It depends on which side of the city limit you live on. Montgomery County's Building and Codes office says a building permit is not required to construct a fence. Inside Clarksville, the city's zoning rules on height and placement apply. We check the rule for your address before we quote.
Do I need a permit to build or replace a fence?
In unincorporated Montgomery County, which includes Woodlawn and Cunningham, the county says no building permit is needed for a fence. The fence still must not sit on a neighbor's property, in a drainage or utility easement or in the public right of way. Inside the city, the Clarksville Building and Codes Department is the office to ask, and a like-for-like replacement has to meet the same height and placement rules as a new fence. Nearby towns differ. Ashland City needs no permit for a fence under 7 feet. Oak Grove, Kentucky takes fence permit applications at its Planning and Zoning Department. Our town pages name the office for each place.
How tall can my fence be? Is 6 feet allowed?
A 6-foot privacy fence in a back yard is the normal fence here, and it is what most rules are written around. Front yards and street corners have lower limits so drivers can see. The exact figures are set by the zoning ordinance for your city or county, and often by your HOA as well. We confirm the number with the codes office for your address and do not guess. As examples from nearby, Ashland City limits a front yard fence to 42 inches, and Hopkinsville allows 3 feet for a sight-blocking fence in a front yard and 8 feet in side and rear yards.
How close to the property line can I build? Do I need a survey?
You can generally build up to your line but not over it, and not inside a recorded easement. That second part matters a great deal in Clarksville. Newer subdivision plats show drainage and utility easements along the back or side of most lots. If the boundary is not marked, or the pins from closing cannot be found, get a plot plan or a survey before any post is set. Your closing papers may already include one.
I live in a historic district. What can I build?
Ask before you buy materials. Clarksville has local historic districts near downtown, and exterior changes there, fences included, go through a design review. The Clarksville Montgomery County Regional Planning Commission staff can tell you whether your address is in a district and what has been approved before. Low picket and ornamental metal fences are the styles that usually suit these streets.
Can my condo association or HOA restrict my fence?
Yes, and around Clarksville it very often does. Covenants can fix the height, the material, the color, which side faces out and how far forward the fence may come beside the house. They can be tighter than the city or county rule. Get the approval letter before you sign for materials.
We are adding a pool. What fence does code require?
A pool needs a code barrier. Montgomery County requires a barrier permit for a swimming pool. The International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, the model code used in Tennessee, asks for a barrier at least 48 inches high, tight limits on openings, and gates that open outward and close and latch by themselves. Your codes office gives the figures that apply to your pool and inspects the result.
The inspector failed my existing fence for the pool. Who brings it up to code?
A fence company does. The usual failures on an older fence are a gate that does not self-close, a latch set too low, too much space under the bottom rail on a slope, or something climbable beside the fence. Send us the inspector's list and we quote those items.
My association only allows a 4-foot open fence, but I want privacy. What are my options?
Work inside the rule first. Planting evergreens behind a 4-foot open fence builds a screen over a few years. A short privacy screen around a patio or hot tub is sometimes treated separately from the boundary fence. You can also apply to the board for a variance in writing. Check the plat while you are at it, because a fence may not be allowed in the easement at all.
Who calls 811 before digging, me or the contractor?
Whoever is doing the digging. In Tennessee that request goes to Tennessee 811. It is free, state law requires it, and it must be made at least three working days before digging. A ticket is good for 15 calendar days from the start date. When we build the fence, we make the request. In Oak Grove and Hopkinsville it goes to Kentucky 811 instead, which needs two full business days. Neither service marks private lines, so irrigation pipe, a line to a shed, an invisible dog fence and a propane line are yours to show us.
My contractor wants to skip the permit and reuse the old holes. What is the risk?
You carry the risk as the owner. Where a permit or an approval was needed, the city, county or HOA writes to you, not to the contractor, and can require the fence to be changed. Reusing old holes saves digging in rock, which is the real reason it is offered. If those holes were too shallow, the new fence starts with the old fence's problem.
The city says my existing fence breaks the current rules. Can I just repair it?
Check with the codes office before paying for anything. It is common for an older fence to be allowed to stay and be maintained, while a fence that is taken down and rebuilt has to meet today's rules. Get the answer in writing if you can.
The only real price is one based on your yard. Call (931) 293-9766 for a free on-site estimate, or text us a photo of the fence line.