Hand-Split Redwood
Our signature work. Rails split by hand follow the grain of the wood, so they shed water, resist splitting further, and take on that classic Mendocino country look no milled lumber can fake.
Signature
Comptche, California · Serving Mendocino County
Custom redwood fences, built strong and built to last.
Friendly Borders Fence Company builds custom redwood fencing that belongs in this country — split by hand, set in concrete, and finished to outlast coastal fog, winter rain, and curious deer.
2008In business since
18 yrsBuilding fences
Owner-ledSmall local crew
What We Build
Redwood fencing for coast, country & garden
Every fence starts with a walk of the line and a conversation about how you actually use the land — dogs, deer, kids, privacy, wind. Then we build to fit.
Custom Privacy Fences
Board-on-board, picture-frame, and capped-post designs in clear and heart redwood — built tight, straight, and plumb, with posts set in concrete so the line stays true for decades.
Most Requested
Deer & Garden Fencing
Six-foot redwood three-rail fences backed with black non-climb wire — tall and tight enough to keep deer out of the garden while the wire nearly disappears against the landscape.
Garden Protection
Custom Gates
Walk gates, garden gates, and driveway gates built from the same redwood as your fence, hung on heavy hardware, and braced so they swing true year after year — no sag, no drag.
Built to Match
Lattice & Decorative Work
Lattice-top panels, woven and patterned screens, and fences worked carefully around the trees you already have — privacy that still lets the light and the place show through.
Detail Work
Horizontal & Modern Lines
Clean horizontal redwood runs for newer homes and remodels — tight joints, hidden structure, and the warm color only real redwood gives you as it silvers or takes stain.
Contemporary
Also on the truck:
Fence repairs & rebuilds
Gate repair & re-hanging
Staining & sealing
Property-line & ranch fencing
Old fence removal
Why Redwood
The right wood for this coast
Redwood grew up here. It handles Mendocino County's fog, rain, and sun better than almost anything else you can put in the ground.
1
Naturally rot & insect resistant
Redwood heartwood's natural tannins fight decay and bugs without chemical pressure-treating — safe around gardens, kids, and animals.
2
Hand-split rails outlast sawn ones
Splitting follows the grain instead of cutting through it, so water runs off rather than soaking in — the old-timers' method, and it still works.
3
Beautiful either way it ages
Leave it to silver into the landscape, or stain it and keep the deep red. We can protect plantings and landscaping while we stain.
How a Job Runs
Straight lines, honest schedule
No surprises and no disappearing act. Here's the rhythm of a typical Friendly Borders job, start to finish.
Step 1
Walk & Measure
We walk the fence line with you, talk through style, height, and gates, and measure the run so the estimate is real — not a guess over the phone.
Step 2
Layout, Dig & Set
Lines are laid out, holes dug, and every post set in concrete — the unglamorous part that decides whether a fence stands straight in ten years.
Step 3
Rails, Boards & Wire
Rails go up level, boards tight, and wire stretched and fastened clean on deer fencing. This is where the fence starts to look like the picture in your head.
Step 4
Gates & Button-Up
Gates hung and latched, site cleaned up, and a final walkthrough with you before we call it done. If it isn't right, we make it right.
Our Work
Recent work
Tap any photo to look closer. Every fence and gate in these photos is a real Friendly Borders job, built by Patrick and the crew here in Mendocino County. Find a look you like — or mix two — and we'll talk through how it fits your property at the estimate.
About the Builder
Patrick Raymond — owner, and the guy on the shovel
Patrick started Friendly Borders in January 2008 from Comptche, in the redwoods between the coast and Anderson Valley. Eighteen years later it's still a small, hands-on operation: Patrick runs the jobs himself, with a small local crew beside him.
That means the person who measures your fence is the person who sets your posts — and the person who answers for the work when it's done. Most jobs come from neighbors telling neighbors, which is exactly how a fence company out here should grow.
The working rule on every job: show up when promised, build it straight, and leave the place cleaner than it was found.
Est. January 200818 years in business
Comptche, CA 95427Home base
Owner-operatedSmall local crew
Redwood specialistHand-split & custom work
Service Area
Serving all of Mendocino County
Based in Comptche, we work the coast, the valleys, and everywhere in between. If you're near the county line, ask — we've probably fenced for a neighbor of yours.
- Comptche — home base
- Mendocino
- Fort Bragg
- Little River
- Albion
- Caspar
- Elk
- Point Arena
- Gualala
- Boonville
- Philo
- Navarro
- Ukiah
- Willits
- Westport
- Laytonville
Plan Your Fence
Sketch it out, then send it over
Use the planner to get a feel for the size of your project, then fill in the request — we'll turn it into a ready-to-send message you can copy.
Fence Planner
Rough material counts for planning only — Patrick confirms everything on the site walk.
Counts assume posts every 8 feet, set in concrete. Slopes, corners, and rocky ground change the real numbers — that's what the site walk is for.
Request an Estimate
Tell us about the job. The button builds your request into a clean message — copy it and send it however you reach us, or bring it to your site walk.
Your request is ready
Word of mouth built this company
Friendly Borders runs on referrals and Google reviews from folks across Mendocino County. Read what neighbors have said — and if we've built for you, a review genuinely helps a three-person local shop.