Fence PlannerPlan

Build Readiness Audit

A printable homeowner checklist to decide what to resolve before buying materials or digging fence posts — not a permit or utility-locate service.

Fence Planner is not a surveyor, permit authority, utility-locate bureau, or engineer. Use this audit to record your own sources and next actions. See About and Methodology.

Answers stay in this browser only (local storage). Nothing is uploaded. Clear site data to erase them.
1. Do you have a boundary source you trust (survey, pins, or another authoritative record)?

Guessing from a map app or a neighbor’s fence is not enough for a dig line.

Stop before digging/buying — Stop before digging or buying line posts until you have a trusted boundary source.

2. Have you found the official municipal/HOA rule source and recorded its link and date?

Record the page or document you used — do not rely on memory of a verbal tip.

Stop before digging/buying — Stop until you record the official rule source link and the date you checked it.

3. Have you requested the applicable utility locate, and are all responses back?

Public locates mark member utilities — wait for clearances before digging.

Stop before digging/buying — Stop digging until locate responses are back and marks are understood.

4. Have you checked private-line risks such as irrigation, landscape lighting, or other owner-installed items?

Public locate tickets usually do not cover private lines on your side of the meter.

Verify — Walk the dig line for private irrigation, lighting, and other owner-installed risks.

5. Have you measured the gate path, swing, and obstruction clearance?

Opening width alone is not enough — swing arcs need clear space.

Verify — Measure swing arcs and obstruction clearances on site.

6. Have you selected a fence system and read its installation instructions?

Panel, site-built wood, and chain-link sequences differ — follow the product you will buy.

Verify — Choose a system and open its current installation instructions.

7. Does the project have slope, drainage, house/structure, or access constraints that need a product-specific decision?

Answer Yes if constraints exist and are still unresolved; No if none apply or you already decided with product guidance.

Verify — Resolve the product-specific slope, structure, drainage, or access decision before purchase.

8. Have you checked the material estimate against real product dimensions and local prices?

Planner quantities are estimates — verify face widths, bag yield, and store pricing.

Verify — Compare the estimate to product dimensions and local prices before you buy.

Field kit summary

Overall: Stop before digging/buying

Generated 7/22/2026, 3:16:46 AM

Do you have a boundary source you trust (survey, pins, or another authoritative record)?

Answer: — · Stop before digging/buying

Stop before digging or buying line posts until you have a trusted boundary source.

Have you found the official municipal/HOA rule source and recorded its link and date?

Answer: — · Stop before digging/buying

Stop until you record the official rule source link and the date you checked it.

Have you requested the applicable utility locate, and are all responses back?

Answer: — · Stop before digging/buying

Stop digging until locate responses are back and marks are understood.

Have you checked private-line risks such as irrigation, landscape lighting, or other owner-installed items?

Answer: — · Verify

Walk the dig line for private irrigation, lighting, and other owner-installed risks.

Have you measured the gate path, swing, and obstruction clearance?

Answer: — · Verify

Measure swing arcs and obstruction clearances on site.

Have you selected a fence system and read its installation instructions?

Answer: — · Verify

Choose a system and open its current installation instructions.

Does the project have slope, drainage, house/structure, or access constraints that need a product-specific decision?

Answer: — · Verify

Resolve the product-specific slope, structure, drainage, or access decision before purchase.

Have you checked the material estimate against real product dimensions and local prices?

Answer: — · Verify

Compare the estimate to product dimensions and local prices before you buy.

  • Stop before digging/buying: Stop before digging or buying line posts until you have a trusted boundary source. Related guide
  • Stop before digging/buying: Stop until you record the official rule source link and the date you checked it. Related guide
  • Stop before digging/buying: Stop digging until locate responses are back and marks are understood. Related guide
  • Verify: Walk the dig line for private irrigation, lighting, and other owner-installed risks. Related guide
  • Verify: Measure swing arcs and obstruction clearances on site. Related guide
  • Verify: Choose a system and open its current installation instructions. Related guide
  • Verify: Resolve the product-specific slope, structure, drainage, or access decision before purchase. Related guide
  • Verify: Compare the estimate to product dimensions and local prices before you buy. Related guide
Browse scenarios