Fence and Repaint Order for Multi-Unit Properties

On an HOA or multi-unit property, paint the walls that sit within a ladder's or lift's reach of the new fence line first, then build the fence, and build the fence first only where it stands well clear of the buildings. The fence line, the gate openings and the painters' equipment all want the same strip of ground, so the order is really a question of who needs that strip first.

Updated October 27, 2026, by Carolina Fencing Solutions. We install fencing around Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson and Mooresville. This guide is for the property manager, HOA board or owner with a fence going in and buildings that also need paint. It carries no prices.

Which goes first, the fence or the paint?

Most properties have both situations at once, so decide building by building, using the distance from the planned fence line to the nearest wall that will be painted.

The close case catches people. A lift, a scaffold or even a ladder needs a working strip along the wall, and a finished fence a few feet off that wall takes the strip away.

The reverse order has its own cost. Auger spoil, ready-mix splash and wheelbarrow traffic all land at the base of a wall that was just finished. Around Lake Norman the spoil is Piedmont red clay, and red clay on fresh paint is a stain that stays until somebody washes it off.

The far case is simpler: a perimeter fence well clear of the buildings does not share ground with the paint crew. For commercial sites, our chain link page lists commercial-grade systems, and our aluminum page lists commercial and industrial grades with matching gates.

Gate openings and fence line clearances

Gates decide whether the other trades can get onto the site at all, so settle them before the first post. Ask each trade for its widest piece of equipment and set the opening from that, not from what a pickup needs.

For pedestrian gates on an accessible route, there is a published number. The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, section 404.2.3, says:

Door openings shall provide a clear width of 32 inches (815 mm) minimum.U.S. Department of Justice, 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, section 404.2.3

The section measures swinging openings with the door open 90 degrees. Whether it applies to a given gate is a question for the owner or architect, but it is a useful floor, and a lift or a loaded dolly needs more.

Gate type changes the clearance too. Our gates page describes cantilever slide gates as suited to commercial sites where swing room is limited, and says swing gates need clear arc space. Where cars park along the fence, the arc is often what cannot be cleared. The same page says we handle permitting with the county or the HOA when it is required, including engineered drawings for commercial and crash-rated installations.

To keep the opening usable, set the gate posts early and hang the leaves last. Ask any fence contractor whether they would run the job that way.

Spray, overspray and the fence you just paid for

Spray drifts, and a fence finish does not take it kindly. Our property fencing page covers perimeter styles, and the aluminum page describes a powder-coat finish built to resist chips, scratches and humidity. That finish is a factory coating, and dried paint on it is a cleanup job nobody wants to order.

The cleanest protection is the order itself: finish the spraying before the panels and stain go up. If the fence is already in, ask the painter before the lift arrives:

• Which surfaces will be sprayed, and which brushed or rolled near the fence?
• What wind conditions end a spray day, and who makes that call?
• How will the fence and gate hardware be masked, and who pays to clean overspray?
• When does the last coat go on, and when can fence work begin?

Older buildings: lead-safe prep comes before the digging

The EPA Renovation, Repair and Painting program page says that approximately three-quarters of the homes in the United States built before 1978 still contain some lead-based paint. It also says that, in general, anyone paid to perform work that disturbs paint in housing and child-occupied facilities built before 1978 must be certified in lead-safe work practices, and that property management companies that perform work that disturbs paint in a pre-1978 residential building must become a lead-safe certified firm.

What follows is our inference, not EPA's wording. If the walls beside the fence line will be scraped, sanded or stripped, do that before anyone digs: chips are easier to clean up from bare ground than from under spoil piles and concrete. Ask the painter whether the buildings predate 1978, and for the firm's lead-safe certification if they do.

Underground lines on a shared property

NC811 says to contact it three working days before you plan to dig, and that the utilities then send locators to mark their publicly managed underground lines for free. Private lines are another matter, and a multi-unit property tends to have many: irrigation, parking and site lighting, gate operator power, and conduit for the access system. Whoever digs should place the ticket, and the property manager should flag the private lines before layout.

Scheduling around tenants and the HOA board

Tenants mind noise, blocked parking and not knowing what is happening. An auger day, a concrete truck day and a spray day each disrupt differently, so give each its own notice and keep them off the same building together. When the fence runs close to the walls, this order keeps the schedule readable:

• Walk the site together: manager, painter and fence contractor. Mark the fence line, gate openings, wall strips and staging areas on one plan.
• Place the 811 ticket, and keep it current if digging slips.
• Paint first, building by building or elevation by elevation: prep, then coats, with notices to residents ahead of each.
• After the last spray day and the wash-down, tear out any old fence and set posts.
• Hang the panels, then the gate leaves and operators last.
• Finish with a final walk: swing every gate, test every latch, and write one punch list for both trades.

Line the painter up before you set the fence date, not after. One local option for that trade is Chris' Painting & Remodeling in Monroe, NC, whose page for commercial painters in Charlotte, NC lists offices, store fronts and multi-tenant buildings, work scheduled around business hours, a phase plan agreed in writing, and one named contact. Whichever painter you choose, ask for the same things and keep one calendar.

Planning a fence for an HOA or multi-unit property in Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson or Mooresville? Bring the painter's schedule to the first walk.