Fencing: what to ask, what it costs, and one number to call
Updated June 2026 · By the Mobile Phonebook editorial team · How we research pricing
Fence companies build and replace privacy fences, picket fences, chain link, ranch rail, and metal ornamental fencing, plus the gates, plus repairs when posts rot or storms take out panels. You need one when you're fencing a new yard for kids or dogs, replacing a leaning 20-year-old wood fence, adding privacy, or meeting a pool-safety requirement.
Calling gets you a measurement and a quote, but fencing has a unique trap most home services don't: the property line. Build a beautiful fence eighteen inches onto your neighbor's land and you own an expensive teardown and possibly a legal fight. Between surveys, permits, HOA rules, and per-foot pricing games, the homework before the call matters more in fencing than almost anywhere else.
What should you have ready before you call?
- Roughly how many linear feet you're fencing (pace the perimeter or measure on a satellite map)
- Material you're leaning toward (wood, vinyl, chain link, aluminum) and the fence's job: privacy, dogs, pool code, looks
- Your property survey, or at least whether you can find the corner pins. This is the big one
- HOA rules and whether your city requires a fence permit and limits height
- How many gates, where, and how wide (will a mower or a truck ever need through?)
- Slopes, big roots, rock, and anything in the fence line like old posts or brush to clear
- Whether a neighbor shares the line and might split costs, and whether you've talked to them
What should you ask before hiring? The 9-question script
This is your script. Nobody expects you to be an expert. Sound like someone who asks the right questions, and anyone good will answer all of these without flinching.
Per-foot is the trade's comparison unit. A complete answer includes posts, concrete, hardware, haul-away of the old fence, and cleanup, not a bare-materials rate with add-ons lurking.
The honest quality question. You want roughly a third of post height, typically 2 to 3 feet and below frost line in cold climates, in concrete for wood and vinyl. Shallow posts are why fences lean by year five.
Expect the answer to be 'you do.' That's standard, and it's why you want a survey or located pins first. A company that says 'we'll just eyeball it from the old fence' is volunteering you for a future dispute.
Either party can pull it, but somebody must. Local companies that work your city weekly know the rules cold. Fumbling this question is a sign they don't.
Two 'cedar privacy fence' quotes can differ by thin pickets, smaller posts, or fast-rotting untreated rails. Specs in writing make bids comparable.
Gates fail first. Welded steel frames or proper diagonal bracing, quality hinges, and self-closing hardware where pool code requires it. Gate specs separate a 15-year fence from a 5-year sag.
Materials carry manufacturer warranties, but leaning posts and sagging gates are workmanship. You want a written labor warranty (1–5 years is common) from the installer.
Calling 811 before digging is required, free, and non-negotiable. Post holes go through gas and cable lines all the time. Any answer other than an immediate yes is disqualifying.
Modest deposit, balance on completion is normal; most of the money up front is not. Install itself is usually 1–3 days. Long vague timelines often mean you're getting subbed out and queued.
How much does fencing cost in 2026?
Fencing is quoted per linear foot installed, by material and height, with gates as separate line items. Broad 2026 national ranges. Terrain, height, tear-out, and region move everything.
| Typical job | National range | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| Chain link (4–6 ft) | $15 – $40 per linear foot | Height and gauge; black vinyl-coated costs more than galvanized |
| Pressure-treated pine privacy (6 ft) | $20 – $45 per linear foot | The volume seller; picket grade and rail count matter |
| Cedar privacy (6 ft) | $25 – $55 per linear foot | Better rot and bug resistance than pine; regional availability moves price |
| Vinyl privacy (6 ft) | $25 – $60 per linear foot | Wall thickness separates the good stuff from the brittle stuff |
| Aluminum ornamental | $30 – $70 per linear foot | Common for pool code; grade and height drive it |
| Composite or wrought iron | $45 – $100+ per linear foot | The premium tier |
| Walk gate | $200 – $700 installed | Frame quality and hardware; pool-code self-closing hardware adds |
| Double drive gate | $500 – $1,500+ | Width and bracing; sagging doubles are a classic cheap-build failure |
| Old fence tear-out and haul-away | $3 – $6 per linear foot | Confirm it's in the quote, not a day-of surprise |
These are typical 2026 U.S. ranges for planning purposes; your market, season and job specifics can land outside them. Always get the price for your job confirmed on the call and in writing. Ranges compiled June 2026 from national cost data and industry sources (methodology).
