El Bloke Fencing: Top-Rated Commercial Fencing Serving Des Plaines, IL 60018

The main cause of leaning posts in Des Plaines is the freeze-thaw cycle. As the ground freezes and thaws, it shifts soil around post footings, especially in clay-heavy ground common in neighborhoods near the Des Plaines River. A leaning post is a sign that the concrete footing or soil base has moved. El Bloke Fencing fixes this by either excavating and resetting the post with new concrete or using a reinforced bracing system that stabilizes the post without removing it. We assess each situation based on load and frost depth to ensure the repair lasts.

Loose fasteners on gates are often a sign that the screws or bolts weren't rated for outdoor use or that the gate frame has twisted from moisture. First, we check if the hinge screws are stripped or pulling out of the wood. The solution typically involves replacing the existing hardware with heavy-duty, galvanized or stainless steel fasteners that resist rust and torque. In some cases, we also install a tension rod or anti-sag kit to reinforce the gate frame. If the fence itself is shifting, we address the posts first to prevent recurrence.

A good rule of thumb: if only one or two posts are leaning or a few pickets are loose, it’s usually a repair job. But if multiple posts are shifting, the fence rails are rotting at the connections, or the wood is splitting consistently along the length of the fence, a full replacement is often more cost-effective. El Bloke Fencing will inspect the entire fence—including checking for rot in the buried portion of posts—before recommending a solution. In Des Plaines, where moisture can be high near the river, we often see localized rot that makes a partial replacement tricky; we’ll be upfront about when a rebuild makes more sense than patchwork.