My Superior Fence & Rail Review — A $14,000 Fence and Two Years of Promises

01 · The part that is not about aesthetics

This fence is a swimming pool barrier.

And none of its three gates will latch.

My fence encloses an in-ground pool. The gate hardware Superior installed is a D&D Technologies MagnaLatch, a magnetic child-safety latch made specifically for pool gates.

Because the gate posts were set out of plumb and have leaned further every year, the openings have closed in on themselves. The gates no longer meet their catches. The safety latch cannot engage. All three gates swing free.

Why this matters

The Residential Code of New York State requires that gates in a swimming pool barrier be self-closing and self-latching, and securable against unsupervised access. A gate that will not latch cannot satisfy a self-latching requirement.

I am not a code officer, and this page does not claim a formal violation has been issued. I am stating the plain facts: this is a pool barrier, the latch hardware is pool-safety hardware, and it has not functioned since installation. That condition has stood for over two years while I was told repeatedly that a crew was coming.

The gates also bang in the wind because nothing holds them shut. That impact is what has been cracking them, which is documented in the photographs and video below.

02 · Exhibit A · The condition today

Photographed 22 August 2026.

All 21 images captured this morning between 10:29 and 10:37 AM, GPS-stamped to the property. Select any image to enlarge.

A run of fence posts each leaning at a different angle, with the top rail line sagging between them. — A-17A run of posts, each leaning a different direction. The top rail line sags between them.

Vinyl fence post caps at staggered heights, visibly out of plumb next to a straight older wooden fence. — A-18Post caps at staggered heights. The neighbouring wood fence gives a straight reference line.

A gate post leaning out of plumb, propped upright by a concrete block, with unused screw holes above the hinge. — A-3A gate post leaning far enough that it is propped with a concrete block. Note the abandoned screw holes above the hinge.

A hole punched clean through a vinyl fence panel with caulk residue around it. — A-5A hole punched clean through a panel, with caulk residue around the failure.

A horizontal rail pulled free from its post socket leaving an open gap with daylight visible. — A-12A rail pulled free of its post socket. Daylight through the joint.

A fence rail separated from the post cap leaving an open cavity at the top of the post. — A-11The same failure at the top of a post. The rail is no longer seated.

A crack running out of a latch fastener on a gate, beside a black MagnaLatch pool safety latch, with caulk smeared below. — A-16A crack propagating from the latch fastener. The black hardware is the MagnaLatch pool-safety latch.

Caulk troweled across the face of a white vinyl fence post covering drilled holes. — A-1Caulk troweled across a post face to cover holes drilled in the wrong place.

A close view of caulk smeared over drilled holes on the corner of a fence post. — A-19The same repair, closer. This is the finish quality that was left behind.

A heavy vertical smear of caulk down the corner of a fence post covering several fastener holes. — A-15A heavy smear down a post corner, covering a column of abandoned fastener holes.

An open drilled hole and two caulk plugs on a gate post beside black gate hardware. — A-13One hole was not even filled.

An open vertical gap between fence panel boards with the yard visible through it. — A-8An open vertical gap through the panel. This is a privacy fence.

A section of pool enclosure fence visibly leaning out of plumb at a corner. — A-6The pool enclosure, leaning at the corner.

A corner post of the pool enclosure with the rail joint separated and a gap at the base. — A-10The corner joint separated, with a gap opening at the base.

A fence top rail bowing and waving along a long straight run instead of sitting level. — A-21The top rail waving down the long run instead of sitting straight.

A wide view of the backyard showing the vinyl fence enclosing an in-ground swimming pool. — A-20The wider view. The fence encloses the pool.

Caulk patches on a pool gate post beside black gate closer hardware, with the swimming pool behind. — A-2Caulk patches on the pool gate post, beside the closer hardware.

Caulk plugs over abandoned fastener holes with a gap visible at the edge of the post. — A-4More plugs, and a gap opening at the post edge.

A post to rail junction at the pool enclosure showing separation and gapping. — A-9Post-to-rail separation at the pool enclosure.

A vertical separation opening between fence panel boards near the top rail. — A-7A panel separating near the top rail.

Several caulk plugs covering abandoned fastener holes on a white fence post. — A-14Abandoned fastener holes, plugged.

03 · Exhibit B · The record

What happened, and when.

Marked entries are commitments that were made to me and not kept.

