Fence or deck costs in Tulsa

Tulsa's zoning code keeps fences low out front. Under Section 45.070, a fence or wall in a required street setback can't be taller than 4 feet, and elsewhere in the setbacks the limit is 8. There's a useful exception for houses in R-zoned districts. On a corner lot, you can go to 8 feet in the side street setback. On a double-frontage lot, you can go to 8 feet along the street behind your back line. Anything else goes to the Board of Adjustment as a special exception, and barbed or razor wire is off the table in residential districts unless that board approves it.

In a historic preservation overlay, the Tulsa Preservation Commission reviews fences only in the street yard. Side and back yard fences are exempt from its review. Out front, the residential guidelines rule out chain-link, wire of 12 gauge or less, vinyl and any fence that blocks the view of the house, and they name low wood pickets as the best fit.

Water is the other Tulsa story. The City calls the 1984 Memorial Day Flood the worst in its history: 14 people died and nearly 7,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed. If your back line runs along one of the creeks, ask the City about your flood risk first. The Floodplain Administrator takes questions through 311, and the City's advice is to get a building permit for anything you build in a flood-prone area.