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Unilock Fence Installation: The Orlando Owner’s Guide
Unilock fence installation in Orlando typically runs $3,500 to $9,000 for a standard residential perimeter, and we stock the post caps, base plates, and mounting hardware that tend to fail in Florida’s heat and storms. Most Orlando homeowners call us after a section starts leaning or a post cracks at the base, usually within five to eight years of the original install. The good news is a Unilock fence rarely needs a full tear-out: the individual sections and hardware are designed to be swapped, not scrapped.
What we see most in Orlando is post failure at ground level. The combination of sandy soil, summer downpours, and UV exposure breaks down the polymer bases faster than anything else on the fence. You’ll notice a panel leaning out of square, or a gate that drags on the paver line where it never used to.
Which Unilock Models This Applies To
Unilock’s fence and railing line shares post dimensions across most series, but there’s one gotcha Orlando owners run into constantly: the Brussels Dimensional System uses a wider post than the Estate Wall line. If you grab a base plate meant for an Estate Wall post and try to seat it under a Brussels post, it won’t fit. The posts look close in the store, but the base opening is off by a full half-inch. We measure every post before we order parts, and we’ve seen enough mismatches to know better than to trust the label.
To identify what you have, check the inside of the post cap or the bottom of a removed post. Unilock stamps the series name there. If the stamp is weather-worn, measure the post’s outside width: Brussels runs roughly 8 inches square, Estate Wall closer to 7.5. For aftermarket parts, we stick with OEM Unilock hardware when it’s available because the polymer blend is matched to the post’s expansion rate. Fewer hairline cracks at the cap seam, which is something cheap aftermarket caps in Orlando are notorious for developing within two summers.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Unilock Fence Installation Is Failing
- Leaning or out-of-square panels: This almost always traces back to a cracked polymer post base. The base is what anchors the post to the footing, and once it splits, the post starts working itself loose in the soil.
- Gate drag or sticking: A Unilock gate that scrapes the pavers means the post holding the hinge is settling. Orlando’s sandy soil shifts more than people expect, especially around irrigation lines that stay wet.
- Cracks running down the post, not across: Vertical cracking is UV fatigue in the post sleeve itself. It starts hairline and in two or three seasons you’ll see daylight through it.
- Loose caps or rails after wind: The aluminum rail connectors Unilock uses hold until the post flexes, then they loosen permanently. Hammering them back down doesn’t fix the underlying issue.
- White chalky residue on dark posts: That’s the polymer oxidizing under Orlando sun exposure. It doesn’t mean the fence is failing mechanically, but it does mean the material is aging and getting brittle.
See the difference
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After
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Before
AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
Installed Unilock fence work in Orlando runs $3,500 to $9,000 depending on how many sections are involved. A single post replacement with new base, cap, and mounting hardware usually lands between $350 and $800. A full 60-to-80-foot perimeter with new posts throughout hits the top of that range. The variables that move the number: how much old concrete needs to be broken out, whether we’re matching existing post color (Unilock discontinues certain pigment blends), and whether the gate hardware needs full replacement rather than adjustment.
Every quote from Sawyer Remodel Orlando is written before we start, line by line, parts and labor separated. You’ll see exactly what the Unilock pieces cost and what we charge to install them. If the fence section we fix fails within a year, we come back under the 365-Day Done Right Promise. No argument, no re-quote. That’s the whole point of putting it in writing.
DIY or Call Us?
Replacing a post cap is a five-minute job an Orlando homeowner can do with a rubber mallet and a level. Checking for a cracked base is as simple as pulling back the mulch line and looking at the polymer where it meets the concrete. Where DIY on a Unilock fence goes wrong is when a post needs to be reset or a full panel re-hung. The posts are heavy, the footing needs to be re-poured level, and getting the panel spacing right requires two people and a lot of patience. We’ve fixed plenty of DIY resets where the panel was hung a quarter-inch out of square, and that quarter-inch becomes a half-inch gate gap within a year.
If you’re looking at a leaning post or a gate that won’t close, call us at (850) 809-0306. Luca Romano runs the fence crew at Sawyer Remodel Orlando, and he’ll tell you straight whether it’s a $400 post reset or a full-section replacement. Good work doesn’t need a speech – it just needs to hold up.
FAQs
A properly installed Unilock fence in Orlando lasts 12 to 15 years on the posts, with caps and rail hardware needing replacement around year 7. The Florida sun and summer humidity age the polymer faster than Unilock’s testing suggests for northern climates. Call (850) 809-0306 and we’ll inspect your fence and tell you where it is in that lifespan.
A hairline crack at the cap seam can sometimes be stabilized with an epoxy filler, but a vertical crack through the post body means replacement. Once water gets inside the post and sits against the aluminum rail connector, the connector fails and the problem compounds. We’ll give you an honest call on repair versus replacement when we see it in person.
A single post replacement with new concrete footing and hardware takes about half a day, including time for the concrete to set enough for the panel to go back up. A full-side replacement across three or four posts is a one-day job. We’ll quote the timeline on the written estimate before we start.
We stock post caps, base plates, and rail connectors on the truck for the Brussels Dimensional and Estate Wall series, because those are the two lines we install most in Orlando. Specialty colors and less common series parts get ordered from Unilock’s Florida distributor and typically arrive within a week. If you need it same-week, call (850) 809-0306 and we’ll check stock while you’re on the phone.
Written by Luca Romano, Owner & Lead Contractor, Sawyer Remodel Orlando at Sawyer Remodel Orlando, serving Orlando and nearby areas.
