Regulations on Installing Chain-Link Fence

Height

• Chain-link fence is available in 36-, 42-, 48-, 60- and 72-inch heights. Some municipalities, subdivision covenants and neighborhood associations only allow specific heights from within those sizes. Know what heights are permissible before purchasing your chain-link fencing materials.

Property Lines

• Before you build your fence, you must have a clear understanding of where your property line runs. In most municipalities, you must set the fence at least four to six inches inside your property lines. If you aren't sure where the edge of your property is, look for the survey pins that mark its boundaries. These are often metal pipes buried vertically slightly below the lawn's surface with the surveyor's identification on them. If you can't find the survey pins, you may need to hire a surveyor to mark the lines for you. The cost of hiring a surveyor is less than the expense of removing a fence from the wrong location.

Utility Lines

• Always call the local utilities before you dig anywhere on your property. This is especially true as you begin to build a chain-link fence. You do not want to dig fence posts only to find that you've hit a water, sewer or electrical line. Most municipalities have a toll-free number to call several days before you begin the fence installation. The utilities then send workers to mark where the lines are on your property so that you can avoid digging near the buried utility lines.

Swimming Pools

• The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recommendations in place regarding the size of chain-link openings for fences placed around swimming pools. Although the recommendations don't have the power of the law behind them on the federal level, many states and cities have made the recommendations into legal code. In most cases the opening in the mesh may be no larger than 1 1/4 inches. If the openings are larger, you may insert slats in the chain link to reduce the size of the openings. The fence must be set low to the ground so that a child cannot crawl under it. No opening around the chain-link fence perimeter should be larger than 4 inches in diameter, which is the size of a small child's head. Gates must have latches on the inside of the fenced area and set high enough that a small child can't open them.