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What do you call someone who builds fences other than maybe "fence builder"?

Is there a specialized name for that - maybe even archaic?

Example:
A smithy smith works with metal (Correction @Chris H)
A cooper builds barrels
A wheelwright makes wagon wheels

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    A smith works with metal in a smithy.
    – Chris H
    Feb 19, 2015 at 17:35
  • 1
    A barrierier?
    – bib
    Feb 19, 2015 at 18:37

3 Answers 3

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As an occupation, the common terms are:

  • fence builder
  • fence erector
  • fence installer

They are also mentioned under construction trades in "1990 Census of Population and Housing: Classified Index of Industries and Occupations" by U.S Department of Commerce:

enter image description here

Other related occupations that are mentioned:

  • concrete fence builder
  • wire-fence builder
  • wire-fence erector
  • wood-fence installer
  • rustic-fence builder

For example, fence erector and fence builder are both mentioned in a job opening in Canada Job Bank:

enter image description here

OED lists fencer also for this sense and gives the earliest reference from 1881:

Chiefly Austral. and N.Z. One employed in putting up fences.

1881 R. C. Praed Policy & Passion I. 241 ‘Where is father?’..‘In the office settling with the fencers.’

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  • In the US I think even a lone individual operating out of the back of his minivan would call himself a "fencing contractor".
    – Hot Licks
    Feb 19, 2015 at 19:40
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Collins has fencer for this meaning but says mainly Australia/New Zealand. I've heard it in the UK as well.

While this is a less common use than sword fighting for sport you could use it in a list of building and related trades, for example.

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    Yes, the word fencer is used in the UK for a lone bloke who puts up a fence. If it were a company or a business you would call them fencing contractors.
    – WS2
    Feb 19, 2015 at 17:49
  • In much of the US a "fencer" is a device that electrifies the fence.
    – Hot Licks
    Feb 19, 2015 at 18:21
  • @HotLicks that wasn't in any dictionary I saw - but the first couple of sites were being too slow for me, hence Collins, which is UK then commonwealth biased.
    – Chris H
    Feb 19, 2015 at 19:09
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It's called fancy, just kidding

it's usually called:

Fence builder

A carpenter can build a fence too, well, if it's made of wood, of course, anything related to woodworking can be done by a carpenter.

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