On the ground in Winnetka
Flat ground, and what it lets us skip.
Winnetka is flat, and that is the first thing that shapes a fence here. There are no hills to rack a panel down, no boulders to drill through, and no long sloped driveways to step. Posts go into level alluvial ground on a predictable grid, which means the crew sets a straight, plumb line quickly and most of your budget goes into the material and the height rather than into difficult footings. The neighborhood grew out of the old Weeks Poultry Colony, so the streets run in a tidy rectangle and the lots sit shoulder to shoulder.
That closeness is the second thing. A standard Winnetka tract lot sits near its neighbors and, on many streets, within earshot of a busy corridor like Sherman Way, Winnetka Avenue, Roscoe Boulevard, or Vanowen Street. So the fence people ask for most is a solid six foot privacy run, in wood or vinyl, that quiets the yard and closes the gap to the property line. Chain link still earns its place on a side or rear run where budget matters more than screening, and wrought iron handles the frontage and the gate.
The third thing is the sun. Winnetka summers are hot and the UV is strong on an open, flat lot with little shade, which fades a cheap fence fast. That is why we steer homeowners toward fade-resistant vinyl and powder-coated metal where a color has to last, and toward cedar or redwood, sealed on a schedule, when they want real wood. Flat ground also means water does not run off on its own, so we plan the bottom gap and the grade along the fence line to keep a solid run from damming a winter storm.
Worth knowing before you plan a privacy run: on a lot forty feet or more across, sitting outside any Hillside Area, the City allows eight feet at the sides and rear rather than the six most people assume.