Andersen Fence Installation: The Fort Myers Owner’s Guide
We stock and install Andersen fence systems across Fort Myers, with most projects landing between $3,500 and $9,000 depending on linear footage, gate count, and material spec. Homeowners usually find us after a storm has turned a section of Andersen fencing into a sail - the post bases give way in our sandy Lee County soil, or the bottom rails start rotting from the humidity that never lets up. The good news is Andersen’s aluminum and composite options were practically designed for Southwest Florida weather, and we keep the common parts on our trucks.
Which Andersen Models This Applies To
Andersen isn’t just windows - their fencing division produces the Andersen Architectural Collection, which includes the Estate, Metro, and Modernist series. Identifying your model sounds obvious until you’re staring at five yards of weathered aluminum and every panel looks the same. The quickest way is the stamp on the inside of a gate post or the back of a rail bracket - Andersen hides a series code there, usually two letters followed by a dash and four digits. If that’s worn off, measure the rail profile: Estate uses a 2-inch by 3-inch extruded rail with a prominent top cap, Metro slims that to 1.5 inches by 2.5 inches, and Modernist runs a flat-face rail with hidden fasteners. We carry OEM Andersen rails, posts, pickets, and gate hardware for all three lines, plus a few aftermarket equivalents for the Estate series that our installers actually trust - specifically the post caps and concrete anchors, where the generics hold up better against salt air. One compatibility gotcha that trips up DIY shoppers: Estate series posts manufactured after 2019 use a slightly wider gate hinge mortise. Order the pre-2019 hinge for a newer post and it won’t seat - we’ve swapped enough of those to know.
Signs Your Andersen Fence Installation Is Failing
- Leaning posts after a summer thunderstorm. Fort Myers’ afternoon downpours saturate the soil fast, and if the post concrete footing wasn’t poured deep enough or wide enough, the whole assembly shifts. You’ll see a gap open between the post and concrete - that’s the post working loose, and more wind will finish the job.
- Bottom rail pulling away from the pickets. Andersen’s composite bottom rails absorb moisture differently than the aluminum uprights. After a few wet-dry cycles in our climate, the rail swells, the screw holes elongate, and the pickets start to rattle. You can press the rail and feel it give - that’s not a loose screw, that’s a rail that’s lost its bite.
- Gate sag that adjusting the hinges won’t fix. A properly hung Andersen gate distributes weight through the hinge post into the footing. When the post itself has tilted, no amount of hinge adjustment brings the gate back square. You’ll notice the latch side dragging the ground first - the top gap widens, the bottom scrapes.
- White chalky residue on the aluminum rails. This is electrolysis, not dirt. When aluminum hardware contacts dissimilar metal fasteners in the presence of salt (and we live in salt air), oxidation sets in. The joint gets powdery, the paint flakes, and eventually the fastener fails. We see this most often along canals and within a mile of the Gulf.
- Pickets that twist or pop out of the top rail channel. Andersen’s channel-lock design holds pickets under tension. When a post shifts, that tension redistributes unevenly. One or two pickets twist, then the neighbors follow. You can usually straighten the first one by hand but the root cause is the post footing - not the picket.
Replacement Cost & What’s Included
In Fort Myers, a full Andersen fence installation typically ranges from $3,500 for a straightforward 50-linear-foot yard with one walk gate using the Metro series, up to $9,000 for 150-plus linear feet of the Estate series with two gates, demolition and removal of the old fence, and deeper concrete footings engineered for our wind zone. The biggest cost drivers are linear footage (that’s obvious), the number of gates (each gate means two posts instead of one, plus the hardware kit), and access - if we’re hauling materials through a narrow side yard in McGregor or working around a pool cage in Gateway, the labor hours tick up.
Every Andersen fence job we quote includes removal and disposal of the existing fence, new 24-inch-deep concrete footings (18 inches is code minimum; we go deeper because our soil demands it), OEM or approved-aftermarket rail and picket fitment, post caps, all gate hardware, and a final walkthrough to check every gate swing and picket alignment. You get upfront pricing with a written line item quote - no change orders appear mid-job unless you ask us to change the scope. All Andersen fence work is covered by our 730-Day Done Right Promise: if it’s not done right, we make it right.
DIY or Call Us?
Andersen fence systems are modular by design, and an experienced homeowner with a post-hole digger, a level, and a free weekend can absolutely tackle a single-section repair on flat ground. What trips people up in Fort Myers is the soil - we don’t have dirt here, we have sand with a thin crust of topsoil. A 4-foot-deep post hole collapses halfway through unless you know how to brace it, and the concrete mix needs a drier slump than what comes off a standard bag instruction. If the post footing fails, the new section leans within six months, and you’ve bought yourself the same problem on a faster clock.
The safety callout is gates. An Andersen Estate double-gate assembly weighs over 80 pounds per leaf - that’s a two-person job with a risk of smashed fingers or a dropped panel. We’ve seen homeowners try to hang one solo with a temporary prop and it never ends well. For anything involving a gate, or any repair where a post has shifted more than three inches out of plumb, the smart money is a crew that does this daily. Call (844) 638-7249 and we’ll give you an honest assessment, not a sales pitch. Estimates are free.
FAQs
Andersen’s aluminum and composite systems are rated for 25-plus years, but in our salt-air, high-UV environment, we tell homeowners to expect 18 to 22 years of good cosmetic life and full structural integrity - the posts and rails will outlast the paint finish by about five years.
If the damage is isolated to one or two pickets and the posts and rails are plumb and solid, yes, we can swap individual pickets on-site. If a rail has rotted or a post has moved, patching the visible part doesn’t fix the failure - you’ll be back in the same spot next storm season, and a section replacement is the better call.
Most standard Fort Myers yards finish in two to three working days from demolition to final cleanup. Larger properties with multiple gates or tricky access can run four or five days. We give you a firm timeline at the estimate, not a range.
We do. Our Fort Myers warehouse carries Estate, Metro, and Modernist rails, pickets, post caps, gate hinges, and latch kits. We also stock our preferred aftermarket concrete anchors and post caps for the Estate series - they’ve held up better against the coastal humidity than the OEM spec, and we install them with the same 730-Day workmanship coverage.
If your Andersen fence is starting to show its age, call (844) 638-7249 or reach out any time - a real person answers, day or night. We’ll schedule a free estimate, walk the fence line with you, and give you numbers that don’t change once the work starts.
Written by Derek Hollenbeck, Owner & General Contractor, Groundwork Construction Co. of Fort Myers, serving Fort Myers and nearby areas.