Fence & Gate Installation on the Bolivar Peninsula, TX

What we install on the peninsula

The Bolivar Peninsula starts at the ferry landing in Port Bolivar, with the Gulf on one side and the bay on the other. We install new fences and gates here for full-time homes, weekend houses and rentals:

• Open fences around raised houses: vinyl spaced pickets, aluminum and ornamental iron, which mark the yard and let wind, sand and water pass.
• Privacy where it counts: wood or vinyl privacy along a side lot line, around a hot tub or an outdoor shower, and chain link for dog runs, storage and boat parking.
• Gates: walk gates to the beach path, double gates for a boat or trailer, and driveway gates, with openers and access control if you want them.
• Pool barriers for ground-level pools beside elevated homes.

Crystal Beach

Crystal Beach is on the peninsula and in unincorporated Galveston County, so everything on this page applies there: the County’s beach and dune plan, County floodplain permitting and the ferry. There is no separate Crystal Beach city fence ordinance to check; there are the County rules and any deed restrictions on the subdivision.

County rules, not City rules

On Galveston Island, a fence inside the City of Galveston needs a City permit and follows the City’s height table. None of that reaches the peninsula. Here the permitting authority is Galveston County, and two sets of County rules can touch a fence:

• The beach and dune plan. The County’s Dune Protection and Beach Access Plan combines the beachfront construction certificate and the dune protection permit into one Coastal Construction Permit. On the peninsula, the plan puts the dune protection line 200 feet landward of the line of vegetation. Between the vegetation line and the dune protection line is the Class 2 area; from the dune protection line through 1,000 feet of mean high tide, construction that affects or may affect beach access is Class 1. Dunes and dune plants seaward of the line can’t be disturbed without a permit.
• Floodplain permitting. The County’s Floodplain Permitting office permits all “development” as defined in its floodplain regulations and keeps the FEMA flood maps. Its application page says beachfront certificate and dune permit applications for Bolivar properties within 1,000 feet of mean high tide go to the Texas General Land Office after County review, and the GLO has 10 business days to respond.

Seaward of the line of vegetation is public beach. The plan bars any obstruction or barrier there that interferes with the public’s use of the beach. And the County reviews where the dune protection line sits at least every five years and after a hurricane, so ask for the current line; the 200-foot figure is from the plan as amended in 2006.

Not sure whether your fence needs a permit at all? The plan lets you send the County a description of the work, with a plat or recent aerial photo, for a threshold determination before you apply. The County’s GIS map shows the other facts that matter: whether the lot is unincorporated, its flood zone and its distance from mean high tide.

Fencing around and under a raised house

Most Gulf-side homes on the peninsula stand on pilings, and many sit in a FEMA V or VE zone, where storm surge comes with waves. Look your lot up on the County GIS map or FEMA’s Flood Map Service Center, or check its elevation certificate.

In V zones, the federal floodplain rules every participating community must adopt (44 CFR 60.3(e)(5)) require the space below the lowest floor to be free of obstruction, or closed in only with non-supporting breakaway walls, open wood lattice or insect screening meant to collapse under wind and water without damaging the house. A breakaway wall has a design load of 10 to 20 pounds per square foot. Galveston County publishes its own V-zone requirements and a breakaway wall letter alongside its floodplain regulations.

• A fence that runs up to the house and stops leaves the space under it open. It is the simplest layout.
• A fence or gate that would close in part of the space under the house becomes part of that question. Talk to County Floodplain Permitting first.
• Open designs let sand and water through; a solid panel catches everything moving across the lot.

The ferry is part of the job

SH 87 crosses between Galveston Island and the peninsula on TxDOT’s free Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry, and every truck, trailer and pallet of fence material rides it. What TxDOT publishes:

• Vehicle limits: up to 80,000 pounds, 65 feet long, 13.5 feet high and 8.5 feet wide.
• Schedule: one vessel runs 24 hours a day; a second goes into service at 6:30 a.m., and up to five run for summer and holiday traffic.
• Time: about 20 minutes to cross and about 10 minutes to load and unload. In the busy season, waits can run past 2 hours.
• Cargo: hazardous materials, including gas cans, are not allowed, with narrow exceptions for RV propane and boat tanks.

For a fence, that means the material list has to be complete before the load leaves: posts, rails, pickets or panels, gate hardware, concrete and fasteners. A forgotten part is a round trip, not a quick run to the store. It is also why the estimate visit matters more here: exact lengths, gate widths and the post count are what the load is built from.

Choosing materials for the peninsula

Salt air, blowing sand, sun and storms decide how long a fence out here looks right. What to weigh:

• Hardware: hinges, latches and fasteners usually fail before the fence does. Ask for galvanized or stainless hardware on any material.
• Vinyl and aluminum don’t rust or rot, which is why they are common near the beach. Open styles let wind and sand through.
• Ornamental iron and steel are the strongest, but they rust where the coating breaks, so plan on touch-ups.
• Wood gives the most privacy for the money and weathers fastest in salt and sun. Seal or stain it and keep sand off the bottom boards.
• Wind: a solid fence takes the full force of the wind; an open one lets much of it pass. No fence is hurricane-proof. See hurricane-ready fencing for the design choices and their limits, and best fence for salt air and storms.

From estimate to finished fence

1. Free on-site estimate. The fence line is measured and the pilings, stairs, grade, sand, utilities, bulkhead and gate locations are noted, along with how close the fence runs to the dunes and whether it would close in space under the house.

2. Material and design. Vinyl, aluminum, iron, wood or chain link for your lot, and the hardware to go with it. You get a written estimate after the visit.

3. County questions and approvals. Any Coastal Construction Permit or floodplain permit the County requires, and association approval, come before the first post.

4. Material and installation. The full load crosses on the ferry, posts are set, panels or pickets hung and gates adjusted to swing and latch.

What affects cost and timing: the length and height of the run, the material and hardware, the number and width of gates, working around pilings and stairs, sand and soil, the ferry crossing, removing an old fence, and how long County or association approvals take. Financing is available through the providers on our financing page, subject to credit approval.

Questions we get about this