Lansing Capital Fence is a fence contractor in Lansing, MI, for new fence installation, plus fence repair on lines already standing. Every quote starts with the job. Keeping dogs in, blocking a neighbor's window and passing as a pool barrier each call for a different fence, and the city's height rules decide where each one may stand.
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Tell us why you want a fence and which yard it goes in. Someone calls you with a range.
Because Lansing frost goes deep for half the year, you should always ask how deep the posts are set, to prevent winter creep and crooked lines. Also remember that local rules limit solid front fences to three feet and backyards to six feet. And since most homes here predate the 80s, you may need just one bad post swapped rather than a full replacement, and you can often save money this way.
For fence installation here, frost goes 42 inches deep. A short post would simply be pushed up a bit every winter, and the line would drift. So the hole is flared out near its base and the concrete ends under the grass, so the frozen ground cannot grab it. And a string is pulled tight from corner to corner, so the run stays straight.
The thing is, posts give out before boards do. So if you have a leaning section, one post is loose in its concrete or rotten just under the grass. After a storm, tell the snapped posts from the posts that only leaned. New posts under boards that are still good would be just a normal fence repair. And you shouldn't brace a broken post against the next one, because the problem just moves forward. A damaged post would cost between $250 and $600 each.
Vinyl fence installation is usually the best choice for owners done with staining for good. It's the most expensive one, costing between $51 and $71 per foot. But in a big gust, rails kept in place by little plastic clips may come loose over time, so instead we put one screw through each rail into its post. And snow piling up against solid panels is one more reason for posts to go deeper.
If your goal is just to keep dogs in and you would like a cheap fence, chain link fence installation would cost between $24 and $37 per foot. If you want it in the front yard, it has to be vinyl-coated, because plain galvanized is banned here by zoning. But we would generally recommend the black coating over green, because it disappears against the grass. And keep in mind a tight wire run along the ground, so dogs cannot squeeze underneath and run away.
For a wood and cedar fence, which is the usual backyard fence, the real choice here is between cedar and treated pine. Cedar has natural oils which fight rot and bugs, and it stays flat while drying, while treated pine is delivered wet, and it could dry in the first season and result in curled pickets and some gaps. As for posts, use the ground contact treatment grade, since the above ground grade isn't made for burying.
For your pool fence installation, you usually need 4 feet or taller around any pool which is 24 inches deep or holds 150 cubic feet of water. As for gates, they must close and lock by themselves, with the latch 4 feet over the ground or higher. There should be no gap a 4-inch ball fits through, in the fence or under it. On a sloped yard, the gap underneath is the hardest part. Aluminum or vinyl would either work as a pool barrier.
Privacy fences in Lansing top out at 6 feet in side and rear yards, and they can't go that tall anywhere out front. Solid boards catch wind like a sail. Every gust lands on the posts, so a privacy run gets the deepest holes on the job. On a slope, sections step down level or rack to follow the ground. We'd pick racking on a gentle grade, since stepped panels leave wedge-shaped gaps underneath.
Gates are where new fences let people down. A gate hangs off its post like a door hung on a broom handle stuck in the lawn, so a dragging gate usually means the hinge post moved, not the hinges. Gate posts go deeper and heavier than line posts and get checked plumb before the concrete sets. You pick the swing before it is hung. Gate repairs run $50 to $400 on HomeGuide's list.
Fence replacement makes sense once posts of the same age start failing one after another. Lansing's code adds a twist for an older fence that breaks today's rules. You may repair it and redo it in sections, but once more than half has been rebuilt over its life, the new fence must meet current heights and materials. Removal runs $10 to $20 per foot by HomeGuide's figures, and the posts come out with their concrete.
Say what the fence has to do, which part of the yard it runs through and roughly how long it is. Expect a call with a ballpark figure, and the two or three things that would move it, like a corner lot, a second gate or old posts set in concrete.
Landlords rent out 47% of Lansing's occupied homes by the Census count, and apartment owners, businesses and institutions work under front-yard rules of their own.
Backyard dividers, repairs between tenants and trash screens on rental houses, quoted per address so each property's books stay separate. Coated chain link and treated wood take moving days and lawn crews better than vinyl panels.
A residential property with more than 20 units may run a front-yard fence up to 6 feet, if everything above 3 feet is at least 75% open and resembles wrought iron. Ornamental aluminum gives that look without the rust.
Galvanized or black chain link around lots and storage yards, with swing or rolling gates. Razor wire and electrified fences are banned in Lansing. Barbed wire needs the IND-1 district, written approval and 30 feet of distance from any residential neighbor.
Chain link with privacy slats, or solid board panels, around a dumpster pad, with gates wide enough for the truck. Plywood, tarps and other flexible screens tied onto a fence break the city's material rules.
Common-area runs, entry gates and pool enclosures for homeowner associations, built to the style the board approved. Ask your HOA for written approval before ordering, since its rules can be stricter than the city's.
Institutional grounds get the same open front-yard allowance as apartments, up to 6 feet. Lines near a driveway stay out of the 10-foot sight triangle, so drivers leaving the lot can still see the sidewalk.
For a 4-foot fence out front, we'd recommend black aluminum. It gives the open look the code asks for above 3 feet and never rusts through. HomeGuide lists aluminum at $25 to $75 per foot installed and wrought iron at $50 to $85. Panels tilt to follow a mild grade. A steep yard gets stepped sections.