Spring 2024
Contract signed. I am quoted a six to eight week installation window.
14 wk later
Installation finally begins. A three-man subcontracted crew arrives. The job is scoped at three days and takes nine. Most days only two of the three men are present.
3 Jul 2024
Installation completed, defective. Two of the three gates were built at six feet tall when they were specified at three. Rather than replace them the crew cut them down on site and caulked over the holes already drilled in the posts. I walk the job with Christian, the operations manager. He agrees the work is unacceptable and commits to pulling and reinstalling the posts and gates. He asks for time to assign a new crew. I agree.Never returned
Weeks later
The fence begins pulling apart. Christian stops answering. I leave repeated messages with the front desk and receive no response.
Winter 24–25
Deterioration accelerates. Posts tilt further, panels work loose, and the unlatched gates blow open and slam through every storm.
29 Dec 2025
I call the Buffalo office. The front desk finds my file, confirms Christian has left the company, and refers me to his replacement, Jason.
7 Jan 2026
Site visit one. Jason inspects the fence and tells me directly that the craftsmanship is unacceptable. He says the repair needs a full crew for two to three days and will be scheduled as soon as weather allows.
25 Mar 2026
At his request I send additional photographs and video. These are the videos shown further down this page.
26 Mar 2026
Jason: “I will let you know Monday when I’ll get you on the schedule … We will get everything right for you.”No crew
27 Apr 2026
Jason: “I have you scheduled for a week from tomorrow for the repairs.”No crew
29 Apr 2026
Site visit two. Jason returns for a second full walk-through and writes a second materials list.
11 Jun 2026
Jason: “I plan on getting you scheduled sometime next week … I will be out there to show them exactly what needs to be done.”No crew
23 & 26 Jun
Follow-up messages. No response.
25 & 30 Jun
Two calls to Jason. Neither answered. Both ring out in under ten seconds.Unanswered
30 Jun 2026
A five-minute call to the office. The person who answers pulls up my account, is surprised the work was never done, and tells me there is a backlog of unresolved repairs. I am referred to Wayne.
9 Jul 2026
I write to Jason saying I am out of patience. The message is marked Read. It is never answered.
10 Jul 2026
Site visit three. Wayne walks the property and gives me the identical assessment: the craftsmanship is unacceptable, this needs a full crew for two to three days. He writes a third materials list.
17 Jul – 10 Aug
Weekly calls. Each week I am told he has spoken to his manager about materials and the work will be scheduled “next week,” and that the town has been notified and will come flag the property before digging. No one from the town ever came.
20 & 21 Aug
Two more calls to Wayne. Neither answered, ringing out at thirteen seconds and five seconds.Unanswered
21 Aug 2026
Ten minutes after that unanswered call I send a text instead. It is answered within minutes: “It’s about to be on the schedule, for install repair. About the end of the first week of September.” That is the fourth date from the third person.
22 Aug 2026
I photograph the fence in its current condition and prepare this record.

04 · Exhibit C · Call records

The phone stopped being answered.

Every bar is a call from my own phone log. The length of the bar is the length of the call.

I have not needed to characterise how this company handled me. Their own phone system did it. As each person disengaged, my calls collapsed from real conversations into the few seconds it takes to reach voicemail.

Wayne · Repairs · July to August 2026
Date	Duration	Length
9 Jul		10 min
10 Jul		1 min
10 Jul		1 min
17 Jul		1 min
31 Jul		48 sec
10 Aug		59 sec
20 Aug		13 sec · no answer
21 Aug		5 sec · no answer

Linear scale. Ten minutes is the full width of the column.

Jason · Operations · April to June 2026
Date	Duration	Length
15 Apr		1 min
17 Apr		44 sec
22 Apr		44 sec
25 Jun		8 sec · no answer
30 Jun		7 sec · no answer

The detail that matters most

On 21 August I called Wayne at 4:09 PM. No answer. At 4:19 PM I sent a text message instead, and it was answered within minutes with a new date.

He was reachable. The phone was being declined.

05 · Exhibit D · Their own words

Every one of these is a text message I still have.

“Good evening Mike, thanks for sending the videos. Im going to try to get out there next week, but the forecast isn’t looking too good. A safe bet would be the following week sometime. I will let you know Monday when ill get you on the schedule … We will get everything right for you. Tha k you for your patience.”
Jason · 26 March 2026

“I have you scheduled for a week from tomorrow for the repairs.”
Jason · 27 April 2026

“I plan on getting you scheduled sometime next week. My apologies for the delay. I will let you know Monday when I have you on the schedule. I will be out there to show them exactly what needs to be done.”
Jason · 11 June 2026

“I’m sorry it’s been dragging even further. It’s is about to be on the schedule, for install repair. About the end of the first week of September.”
Wayne · 21 August 2026, the most recent contact

I want to be fair. Every person I dealt with was courteous to me, and I do not believe any one of them is the problem. What I am describing is a company that took $14,000, delivered defective work, admitted it was defective on three separate occasions, and then left a customer sitting for more than two years.

06 · Exhibit E · Video, and proof of notice

Recorded 25 March 2026. Sent to them that afternoon.

Jason acknowledged receiving these the next evening. Five months later nothing has been repaired.

E-1The gap between gate and post, with daylight through the full height. The gate cannot reach its catch.

E-2A dropped gate with the latch out of alignment, and caulk visible on the post.

E-3The long run, sighted from a low angle so the lean and the wave in the rail are visible.

Why the date on these matters

These three files carry their original capture timestamp of 25 March 2026, 1:27 PM. The text thread shows me sending them that afternoon and Jason replying the following evening, “thanks for sending the videos.”

Superior Fence & Rail has been on written notice of these specific defects for five months. The photographs at the top of this page were taken this morning and show the same defects, unrepaired.

07 · Exhibit F · Resolution

What I am asking for.

I am not asking for an apology. I have received a great many of those.

A firm, dated schedule for the complete repair by a qualified crew, beginning no later than 30 September 2026, with a named corporate contact accountable for it. If that date is missed, a full refund becomes due.
A full refund of the $14,000 I paid, so I can hire a competent contractor to remove and replace the work.

I would also ask that the franchisor review this location’s file independently. When I called the Buffalo office in July, the person who answered was surprised the work had never been completed and told me there was a significant backlog of unresolved repairs. If that is accurate, I am unlikely to be the only customer in this position, and it is the brand’s name on the truck.

I chose this company because of that name. I was glad to wait longer and pay more for the quality it promised.