Atlantic Coast Fence Company

Had a fence installed in my backyard to keep the dog and kids in. It was a combination of chain link and PVC fence with 3 gates in very difficult terrain (uneven and boulders/​rocks). The process went smoothly with a very professional crew and the fence looks great. We have received many compliments from the neighbors. I am not sure why there have been poor reviews on Unilocal,my fence install went great and they must be doing a lot right as they have business for over 40 years.

In a nutshell:
Fence design, 4 stars
Fence construction, 4 stars
Pre-​staining, 1 star
Installation, 1 star
Timeliness, 1 star
Service, 1 star
Average, 2 stars
Atlantic Fence provides an option of prestaining. Their Web site says no other painting or fence company can match their technique or coverage. My experience is that their technique consists of a quick dip in the stain then removal. They don’t leave it in the stain long enough for it to soak in. They pay no attention to orientation when they take it out of the stain to dry and they don’t even try to wipe or brush off the excess. The result is multiple DRIPS and RUNS that are often upside down or sideways when dried and installed.
They will tell you that, when they do it, the stain gets to all the nooks and crannies and results in better coverage than you can do yourself. Don’t believe it. Our experience was that coverage is only on exposed surfaces. We bought a tongue and groove fence. By the time it was installed, the slats had already shrunk and the tongues were all bare wood. The result is a gray and light tan (wood color) striped fence.
Some of the fence sections contained large unsightly bubbles, where the stain not only didn’t penetrate into the grain, the way stain is supposed to, but it didn’t even adhere to the previous coat.
When the fence sections were removed from the truck, there were multiple chips from the handling. Properly applied stain does not chip.
The installation crew «touched up» the shoddy pre-​stain job but clearly, stain should penetrate and it should not chip. They did not touch up the tongues because pretty much all of them were exposed. It has only gotten worse. When I asked for some of the stain they used, so that I could touch up, I was told they had to take it all back to the shop.
I later bought a gallon of the Cabot stain myself and had to have it custom tinted to match what was supposed to be a stock Cabot color.
Do not pay these people for staining. Either do it yourself or hire somebody to stain it after it’s installed. You couldn’t do worse and you will save a bundle.
Installation was a nightmare. Shortly after they arrived, the foreman told me «We’re installing a fence, not building a cabinet.» That set the stage for what was to come. They set a string line, then bent it and nailed it to a tree, not checking either level or line afterwards. The second section was mounted about two inches higher than the first one. Although they corrected it, I had to point it out to them.
The foreman refused to remove a rock that was only six inches below the surface. He wanted to «pin» the post with an iron pipe and some sort of angle iron. I asked him to try one more time to remove it. He refused and I moved it enough myself that one of the men was able to take it out. And, so it went.
At the end of the first day, the foreman told me they would be back the following morning at 9 o’clock. By 11:00, they weren’t there and I called the office. The person who answered said there was nobody there who could tell me if they were coming or when. She said someone would call me. The owner called me at 4:30 and did nothing but make excuses for the shoddy staining and the incompetent foreman. Rather than apologizing to me, the owner told me only the dispatcher knows who’s going where. Oddly, the dispatcher didn’t return my 11:00 am call.
The second day went a little better because there was a different foreman and by then I had lowered my expectations. I no longer expected quality workmanship and I wasn’t disappointed.
Again, if you are capable of installing your own fence with the help of friends, do it. You will save a bundle and believe me, amateurs can do no worse than Atlantic Fence workers.