Pickets mark a Lansing front yard inside the rules, at 3 feet solid or 4 feet if the part above 3 feet is at least half open. Spaced pickets count toward that open share. Homewyse prices picket fencing at $19 to $31 per foot for the city. Painted pine wants repainting, so pick the finish before you pick the wood.
Split rail marks a line on a big lot south of town without blocking anything. Homewyse prices rail fence at $29 to $47 per foot in zip 48912. Two rails suit a border, three suit a garden or a paddock. Add welded wire inside if a dog has to stay in, and keep livestock wire away from the street side, where the code bans it.
Dog fences come down to two questions, how high and what happens at the bottom. Jumpers need the 6 feet Lansing allows behind the house. Diggers need a bottom wire or mesh buried along the line. We'd put a self-closing gate hinge on the list too, because the dog that gets out usually walks out an open gate. Invisible and electric dog fences are a different trade.
Stain gives the color. Protection from water and sun comes from a sealer, and many cans now hold both. New pine has to dry before its first coat, or the finish never soaks in. Homewyse's Lansing estimate for staining a yard fence runs $1.57 to $3.16 per square foot. Wash new boards first, since mill glaze left by the saw blocks the stain.
Lansing’s 2025 zoning code, section 1250.04.06, sets where a fence may stand and how tall.
When you compare contractors, you should ask them for sure which way the gate will open. If you don’t ask, they will not plan it, and you can find out later that the gate opens across the path to the garage.
A funny story happened to a friend of mine when he was refurbishing his kitchen. The way the contractors put the top cabinets in, he literally was not able to open one while the other one was closed, so they had to do a lot of trickery just to be able to open them. So it’s always important to check details like these. Does it swing the right way? Is it interfering with anything that stands there? It’s obvious, but sometimes you just forget to check it, and then you have to hunt down the contractor if he, for some reason, starts to ghost you and does not reply about fixing his work.
| Step | Typical time | What sets it |
|---|---|---|
| MISS DIG locate | 3 business days | State notice rule |
| Fence install | 2 to 4 days | Length, gates, ground |
| Concrete cure | 1 to 4 days | Mix and weather |
Install and cure times are HomeGuide’s national averages.
Market ranges for the area, not a price list. Your number comes from the yard visit.
| Fence or job | Range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Wood privacy | $27 to $44 per ft | Homewyse |
| Vinyl | $51 to $71 per ft | Homewyse |
| Chain link | $24 to $37 per ft | Homewyse |
| Picket | $19 to $31 per ft | Homewyse |
| Split rail | $29 to $47 per ft | Homewyse |
| Aluminum | $25 to $75 per ft | HomeGuide |
| Old fence removal | $10 to $20 per ft | HomeGuide |
| Damaged post | $250 to $600 each | HomeGuide |
| Gate repair | $50 to $400 | HomeGuide |
Homewyse figures are for zip 48912 in 2026, on a 150-foot run with holes up to 3 feet deep. HomeGuide’s national figures fill in the rest. Lansing’s 42-inch frost line can push labor past these ranges.
I would personally most likely go for longevity with the black aluminum one. These days I have the sense that nobody cares how other people’s houses look, they only care about themselves. I would rather have something that will last, maybe not so fancy, than something that is fancy but that I would need to fix every few years.
Pulling the existing fence yourself skips the removal charge, and pine instead of cedar, or chain link instead of vinyl, trims the material bill.
I would most likely leave it to the professionals. It’s not expensive enough to risk an injury and not doing it properly on my side. I would rather pay these few hundred bucks than try to do it myself and then drive it somewhere to get rid of it. I think it’s too much hassle for the price.
Before anything is signed, someone measures the run, finds the corner markers, checks how the ground drains and asks where the lawn mower needs to get through. The written quote comes from that visit, not from a guess over the phone.
Lansing Capital Fence puts up and repairs fences in Lansing, MI, and in the towns around it, from Holt and Okemos out to St. Johns, Portland, Charlotte and Leslie in five counties.
Lansing's height and material rules, as given here, belong to the city alone. East Lansing, Lansing Township and Delhi Township, home to Holt, write their own, so every quote starts by checking which town the yard sits in.
MISS DIG 811 covers all of them.
Generally, you don't need a permit for fences under six feet.
You should aim for 42 inches, because if you set the post shallower than that, frost would simply lift it.
Yes, you have to call, because post holes count as digging, and you need to give them between three business days and 14 days of heads-up. Keep in mind that the call is free.
The best time is when the ground has thawed, late spring until fall. Most people do it in summer, the busiest months, so late spring and early fall would be the most logical time.
That's usually because the gate post moved or sank, and to properly fix it you need to reset the post or get a new one.
It would make sense if you plan to stay in the house for years and don't want to spend time or money on maintenance. But for a rental, it would not make sense to pay extra.
Yes, it can. If it's weakened by wind, flood or fire, or parts are likely to fall, it counts as unsafe. You would receive a written notice, then a final notice, then they start fining you.
If the corner pins are found and nothing blocks them, you don't need a survey. If the line is unclear, a survey at $200 to $1,200 is advised. Moving the fence after it's built costs more.
Usually you can put it up, but we advise you to check with the city's Planning Office before buying materials.
Ring (517) 418-7986 if you would rather talk now, or leave the details below and expect a callback.