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Fence Company in Brookside, DE — Family-Owned, Locally Stocked
J&A Fence · 8997 Gap Newport Pike, Avondale, PA 19311 · (484) 368-2206
If you’re looking for a fence company that actually serves Brookside — not one that quotes you from a call center three states away — J&A Fence is the family-owned contractor Newark-area homeowners drive to when they want to see their fence before they buy it. We install vinyl, wood, aluminum, and chain link across northern New Castle County, and we do it out of a physical showroom on Gap Newport Pike, about fifteen minutes from Brookside. Free on-site estimates, written quotes the same visit, permits handled.
Call (484) 368-2206 for your free on-site estimate. We have estimate slots open this week.
Schedule Your Free Estimate Today
PA License
#096519
~16 Years in Southern
Chester County
Family Owned
Since 2012
5 Year Workmanship
Warranty
The Only Fence Store in the Region — And a Full-Service Installer
Most fence contractors serving Brookside are either a national franchise running online quotes from a call center, or a solo installer working out of a truck. J&A is the third option, and the only one within twenty miles.
Our storefront on Gap Newport Pike is the only fence store in southern Chester County — and the closest one to Brookside. When Joe walks your property for the estimate, he brings samples. When you want a second look, the showroom is a fifteen-minute drive up Route 41.
You can walk in, put your hands on a Country Estate aluminum panel, compare it to a Western Red Cedar picket, and look at vinyl thickness side by side before you commit to a material.
We are a true family-owned company. Joe Giunta owns the company and his sister Cassie answers the phone from 8:00 to 4:30 on weekdays. His dad, with 25+ years of experience, helped train the crew that installs your fence.
Fence Styles We Install Around Brookside
Four material families cover about 95% of what gets installed in Brookside and the surrounding Newark subdivisions.
Vinyl Privacy Fence Installation
In Brookside’s post-war subdivisions and the newer developments south toward Bear, vinyl is the most-requested style. No painting, no staining, and it holds through freeze-thaw cycles without warping. We carry Country Estate vinyl — the oldest vinyl fence manufacturer in the country, American-made PVC with 0.135-inch wall thickness on the panels we install. Not the thin-wall stuff you see at the big-box stores.
Privacy Fence Installation
Vinyl is the top request in Brookside’s post-war subdivisions and the newer developments south toward Bear — no painting, no staining, no warping through freeze-thaw seasons. We install American-made PVC panels with 0.135-inch wall thickness, built solid enough to hold up for decades, not the thin-wall stuff sold at big-box stores.
Aluminum Fence Installation
For pool enclosures, front-yard borders, and homes near ponds or drainage channels, aluminum delivers the look of ornamental iron without the maintenance. Country Estate aluminum is built and assembled in the USA with a powder-coat finish to AAMA 2604 spec. It meets pool-barrier code out of the box and carries a lifetime manufacturer warranty. Popular on the larger lots between Brookside and Hockessin.
Wood Fence Installation
Western Red Cedar is our flagship wood — kiln-dried to 19% moisture content, not the green lumber that warps three months after install. Board-on-board, stockade, shadowbox, spaced pickets — the style depends on how much privacy you want and what your neighbors do. Cedar develops a silver-grey patina naturally, or you can stain it every two to three years to keep the warm tone.
Chain Link Fence Installation
Practical, budget-friendly, and — done right — a lot better looking than most people expect. Galvanized or black-vinyl-coated for dog runs, side-yard containment, and backyards where visibility matters more than screening. We install with the same post depth and concrete spec as the premium materials — the fence is only as good as what’s under the ground.
Fence Repair
Practical, timely fixes that get your fence looking right again — not a full teardown. We repair loose or broken pickets, re-set leaning posts, and tighten up sagging gates, using the same care and attention to the post depth and footing that goes into a brand-new installation.
Serving Brookside, Newark, and Northern New Castle County
We’re a Pennsylvania-based fence contractor, and about a third of our installs are across the state line in Delaware. We also serve Brookside, Newark, Hockessin, Wilmington, and New Castle. The state line is a fifteen-minute drive from the storefront, and permits, HOA paperwork, and Delaware-specific requirements are part of what we handle.
Communities we work in around Brookside:
– Brookside — a mid-century CDP adjacent to the University of Delaware. Mostly quarter-acre lots, tight side setbacks, older subdivisions where a lot of the original chain link is failing and getting replaced with vinyl privacy.
– Newark — Chestnut Hill Estates and the neighborhoods off South Main Street. Older housing stock, mature trees, and property lines that often need survey confirmation before we set posts on the line.
– Pike Creek — rolling wooded lots. Split rail and cedar are common; aluminum shows up on the front-yard borders.
– Hockessin — larger lots, higher home values. Country Estate aluminum and cedar privacy are the two most common material calls.
– New Castle — closer to the river. Mix of historic and newer builds.
– Wilmington — city and suburbs. Full mix of materials depending on neighborhood.
If you’re in a Delaware community not on this list and you’re within about a 45-minute drive of Avondale, call us — we probably still cover your area.
Permits, Property Lines, and What You Need Before We Dig
Brookside is an unincorporated area of New Castle County, which means county rules apply. The permit process in this county is straightforward, and HOA requirements can be much stricter by comparison.
Permit required
Yes, in most cases — issued by New Castle County Land Use.
Setbacks
Property-line setbacks vary by zoning classification. On typical Brookside residential lots, fences can generally be placed at the property line, but a survey may be required if the line is disputed or unmarked.
Height limits
Standard residential — 4 ft front yard, 6 ft side and rear. Confirm against your specific parcel’s zoning before you commit to a design.
