The outdoor dictionary
Less jargon.
More confidence.
From a linear foot to a ledger board, get to know the language of your next fence or deck project.
18 of 18 terms
- Board-on-board
- Cedar pickets that overlap, so a neighbor cannot see through the fence at an angle. It uses more lumber than a side-by-side fence and closes the gaps a side-by-side leaves.
- Caliche
- The hard calcium layer under many San Antonio yards. It changes how deep a post can go and what the job costs. A price taken from a photo usually misses it.
- Chain link
- A containment fence for pets, pools, and commercial runs. Black vinyl-coated mesh is used when bare galvanized looks wrong next to the house.
- Composite decking
- Deck boards that do not take the restain schedule cedar does. The frame under the boards is still wood or steel, and that frame is what has to be right.
- Field fence
- Woven wire or pipe on posts for livestock, horses, or acreage. It is priced by the line, with braces at ends, corners, and gates. It is not a backyard privacy fence stretched long.
- Gate operator
- The motor on a driveway gate. It goes on a gate that already swings or slides true. A motor will not fix a leaf that drags on the driveway.
- HOA packet
- The neighborhood rules for height, material, stain, and where the fence can sit. Material is ordered after the packet is read, not before.
- Kickboard
- The bottom board on a wood fence, the one that sits in splash and soil. It is often the first board to rot in a San Antonio yard.
- Ledger board
- The board that ties a deck to the house. If the ledger is wrong, the deck fails at the wall. The conversation starts there, not with the color of the boards.
- Linear foot
- One foot of fence measured along the line, not the square footage of the yard. A written estimate uses linear feet so two bids can be compared on the same run.
- Patio cover
- A roof over a slab or a deck, sized to the afternoon sun. It blocks sun. It does not air-condition a Hill Country patio.
- Pergola
- An open shade frame of posts and beams. It breaks the sun. It is not a solid patio cover and it is not a fence.
- Post depth
- How far a fence or deck post goes into the ground. In rock and caliche this is the line that moves a price after someone has walked the yard.
- Price match
- A review of a comparable written bid. If the two scopes are the same job, the price is matched. If they are not, the difference is written down.
- Privacy fence
- A solid fence, usually cedar or vinyl, built to screen a backyard, a pool, or a patio. It is the wrong product for a pasture or a front yard an HOA wants left open.
- Side-by-side
- Pickets set next to each other with a small gap. It costs less lumber than board-on-board. It is not a full visual screen.
- Split rail
- Two or three cedar rails that mark a property line without building a wall. Rails alone will not hold a large dog. That job needs wire, and the estimate should say so.
- Wrought iron
- An ornamental metal fence. On most San Antonio jobs the material is steel made to look like iron. It shows the house. It does not hide the yard.