Mendota fence and deck installation.
Xcel Outdoor Living builds fences, decks, and outdoor lighting in Mendota, Illinois. Mendota sits about 15.9 miles north of our shop in Spring Valley, an easy run for our crew. Fully insured and registered, and easy to find after the job is done.
Mendota at a glance
- County
- LaSalle County
- From our shop
- 15.9 miles north
- What we build
- Fencing, decking, outdoor lighting
Mendota's fee handbook and its zoning code disagree about short fences.
Mendota is worth slowing down on, because the city says two different things and one of them is the one people repeat. Its building permit handbook lists fences as needing a permit over four feet tall. Its zoning ordinance requires a building permit to construct, erect or replace a fence, says so in two separate sections, and attaches no height to either. The only fence the ordinance lets off is a nonpermanent decorative one under two feet, and the example the code itself gives is the plastic or wire animal-barrier panel you buy at a hardware store on short anchor spikes. That is not a yard fence. So the handbook sentence and the codified one cannot both be right, and the ordinance is the codified one. Ask the building inspector which he applies before you decide a three-foot picket is outside the permit, because that question is free and the wrong guess is not.
The four-foot figure does exist in Mendota's code. It is just a height limit in one yard rather than a permit threshold across the lot, and the two get confused constantly. A front yard fence tops out at four feet and has to be what the code calls an open fence, meaning at least half its surface area is open space viewed at right angles, with louver-type fences judged from any angle instead. Chain link is not allowed in a front yard at all. A front yard fence also has to stand at least 18 inches back from an existing sidewalk, or 18 inches back from the right-of-way line where there is no sidewalk, with the building inspector deciding where that line falls. Rear and side yards go to six feet in the residence districts.
Placement, material and one flat prohibition are all codified. A fence may sit right on the lot line, the decorative surface has to face outward at your neighbor rather than back at you, and if the line cannot be determined the owner pays for a survey. Barbed wire is not permitted. The absolute one is the floodplain: no fence may be built in the 100-year floodplain under any circumstance, and the building inspector makes every grade determination at the fence line, so a low or wet corner of the yard is a question to raise before material is ordered rather than after.
The approval stays in your name. We do not pull permits and we will not tell you we did. Once you have the green light, the build is ours: materials, scheduling, installation, and cleanup.
Who to ask in Mendota
- Ask at
- Mendota City Clerk's office
- Phone
- 815-539-7459
- Apply
- In person or by email to the clerk
City of Mendota Zoning Ordinance 340-8(8) and 340-17.1, Fences (the codified rule) (opens in a new tab)City of Mendota, permits and forms (the handbook that disagrees) (opens in a new tab)Read August 1, 2026. Towns change their rules without telling anyone. Confirm before you build.
What we build in Mendota.
The same three things we build everywhere in the valley, with the same crew and the same standards.
Recent Xcel installs.
Real jobs, photographed on site. Each caption names the county the work is in, not the town on this page. None of these are Mendota jobs, and we are not going to imply otherwise.
An easy run from the shop.
Mendota is about 15.9 miles north of the shop.
That is a normal working distance for us and it is well inside the five counties we cover.
Nearest towns we also serve
- Paw Paw12.0 mi northeast
- Ladd12.5 mi southwest
- LaSalle14.8 mi south
- Seatonville15.1 mi southwest
- Peru15.2 mi south
Mendota questions.
Do you actually work in Mendota?
Yes. Mendota is in LaSalle County, one of the five counties we cover from Spring Valley. It is about 15.9 miles north of the shop.
How soon can you get out to look at a Mendota job?
Call 815-579-2323 and we will book a consultation. Mendota is about 15.9 miles from the shop, which is a normal working distance for us. You get a straight answer on scope and timing, with no pitch and no pressure.
Will a fence you build in Mendota hold up to an Illinois winter?
We set fence posts below the frost line. That is the part nobody sees, and it is the reason a shallow-set fence starts leaning by year three: frozen ground lifts the post and never sets it back down. It is a fair thing to ask anyone quoting you a fence in Mendota.
Do I need a permit for a fence in Mendota?
Assume yes, and confirm it with the city. Mendota's zoning ordinance requires a building permit to construct, erect or replace a fence in two separate sections, and neither one sets a height you can build under. The city's building permit handbook says a permit is needed over four feet. Those disagree, and the ordinance is the codified document, so ask the building inspector which governs before skipping a permit on a short fence. The only fence the ordinance exempts is a nonpermanent decorative one under two feet, the hardware-store animal-barrier panel kind, not an ordinary yard fence. Separately, a front yard fence is capped at four feet, must be at least half open viewed at right angles, may not be chain link, and has to sit 18 inches back from a sidewalk or the right-of-way line. Rear and side yards go to six feet, the decorative surface faces outward, barbed wire is not permitted, and no fence may be built in the 100-year floodplain. Applications go to the City Clerk's office, in person or by email. The approval stays in your name. We do not pull permits and we will not tell you we did. Once you have the green light, the build is ours: materials, scheduling, installation, and cleanup.
Let’s walk your yard in Mendota.
The estimate is free. Jake comes out to Mendota and walks the space with you. The number comes after, built on what he saw.
Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 5:00 PMCall any time.We’re usually booking a few weeks out.
Limited lifetime manufacturer warranty on non-wood fence materialsCraftsmanship warranty on our deck builds and non-wood fence installsFully insured & registered