Sight-distance corners
Corner lots have visibility triangles at intersections. Fences in that triangle are height-restricted.
Pool enclosures: Delaware follows IRC pool-barrier code — 48-inch minimum height, 4-inch maximum gap between pickets, self-closing and self-latching gate with the latch out of a child’s reach.
Miss Utility of Delmarva (811) must be called at least three business days before we dig
We handle the call as part of every install, so you don’t need to do it yourself.
For the full New Castle County permit walkthrough — fees, processing time, application checklist — see our Delaware Fence Permit Guide.
HOA rules trip up more Brookside installs than county rules do. If your subdivision has an active HOA, we identify the requirements at the estimate stage and prepare the submission documents at no charge.
How We Build a Fence That Survives Delaware Winters
The freeze-thaw cycle in northern Delaware is what kills most fences. Ground freezes, expands, and heaves posts that were set too shallow. By spring, the fence line looks wavy, and two winters in, the gates stop latching. This will be an expensive fix because the whole run has to come out.
1
Posts Go Below the Frost Line, in Concrete, Every Time
We set every post below Delaware’s frost line — in 3,000 PSI concrete. A 6-foot fence uses an 8-foot post and the bottom 2.5 to 3 feet is buried. Line posts get one 60lb bag of concrete each; gate posts get an 80lb bag and go deeper because they carry dynamic load every time the gate swings.
2
Hardware That Doesn’t Fail in Two Years
Pressure-treated posts and modern PT lumber use copper-based preservatives that corrode standard steel fasteners from the inside out. Everything we drive into treated wood is either stainless steel or ASTM A153 hot-dipped galvanized. Ring-shank nails on pickets and rails instead of smooth-shank, because smooth nails back out under thermal cycling and you can see them poking through the fence face after a year.
3
Gates That Still Work in Year Five
Gate hardware is rated for at least 1.5 times the actual gate weight. Hinges bolted through, not screwed. Gates wider than 5 feet get ganged posts — two 4x4s side by side — because a single post can’t hold a 6-foot gate square over time.
4
The Little Things We Catch Before They Become Your Problem
Because northern Delaware soils shift a lot at the surface but stabilize deeper, we set posts an inch or two deeper than the minimum on lots with obvious drainage runoff or heavy clay pockets — rather than assuming standard depth is enough — which saves the homeowner a callback in year three when the fence would otherwise start to lean.
Materials You Can See and Touch Before You Buy
With our showroom, you can put your hands on the actual product before you sign anything.
Country Estate aluminum panels
Full sections on display so you can see the gauge, the powder-coat finish, and the picket spacing at 1:1 scale. Not a swatch.
Country Estate vinyl panels
Feel the wall thickness. Compare a 0.135-inch panel to the thin-wall stuff sold elsewhere. The difference is obvious the second you handle both.
Western Red Cedar
Kiln-dried stock, cut to picket length. See what the grain actually looks like, feel the moisture content, ask about staining schedules.
Hardware and gate samples
Hinges, latches, post caps, ring-shank nails. If a customer wants to know what “hot-dipped galvanized” means in practice, we hand them one.
The storefront is at 8997 Gap Newport Pike in Avondale, PA — about a fifteen-minute drive north from Brookside on Route 41. Open Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.
What Your Neighbors Had to Say About Working With Us
Get a Free On-Site Estimate in Brookside
Call (484) 368-2206 or fill out the form. Joe or a crew lead will walk your property, measure the runs, and hand you a written quote the same visit. No pressure, no sales calls afterward if it’s not the right fit.
J&A Fence
8997 Gap Newport Pike
Avondale, PA 19311
(484) 368-2206
office@jafence.com
Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 4:30 PM
Schedule Your Free Estimate Today
What Neighbors Around Brookside Ask Us Most
Do I need a permit to install a fence in Brookside, DE?
Yes — Brookside is unincorporated New Castle County, so the county issues the permit. We handle the paperwork as part of the install. If you’d rather file it yourself, we provide the layout documents and the completed application at no charge. Full details are in our Delaware Fence Permit Guide.
How much does a fence cost in Newark, DE?
Cost depends on material, linear footage, gates, and site conditions — but for a typical Brookside quarter-acre lot with 150 linear feet of 6-foot fence, most projects run. Vinyl and aluminum sit at the higher end; wood is mid-range; chain link is the budget option. Free written estimate on-site, no obligation.
How deep should fence posts be in Delaware?
Below the local frost line, which in New Castle County is around 30 inches. Standard practice for a 6-foot fence is a 2.5- to 3-foot hole set in 3,000 PSI concrete. Anything shallower will heave in the first hard winter. We go deeper on gate posts and on lots with obvious drainage or clay issues.
How tall can my fence be in Brookside, DE?
Standard New Castle County residential zoning allows 4 feet in the front yard and 6 feet in the side and rear yards. Corner lots have sight-triangle restrictions at intersections. HOA rules can be stricter — we check both before we finalize the design. Confirm your specific parcel’s zoning before you commit; the answer varies by district.
Do you serve Brookside from a Pennsylvania address?
Yes — about a third of our installs are in Delaware. The storefront is on Gap Newport Pike in Avondale, PA, roughly a fifteen-minute drive from Brookside. We’re licensed in Pennsylvania (PA096517) and we handle Delaware permits, HOA submissions, and Miss Utility calls as part of every install. State line isn’t a factor.
What’s your warranty?
We back our installations with a comprehensive workmanship warranty covering post movement, picket separation, and structural issues from installation. Material warranties pass through from the manufacturer — Country Estate aluminum carries a lifetime manufacturer warranty; Country Estate vinyl and Western Red Cedar also carry their own manufacturer terms.