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Unilock Fence Installation: The Los Angeles Owner’s Guide
Unilock fence installation in Los Angeles typically runs $4,130 to $10,620 for a standard residential perimeter. That’s the installed price, including base prep, panel or post replacement, and haul-away of the old material. Most homeowners discover they need us when a fence post shifts after winter rain, a panel cracks from stubborn tree roots beneath the soil, or the concrete footing at the base starts to spall and crumble. We stock Unilock-compatible fence components on our trucks and can usually match your existing texture and color in a single visit.
Which Unilock Models This Applies To
Unilock’s fence installation components are engineered as a system, not a loose collection of parts. The post bases, panel rails, and corner connectors are sized to work together, which means a part from one Unilock series will not always seat properly in another. We see this most often with the Estate Wall and Pisa II lines. The Estate Wall posts have a wider channel that accepts a 2-3/8″ panel rail, while the Pisa II system runs a narrower 1-7/8″ channel. If you mix those, you get a fence that rattles in the wind, and in a Santa Ana event that rattle becomes percussion you can hear from the kitchen.
To identify what you have, look at the inside face of any post cap or the undersides of the bottom rail. Unilock molds a series code into most components, and we can match that code in about two minutes. We recommend OEM Unilock parts for anything load-bearing like posts and corner blocks. For non-structural trim pieces and post caps, a quality aftermarket equivalent saves you 20 to 30 percent without any performance loss. One note specific to Los Angeles: the UV exposure here is relentless on dark-colored Unilock finishes. A cap that sat in partial shade in the Midwest will fade noticeably faster on a sun-facing slope in Sherman Oaks or Encino. We factor that into the color-match process so the new section doesn’t shout next to the old one.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Unilock Fence Installation Is Failing
- Leaning posts after rain. This is the most common failure in Los Angeles, and it’s almost always a footing problem, not a post problem. Clay-heavy soil in areas like Mid-Wilshire expands when wet and contracts when dry, slowly working the post out of plumb. A post that’s two degrees off today will be six degrees off after the next atmospheric river.
- Visible cracks at the post base. When water pools at the seam where the post meets the concrete footing, it seeps into micro-fractures and expands during temperature swings. Los Angeles doesn’t freeze often, but a 40-degree overnight drop in the foothills is enough to widen a hairline crack into a structural one.
- Gaps opening between panels and rails. Unilock panels are designed to float slightly for thermal expansion. A gap that appears suddenly, especially on the south-facing side of the fence, means the panel clip has fatigued. The clip is a $12 part. Ignoring it turns a $12 fix into a full panel replacement when wind load finishes the job.
- Rust staining below post caps. Unilock uses galvanized steel inserts in some post caps, and once the galvanizing wears thin, you’ll see orange streaks running down the face of the post. The cap is still holding, but the rust will eventually swell and crack the surrounding material.
- Concrete footing spalling. If the concrete around the base of the post is flaking away in chunks, the post is moving more than the footing can handle. This is the one sign that almost always means full post removal and re-set, not a repair.
See the difference
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After
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
In Los Angeles, Unilock fence installation costs between $4,130 and $10,620 as a full project. A single post replacement with new footing runs $590 to $945, while a complete 40-linear-foot section with new panels, rails, and posts typically lands between $3,500 and $5,900. The spread depends on access: a fence along a 30-foot slope in Mount Washington takes longer and costs more than the same fence on a flat lot in Torrance. Every quote includes parts, labor, disposal of the old material, and a written line-item breakdown before we start. The workmanship warranty runs 365 days from the completion date, covering labor and installation defects. If a panel shifts or a post settles within that year, we come back and fix it at no charge.
DIY or Call Us?
You can safely check the code numbers on your existing posts and panels and compare them to what we listed above. You can also check for the visible cracks and rust staining we described. What you should not do is attempt to reset a leaning post yourself. A Unilock post with a concrete footing can weigh 200 pounds or more once it’s out of the ground, and the hole you’ll be working in is exactly deep enough to pin an ankle. Digging around an existing fence in Los Angeles also means hitting irrigation lines, gas lines, and the occasional abandoned conduit that no one remembers installing. We see homeowners start these jobs on a Saturday and call us by Tuesday, usually with a bigger problem than they started with. If you’re on the fence about it, call us at (213) 632-5711 and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s a job you can handle.
FAQs
A properly installed Unilock fence lasts 20 to 30 years in Los Angeles, but the concrete footings below it are the real determining factor, not the product itself. With correct drainage and stable soil, the components hold up through decades of UV exposure and seismic settling. Call (213) 632-5711 for an assessment of your specific fence line and soil conditions.
Yes, and in many cases a repair is the right call. A failed panel clip or a cracked post cap is a $12 to $50 fix, and we’ll tell you that before we tell you anything else. The decision comes down to where the failure is: superficial components can be replaced affordably, but a failed footing almost always means re-setting the post, which is closer to a replacement cost. Call us at (213) 632-5711 and we’ll walk you through what you’re actually looking at.
A single post reset takes one day, a 40-linear-foot section replacement takes two to three days, and a full perimeter install in Los Angeles takes three to five days depending on access and permitting. We’ll give you a written schedule before we start so you know exactly when we’ll be there and when we’ll be done.
Yes, we carry common Unilock fence components including panel clips, post caps, and rail connectors on our trucks, along with matching components for KraftMaid, Cambria, and Silestone products for our interior work. If your part is a less common series or an unusual color, we source it from our Los Angeles supplier network, typically within two to three business days.
If your Unilock fence is starting to show its age, or if a post has shifted after the last storm, call us at (213) 632-5711 to schedule a free estimate. We’ll send a background-checked technician with a photo ID badge and a written price before any work begins. Know who’s coming, know what it costs, know it’s guaranteed – everything else is just noise.
Written by Isaac Pruett, Owner, Mason Remodeling Co at Mason Remodeling Co Los Angeles, serving Los Angeles and nearby areas.
