panels we match through manufacturer where it's still made. Aluminum fence is basically no more than change out bent panel after storm or rehang pool gate on stainless.

Rentals: working from photos and calendars

Send a photo and the address. Well we usually know what to fix about the fence before we go out...
Estimate. All of it in writing with repair and replace costs compared if it is even...
Scheduling. In between guests or off season so guests don't show up with an open yard...
Repair. Stainless hardware... posts deeply reset... match boards. Sealed for even weathering...
Photos back to you. So the absent owner can see it when it is done...

Covenants and repairs

Like for like repairs typically do not require a new HOA approval on St. Simons but if you're doing a repair that's going to change height, style or color etc. Typically, we do need to get an approval for that and most committees on the island would like to see it. We'll let you know if what you're looking to repair is going to fall under that category so you don't end up with a letter from the association. Also, estimates are free on the island no matter where you are.

Fence repairs elsewhere in the Golden Isles

Off the island the failures look different. Read about fence repairs in Brunswick, GA, fence repairs on Jekyll Island, and everything we do as a fence company on St. Simons Island.

When repair is not the answer

If salt has finished off the fence, see our vinyl fencing on St. Simons Island, aluminum fencing on St. Simons Island, wood fencing on St. Simons Island, and fence repair service overview.

White picket fence and gate enclosing a side yard

Questions and answers

Common questions about fence repairs on St. Simons Island

Salt, storms and second homes shape the repair calls we get from the island.

Yes. This is one of the most common island fixes. The original hardware was plated steel, which gets nibbled by salt air in a couple of seasons. We replace all hinges, latches, and fasteners (those that are exposed) with stainless steel. If we have any rust stains on wood, we do either an oxalic acid wash (clean it) or replace the board.
No, not necessarily. If you're looking at dry gray wood on the East Beach side, generally speaking, it's good wood beneath, just weathered by salt and sun. So long as the boards aren't soft, a wash, a little sanding and a good penetrating sealer and you're back in business. If it's soft or split, it's replaced. We don't guess, we look at them.
All three. The vinyl on the island usually blows a post out. Post cracked in the wind without stiffener. We would replace the post with aluminum insert. Most of the time on the aluminum fences it's a bent panel that needs to be replaced. Or a pool gate that needs to be rehung with stainless hardware and a working self latch.

When we have storms we try to do islands first. Anything with a down fence that has a pool left exposed or a yard accessible we try to jump on. We prioritize things with guests coming in for rentals. If you take a picture and give us the next check in date we can get it on the schedule.
Most of the time, like for like repairs do not require new approval. However, if it is changing the height, style, or color, most committees on St. Simons prefer to be notified. If the repair you are looking to make falls into this category, we will let you know.
We try to stay away. If you reset a post by an oak you're doing it by hand. If there was a big root that the original post went in we generally just offset it a foot instead of excavating the root. Glynn County has tree protection ordinances. Same for fixing as for installing the fence.