Fence or deck costs in New York

In New York, the front yard is where a fence plan usually shrinks. City zoning caps a residential front-yard fence at 4 feet. Elsewhere on the lot, the Building Code sets 6 feet as the limit in residential districts.

If you own a one- or two-family house, the paperwork is lighter than people expect. The Department of Buildings doesn't ask for a permit on a fence 6 feet or less, and it says homeowners can put one up themselves. That covers the typical backyard privacy run.

Detached houses are only about 9 percent of the city's homes, by the Census Bureau's count. So a detached house with a yard of its own is the exception here. If yours is one, or you have a two-family with a yard out back, those height and permit rules are the ones you'll build within.

Hiring someone is where the city gets strict. The Department of Consumer and Worker Protection says anyone doing home improvement work on residential property here needs a Home Improvement Contractor license. Its list of examples names fences, patios, porches and terraces, along with driveways and pools. That means the crew building your fence or rebuilding your backyard needs that license. When bids come in, ask each contractor for the license number before you talk start dates.