Most of the fence in Lakeway and Bee Cave is doing two jobs at once: privacy on the sides, and staying out of the way of a view on the back. That is why so many yards in Rough Hollow, The Hills and Lake Pointe are cedar on the sides and iron across the back, and why the cedar tends to be chosen to match a house that cost real money. Dark cedar and walnut tones are the request here far more than natural, and we will stain either. We just want you to know what a dark board does in a west-facing run first.
The ground matters as much as the color. These are limestone lots, and a lot of them are steep. A fence in Spanish Oaks or Sweetwater can step down a hillside in six-foot drops, cross a terrace or two, and end at a pool deck. None of that changes the product or how we apply it. It changes the time, the masking and the price, and we would rather tell you that in the quote than on the morning.
Neighborhoods we stain in Lakeway
- Rough Hollow
- Falconhead
- Lake Pointe
- Spanish Oaks
- Sweetwater
- The Hills
- Serene Hills
- Old Lakeway
Rough Hollow, Sweetwater and Serene Hills are the newer master-planned side of Lakeway: 2010s and 2020s cedar under an architectural review, a pool in most backyards, and a pergola on the porch. The Hills and Spanish Oaks are gated, larger lots, and long perimeters that mix cedar with iron. Falconhead and Lake Pointe in Bee Cave are 2000s cedar on a second cycle. Old Lakeway is the original 1970s and 80s lakefront lots, where the fence is often iron and the cedar is a side run.
Dark walnut on a west-facing run: the heat and fade tradeoff
Dark tones look right on the houses out here. Two things to know. A dark board absorbs more sun, and a walnut fence on the west side of a Falconhead yard in August is hot enough that you will not rest a hand on it and the dog will not lie against it. And more pigment means the fade shows sooner, so a dark full-sun run often wants a re-coat closer to two years than three, while a natural or honey tone on the same run reads as fine a year longer.
Our usual advice for a pool yard is dark on the shaded sides, where it looks best, and one shade lighter on the run that takes the afternoon. If you want the whole fence walnut anyway, we do it and tell you the re-coat interval. The color page shows the tones side by side. In summer we spray in the morning: oil stain hitting a board that is already hot flashes off before it penetrates, so our spray window closes when the surface passes 90°F.
Steep limestone lots, terraced yards and getting a hose up the hill
Satellite measurement gets us the footage, but it does not show grade, so photos matter more in Lakeway than anywhere flat. A fence that steps down a slope has more board face per linear foot than the same footage on level ground, because each panel drops and overlaps the next. Terraces mean ladders and a rinse that has to be controlled so the runoff does not carry brightener across the neighbor's stone. A gate at the top of the lot and a fence at the bottom is a long carry for a sprayer line.
In practice, a Lakeway or Bee Cave fence of ordinary length often lands in the upper half of our range where the same footage in Pflugerville would land in the lower half. We tell you which in the quote, and the price is firm. If the photos show something the satellite did not, we adjust before you accept, not after.
Pools, coping and masking in The Hills and Lake Pointe
Oil stain overspray on limestone coping or a plaster pool edge does not wash off. A pool yard is a masking job first: plastic on the coping and the deck along the fence line, sheeting over the water if the fence runs right to it, screens and the outdoor kitchen covered. Afternoon lake wind carries fine spray a long way, so we do the pool side early and back-brush more than we spray where the fence is inches from the water. It adds time, and it is why a pool yard quotes higher than the same fence without one.
Rough Hollow and Spanish Oaks: the pergola, the ARC and one visit
Nearly every back porch in Rough Hollow, Spanish Oaks and Sweetwater has a cedar pergola or patio cover on it, usually grayer than the fence because it takes sun from above all day. If we are already there with a sprayer and the same stain, adding the pergola is the cheapest it will ever be, and we quote it as its own line. Details on the pergola page.
These communities all have an architectural review step for exterior color. Cedar and brown tones generally go through and the darker tones popular out here are usually fine, but we do not state any community's rule as fact; confirm with your committee before we open a can. Our HOA guide covers the form and what to attach.
What Lakeway fences usually cost
The typical Lakeway or Bee Cave yard is 120–200 feet of cedar with an iron run across the back that we skip, on ground that is anything but flat, next to a pool. That combination lands in the upper half of our range for one side even at ordinary footage. Both sides on a shared run is less common here than in the flat suburbs, because grade and gated lots make the neighbor's side a separate access problem. A large Spanish Oaks or The Hills perimeter with terraces runs past the top, and we say so up front.
Every number is measured from satellite imagery plus your photos and is firm before we come out. See what moves the price for the factors.
Site-wide range: $700–$2,000 for most privacy fences, $3–$7 per sq ft for decks. Every quote is firm before we come out.
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Lakeway questions
Do you stain fences in Bee Cave as well as Lakeway?
Yes. Lakeway, Bee Cave, The Hills, and the neighborhoods off 71 and 620 around Lake Travis. Anything further out, put the address in the form.
Is dark walnut a bad choice for a Lakeway fence?
Not bad, just a tradeoff. It runs hot on a west-facing run and shows fade a year sooner than a lighter tone. We usually suggest dark on the shaded sides and one shade lighter on the afternoon side.
Can you stain a fence that runs down a steep hillside in Rough Hollow?
Yes. Send photos of the grade with the address, because the satellite does not show slope. Terraces and drops add time, so the quote may land higher than the footage alone suggests, and it is firm once you have it.
What do you do about the pool and the stone around it in a Lakeway yard?
Mask all of it before a drop of stain goes on: coping, deck, screens, outdoor kitchen, and the water itself if the fence runs to it. We work the pool side early, before the lake wind picks up.
Will you stain a Bee Cave pergola at the same time as the fence?
Yes, and it is the cheapest time to do it, since we are already there with the same stain. It goes on the quote as its own line.
Nearby: Austin · Dripping Springs · Cedar Park
Also in Lakeway: deck staining · gray fence restoration · pergola staining · stain colors · what it costs