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Unilock Fence Installation: The Fort Lauderdale Owner’s Guide
Unilock fence installation in Fort Lauderdale typically runs between $3,500 and $9,000 for a complete section replacement or new column-and-panel run, with most projects landing in the $5,000 to $7,000 range once demolition, base prep, and finishing are factored in. The most common call we get starts the same way: a homeowner notices a column leaning after a storm, or a panel that’s shifted and now scrapes when the gate swings. South Florida’s sand-heavy soil, summer downpours, and the occasional tropical system are hard on even the best hardscape products, and Unilock fence systems are no exception.
Why Unilock Is Worth Matching – and How We Do It
Unilock fence systems are not like generic concrete block. The company engineers its products in distinct series lines – think Brussels Dimensional, Rivercrest Wall, U-Cara, and Estate Wall – and each one uses its own dimensions, face texture, and locking geometry. That matters more than most homeowners realize. A Unilock Brussels Dimensional column cap will not seat correctly on a Rivercrest column, and using the wrong cap leaves a lip that catches water. In Fort Lauderdale, standing water means efflorescence, spalling, and eventually a cracked cap. We match by series first, then by measurement: panel height, column footprint, and cap overhang. If the original paperwork is long gone, we take the measurements off the existing structure and match to the current Unilock dealer catalog. When a series has been discontinued – it happens – we identify a compatible active series with the nearest profile, because a mismatched repair on a fence you look at every day reads like a patch job.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Unilock Fence Installation Is Failing
- Column lean or rotation. This is almost never the block itself giving way. The base was either undersized for the soil or the original installer skipped a proper gravel base and compaction. In Fort Lauderdale’s sandy, fast-draining soil, a column base that would be fine on clay will slowly rotate. We see it in neighborhoods like Rio Vista and Victoria Park all the time.
- Panel shift or sag between columns. Unilock fence panels rely on the columns to hold them in plane. If the footing settles even an inch, the panel drops, the gap opens, and the gate latch stops lining up. Left alone, the panel can crack under its own weight.
- Cap cracks or missing cap pieces. Caps are the first thing to fail in a salt-air environment. The thin section at the edge of a cap absorbs moisture, and repeated wet-dry cycles in coastal Fort Lauderdale will pop chips off the corner. This is the easiest thing to catch early – walk the fence line after a hard rain and look for hairlines.
- White crust or discoloration at the base. That is efflorescence, salt being drawn through the block by water. It means water is sitting in the base course. The fix is about drainage, not just scrubbing the face.
- Gate drags or won’t latch. The hinge post has moved, or the ground under the gate’s arc has risen from root growth or soil expansion. A dragging gate is how a $200 repair becomes a $1,200 panel replacement if it gets ignored through a hurricane season.
See the difference
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After
Before
After
Before
AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
In Fort Lauderdale, a single column repair with new base, cap, and a short connecting panel section generally runs $1,200 to $2,500. A full fence line – say 40 to 60 linear feet of Unilock column-and-panel – lands between $5,000 and $9,000 installed. What drives the range: how much demolition is involved, whether the existing base can be salvaged, access to the work area, and whether we’re matching a discontinued series. Every quote we write includes demolition, haul-away, gravel base, compaction, new block, adhesive, cap installation, and cleanup. No separate line items that show up later. You get a written price before we start, and the work is covered by our 365-Day Done Right Promise – if something isn’t right within a year of completion, we make it right at no cost to you.
DIY or Call Us?
The honest answer: a single cap replacement is within reach for a careful homeowner who can source the exact matching cap. Everything beyond that gets heavy fast. A Unilock column weighs hundreds of pounds, and once you’ve got the old one down, you need a compacted gravel base at the right depth or the new column will do the same lean the old one did in eighteen months. We have had more than one call from homeowners who removed a leaning column on a Saturday, realized the base was a bag of sand on top of construction debris, and then had a hole in their fence line until a pro could get there. That’s a security issue as much as a curb appeal one. If you want to check some things yourself first, we’ll tell you what we found, what it takes to fix it, and what it will cost – before we touch a thing. Call (754) 354-3720 for an honest read on what you’re up against.
FAQs
With a proper compacted base, a Unilock fence in Fort Lauderdale should hold structurally for 20 to 30 years, though caps and face texture will weather faster in the salt air. Poor base construction is what takes out most fences in the 5-to-10-year window.
Yes, in about half the cases we see. If the block itself is intact and the lean is from base settlement, we can lift the column, rebuild the base, and re-set it. If the block faces are cracked or the adhesive joints have failed, replacement is the more durable route. Call (754) 354-3720 and we’ll tell you which one you have.
A single column repair is usually a one-day job. A full 50-foot fence line replacement runs three to five working days in Fort Lauderdale, with the base prep taking about half that time.
We source directly through Unilock’s South Florida dealer network and pick up materials for each job based on your specific series and measurements. That means no leftover blocks from someone else’s job on your fence line, and no three-week wait for a discontinued part to ship from out of state.
Isaac Pruett runs the Fort Lauderdale operation with a simple rule: the crew shows up on time, the price is in writing, and the fence either looks right or it gets done again. Every technician is background-checked and identity-verified through The Threshold Standard – you get a name and photo before anyone arrives, and they’ll show a photo ID badge at the door. We also work with specification-grade hardscaping lines like Unilock, Belgard, and Techo-Bloc because we’d rather install products that hold a warranty than guess at what the box store had on sale. We’re an independent service provider, not affiliated with Unilock, but we install their fence systems every month and know exactly how they behave in South Florida conditions.
Written by Isaac Pruett, Owner, Mason Remodeling Co Fort Lauderdale at Mason Remodeling Co Fort Lauderdale, serving Fort Lauderdale and nearby areas.
