AUSTIN, TX – August 24, 2026 – PRESSADVANTAGE –

AT4 Fence & Custom Exteriors has introduced a written material specification that accompanies every wood fence estimate the company issues and lists the wood species, lumber grade, picket thickness, and post depth a homeowner is paying for before any work begins.

The document addresses an ambiguity the company has tracked across 759 installations since 2019. On a typical residential fence quote, the word cedar can refer to at least three different products sold at several different lumber grades, and nothing obligates a contractor to state which one will arrive on the truck. Two quotes carrying the same description can produce fences that age very differently.

AT4 Fence supplies three wood options and now scores them in writing. Owner Alex Vasquez rates Western Red Cedar at 8.10 out of 10 and Imported Cedar at 7.5 out of 10, with Redwood placed above both for durability. The scoring reflects density and natural oil content, the two properties that determine how long a board resists moisture and insects before it begins to cup or split. Western Red Cedar carries a service life of 15 to 20 years in central Texas when stained every two to three years, a maintenance interval set by ultraviolet exposure rather than rainfall.

Below the species, the specification records the grade. Pickets are supplied at number one grade or better and framing at number two, a distinction that describes how many knots and defects a board is permitted to carry, and number one allows fewer. Picket thickness is listed as well, either five-eighths of an inch or the heavier three-quarters. All lumber is kiln-dried to a moisture content of 19 percent or less, because boards installed while still green shrink as they dry and open gaps between pickets within the first season.

The same document records what goes underground, where most fence failures around Austin begin. The soil here is Blackland Prairie clay, which expands when wet and contracts when dry and puts lateral pressure on anything set in it. Austin Residential Code requires footings to reach 12 inches below undisturbed grade. AT4 Fence sets posts to one third of total post length, which places a six-foot fence between 24 and 30 inches deep in concrete, and specifies steel posts, three-rail framing, and stainless steel fasteners in place of electro-galvanized nails, which corrode through within two to five years of outdoor exposure.

Once the document is signed, no material listed on it is substituted without the homeowner’s written approval. Vasquez established that policy after leaving a subcontracting role where he watched customers billed for grades they never received. The same crew has installed alongside him since before the company was organized as an LLC in 2023. All work carries a two-year workmanship warranty on defects in labor and construction, with storm and flood damage excluded.

“Two quotes can both say cedar and mean completely different fences,” said Alex Vasquez, owner of AT4 Fence & Custom Exteriors. “The estimate that never tells you which cedar, or how deep the posts go, is usually counting on you not asking. I got tired of watching people find out four years later when the boards started cupping and nobody could tell them what they had bought.”

The document is provided at no cost during the on-site estimate, which Vasquez conducts personally. Homeowners can request one at at4fence.com or by calling (737) 376-2418, and the company’s completed projects are available for review on its Google Business Profile.

About AT4 Fence & Custom Exteriors

AT4 Fence & Custom Exteriors LLC has served homeowners across the greater Austin area since 2019. The company installs residential fencing in cedar, redwood, pipe, aluminum, chain link, vinyl, and wrought iron, along with deck and pergola construction, gate installation, and fence repair. AT4 Fence is owner-operated, holds a 5.0-star Google rating across 111 reviews, and carries an A rating with the Better Business Bureau. Learn more at https://at4fence.com.

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For more information about AT4 Fence & Custom Exteriors LLC, contact the company here:

AT4 Fence & Custom Exteriors LLC
Alex Vasquez
(737) 376-2418
sales@at4fence.com
6610 Woodhue Dr, Austin, TX 78745

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