Clear a fence line wide enough for the fence plus a working strip on each side that a mower or tractor can travel, take out every stump and root where posts or wire will go, and pull old wire out of the brush before any machine runs it. Before any of that, settle exactly where the line is, with the survey pins and the neighbor, because a fence built in the wrong place is the most expensive mistake on the job.
Find the true line first
An old fence is not proof of a boundary. It may have been run where it was convenient rather than on the deed line, and decades of growth make it hard to tell anyway. Look for the corner pins or monuments, and if they are missing or the deed is unclear, a surveyor can find or reset them and flag the line between. Talk to the neighbor before clearing, especially on a shared line, and put any agreement about who clears and who pays in writing. Check HOA rules or county zoning if the fence is near a road or in a subdivision. Then clear to the flags, not to the old wire.
How wide to clear
Width depends on the fence and on how you will look after it. A livestock wire fence needs room for a post driver or auger and for stretching wire, then room to mow both sides so brush cannot climb back into it. A board or privacy fence needs room to swing posts and boards into place. Clear wider where trees lean over the line, since a limb or a whole tree landing on the wire is a repair waiting to happen. Trees standing right on the line are a decision for both owners. Trees on the line that still need to come down? Mention them when you call and Jordan will go through what makes sense.
Old wire and grown-in metal
Most overgrown fence rows still have wire in them: strands lying in the leaves, rolls tossed in the brush, and wire the trees have grown around. It is the biggest hazard on this kind of job. Wire wraps around mulcher heads and grinder wheels, snaps back when cut under tension, and ruins a chainsaw chain. Walk the row with gloves and cutters first, pull what comes free, roll it, and flag where wire disappears into a trunk. Cut it flush rather than trying to drag it out of the wood. Tell whoever does the machine work about every piece you could not remove.
Stumps where the posts will go
A fence row cleared to the ground still has a stump every few feet, and posts have a habit of needing to go exactly there. Stumps along the line are ground below grade so the auger or driver goes straight down and a mower can run the strip. Where a corner or brace post lands on a big root ball, it may be quicker to lift the stump out whole than to fight it, then backfill and firm the hole. A post set in the middle of rotting roots loosens as they decay. Stump grinding near a fence covers the opposite job, a stump beside a fence you are keeping.
Call 811 before the post holes
Driving or augering posts is digging, and buried lines often run along property lines and roadsides. In North Carolina, NC811 asks for notice three working days before you dig, and the utilities mark their public lines at no charge; in South Carolina, contact SC811 before digging. Neither service marks private lines, so find your own water line to a barn or trough, any buried power to a well pump or gate opener, and invisible pet fence wire, and flag them. Stump grinding along the line deserves the same care, because the cutting wheel goes below the surface too.
Why fence rows fill in so fast
A fence row is where birds sit, and birds plant fence rows. Black cherry, privet, multiflora rose and autumn olive all bear fruit that birds and small animals eat, and the strip beneath the wire is the one place a mower never reaches. Multiflora rose has an extra history here: the N.C. Forest Service notes it was planted as a living fence for livestock, so some old fence lines started out as rose hedges. Cut cherry needs handling with care in pasture, because NC State lists its leaves as poisonous to livestock. Get the tops off the field or chipped, not left in a pile beside the new wire.
Keeping the new line clear
The day the fence goes up is the easiest it will ever be to look after. Mow both sides at least a couple of times a year so nothing gets a start against the wire, and pull or treat seedlings while they are small. Keep the working strip open; it is your access for repairs and the gap that stops roots and limbs reaching the fence. Rose and privet sprouting from old roots will be the main follow-up for the first two seasons. On steep ground where mowing is hard, a narrow strip mulched once a year can do the same job. Reclaiming an overgrown pasture covers the field side of the fence.
Common Questions
How wide should a fence line be cleared?
Wide enough for the fence, the machines that build it and a mowing strip on each side so brush cannot climb back in, and wider where trees lean over the line. The exact width depends on the fence type and the equipment you will maintain it with, so decide how you will mow it before clearing.
Can a fence post go where a stump was ground out?
Usually, yes. Once the stump is ground below grade, an auger or post driver goes through the grindings into soil. The leftover roots will rot over time, so set corner and brace posts, which carry the most load, in firm undisturbed ground or where the root ball was lifted out and the hole was firmed.
Who pays to clear a shared fence line?
There is no single rule to lean on, so agree it with the neighbor before work starts and put it in writing: where the line is, who clears which side, and who pays for what. If the line itself is in doubt, have it surveyed first. For legal questions about a boundary, ask an attorney.
What to Do Next
Planning a new fence? Photos along the row, a rough length and your town are enough for Jordan to price clearing it and grinding the stumps on the line. Call (828) 574-4474 or read about fence line stump grinding.
See our pasture & fence lines service or call (828) 574-4474.