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Clearing a lane for a new fence line
The ground under your line shapes fence line clearing in San Antonio: cedar on limestone north and west, mesquite on clay to the south. We open a straight lane off the survey pins for your crew’s posts and wire, but the fence itself isn’t ours to build. Above the Balcones Escarpment a cedar line mostly needs a mulcher, but mesquite against wire on the clay below comes back unless it’s dug out.
Fence line clearing is one part of our land clearing work, and it’s the call to make when the line’s still a wall of brush. A crew that’s cutting cedar with chainsaws isn’t setting posts, so those slow days land on your schedule. One mulcher pass opens room for posts and wire, and it takes out the cedar that would’ve leaned on the new strands.
Corner posts carry the pull of the whole wire run, so the lane leaves room around each corner for bracing. A strand that’s stretched past a cedar trunk gets pulled off true, whether it’s barbed wire or game fence. If the tract needs more than a lane, brush clearing opens the pasture behind it on the same estimate.
When the line follows a county road, the strip between your fence and the pavement is its own job, and right-of-way clearing handles it. Run the fence lane around every side of the acreage, and that’s perimeter clearing. On a tract you’ve just bought, it can be the first time anyone’s seen where the whole boundary really runs.
Opening up an old, overgrown fence line
An old line can disappear so well that a new owner walks right past it, with cedar grown through the strands and mesquite crowding the posts. Before anything else, you’ll decide whether that wire stays or goes.
If it’s coming down, fence removal gets it out before the mulcher starts, because a mulching head and buried barbed wire don’t mix. If the old fence is staying, the lane opens along your side of it so the wire can be walked and patched.
Mesquite rooted against the wire needs grubbing, meaning its root crown, the knot of wood just under the soil, gets dug out. Cut it at ground level and it’ll send new shoots right back into the strands you just tightened.
Working off the survey pins
The lane runs pin to pin, because an old fence can wander off the true property boundary over the years. If a pin’s missing or buried, a surveyor sets it before the mulcher starts, and every cut stays on your side of the neighbor line.
We don’t do survey work, and we won’t guess at a corner from an old post. Once the pins are found and flagged, the lane’s laid out between them with room on your side for the fence crew.
What to know before clearing day
- How long the line runs, roughly
- Where each pin and corner post sits
- Whether the old wire stays or goes
- Which fence is going up on the line
- When your fence crew is booked
- Photos down the line and a map pin
Keeping brush off the wire after
- Brush hog the lane before it thickens
- Pull cedar seedlings while they’re small
- Watch the wire for mesquite sprouts
- Keep limbs trimmed off the top strand
- Walk the line after a wet spring
- Call before regrowth reaches the wire
Setting the lane width and clearing the line
How wide the lane should be depends on the crew that follows us, since their machine, posts and wire all need room. Ask your fence crew what they’ll need before you call.
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Call with the line in mind
Sarah answers at any hour, so call whenever it’s handy. It helps to know roughly how long the line runs and where the pins are, and photos plus a pin drop go through the estimate form.
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Photos in, estimate back
The estimate’s built from your photos and map pin, with a site walk only if the job needs one. It’s free, so you’re out nothing by asking, and Sarah takes questions in Spanish too.
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Flag the lane width
We flag the lane between the pins and size it to what your crew needs. That means room for their machine, a straight wire run, and space at each corner where they’ll brace.
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Mulch cedar, grub mesquite
Cedar and brush along the line go through a drum mulcher head, carried by a compact track loader, and the chips stay put. Mesquite that’s rooted at the wire line gets grubbed out with a mini excavator.
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Hand off an open lane
Once the lane’s open pin to pin, your crew can drive it and set T-posts without stopping for brush. Barbed wire or game fence goes up on a clean run instead of around a cedar trunk.
FAQs about fence line clearing in San Antonio
Before the first post goes in
A fence line job hinges on where the pins are and what’s growing against the wire. Know both when you call, and your fence crew’s start date has a much better shot at holding.
Will you clear the neighbor’s side of the fence too?
Only if your neighbor asks for it too. We work off your pins and keep every cut on your side, since what happens past the line is their call. If you’re both opening a shared fence, you can each call, and both sides can be planned together.
Can you clear a fence line with stock in the pasture?
It’s easier if they’re moved or gated off first. A mulcher throws chips and wood bits, and goats in particular can’t resist wandering over to see the noise. If they can’t be moved, tell Sarah which pasture they’re in, and we’ll work around where they’re grazing.
Will clearing the line leave ruts or bare dirt?
Not on dry ground. A drum mulcher leaves a layer of chips over the soil, and tracks spread a machine’s weight better than tires do. Wet clay’s another story, because it ruts under anything, so a soggy line waits until it dries.
Do you clear fence lines for game fence?
Yes. Game fence stands taller than a cattle fence, so overhanging limbs need to come up higher and the run has to stay straight. Mention it’s game fence when you call, and the lane gets sized for it.
How long does a cleared fence line stay open?
That depends on what was growing there. A cedar cut low, under its bottom green limbs, stays dead, but birds keep dropping seed and new seedlings show up in open ground. Mesquite comes back from the root unless it’s grubbed, and a brush hog follow-up while sprouts are small keeps the lane clear.
Can you clear around trees I want to keep on the line?
Yes. Mark the live oaks or shade trees you’d like kept, and the mulcher works around them. Settle any trunk sitting right on the line with your fence crew before clearing day, since the lane runs where they’ll set posts.
Is a dozer good for clearing a fence line?
Sometimes, but a mulcher’s usually the better fit for a lane. A dozer blade pushes brush into windrows, long piles that drag topsoil along with them, and those piles end up sitting beside your new fence. A mulcher leaves the brush gone and the ground covered, so there’s nothing stacked against the wire.
Can you clear the whole perimeter of my acreage?
Yes. A full perimeter is the same lane run around every side, with extra room left at gates and corners for the crew to turn. On a big tract, it’ll show you more about where the boundary runs than the listing map did.
Did you know?
Texas fence cutting didn’t stop after the 1883 wars. It kept flaring up here and there for about a decade, and dry years brought the most of it, when grass and water got scarce.
Fence line clearing estimates
Open the line before posts go in
Call (210) 866‑3822 or send photos through the form. We’re the dirt work contractor who opens the lane, and your crew takes it from there.
- SW-EPhone(210) 866‑3822
- SW-FAddress13351 Welsh Pony, San Antonio, TX 78254