When you don't need to call anyone
We get paid when you call, so take this section as seriously as we do. Sometimes the honest answer is that you can handle it yourself or fix it cheaper first:
- One leaning post or sagging gate is a repair, not a replacement. A bag of concrete, a level, and a Saturday handle a single bad post.
- Comfortable with a post-hole digger? Fencing is one of the most DIY-able big projects out there. Panel systems are designed for homeowners, and labor is roughly half of any quote.
- Gray but solid wood fence? Cleaning and re-staining buys years for a few hundred dollars versus thousands for replacement.
- Before any quote, verify your property line and HOA rules yourself. It's free, and it prevents the single most expensive fencing mistake there is.
How the fencing business works
Fencing is priced per linear foot, installed, and material sets the lane. Chain link is the budget option at roughly $15 to $40 per foot. Pressure-treated pine privacy fence runs about $20 to $45; cedar a bit more at $25 to $55. Vinyl runs $25 to $60, aluminum ornamental $30 to $70, and wrought iron or composite can pass $60 to $100+. A typical suburban backyard needs 150 to 250 linear feet, so a wood privacy fence project commonly lands between $4,000 and $10,000. What moves the per-foot rate: height (6-foot costs more than 4-foot), slopes and stepped sections, rocky or rooty digging, tear-out of an old fence, and how many corners and gates break up the runs.
Gates are their own line item and where quotes quietly diverge. A standard walk gate adds $200 to $700 over the equivalent fence footage; a double drive gate $500 to $1,500+. Gates are also where fences fail first, since they're the moving part, so hardware quality (hinges, latches, drop rods) and a welded or properly braced frame matter. When comparing bids, count the gates and compare gate specs, not just the per-foot number.
Now the property line. The fence company will build where you tell them. Verifying the boundary is your job, not theirs, and their contract almost certainly says so. If you don't have survey pins you can find, or a recent survey (often in your closing documents), seriously consider paying a few hundred dollars for one before a multi-thousand-dollar fence goes in. Talk to the neighbor too: shared-fence cost splits are common but should be in writing, and a heads-up prevents the dispute that turns into a teardown demand. Some states and cities have specific 'good neighbor' fence laws about shared costs and which side faces out.
Permits and HOA approval round out the homework. Many municipalities require fence permits and regulate height (commonly 6 feet in back, 3 to 4 in front yards), setbacks from sidewalks, and corner-lot sight lines; pool fencing has its own strict code almost everywhere. HOAs pile on style, color, and material rules. Get written approval before signing anything, because the HOA can absolutely make you remove a non-conforming fence. Ask whether the fence company pulls the permit or you do; either is normal, but it must be someone, since unpermitted fences surface during home sales. Last quality marker: ask how deep posts are set and in what. Roughly a third of post height, typically 2 to 3 feet down (below frost line where relevant), in concrete for wood and vinyl, is the standard that keeps a fence vertical past year five.
Red flags & good signs
Red flags
- Eyeballing your property line from the old fence or the neighbor's hedge instead of pins or a survey
- No 811 utility-locate call before digging
- Posts set shallow or in dirt/gravel only on a wood or vinyl fence. The lean shows up in a few years, after the warranty's gone
- A per-foot price that excludes tear-out, concrete, gates, or haul-away until the final invoice
- Asking for half or more of the money up front, especially 'to order materials' from a company with no track record
- No mention of permits in a city that requires them. Unpermitted fences surface at home-sale time
- Vague material specs: 'wood privacy fence' with no species, grade, post size, or rail count in writing
Good signs
- They ask about your survey and the neighbor before they ask for a deposit
- Specs in writing: species/grade or vinyl thickness, post size and depth, concrete, rail count, gate hardware
- They know your city's permit, height, and pool-code rules without looking them up
- 811 locate scheduled as a matter of course, and a clean answer on workmanship warranty
- A realistic install window and a payment schedule weighted to completion
Frequently asked questions
How much does a fence cost?
Do I need a survey before building a fence?
Do I need a permit to build a fence?
Can my neighbor make me pay for half a fence?
How long does a wood fence last?
What's the cheapest fence for a dog?
How deep should fence posts be set?
How long does fence installation take?
Related services
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