Fence or deck costs in Bakersfield

Digging post holes in Bakersfield comes with a health note. Valley fever is caused by a fungus that grows in the soil in parts of California. When dirt is stirred up by wind or by digging, its spores can get into the air you breathe. The California Department of Public Health lists Kern County among the state's top counties for valley fever.

You can lower the risk on fence day. CDPH's advice for digging where valley fever is common is to wet the soil down before you dig, stay upwind of the work, and consider an N95 respirator. Cloth masks, bandanas, surgical masks and simple one-strap dust masks don't protect as well. When you come inside, change out of dusty clothes, and don't shake them out before washing.

The city's zoning code keeps the heights plain. In residential zones, a fence, wall or hedge in the required front yard stops at four feet. In side and rear yards the limit is six, unless city or state rules call for something taller to block noise or screen a view.

One rule is aimed at lots along big roads. On a through lot whose rear line backs onto a state, major or secondary highway, and sits below the road, at its grade, or less than ten feet above it, the code requires a masonry wall. A wood fence won't satisfy it.