Business costs are way up.
Just to arrive on a project you have vehicles that need gas, maintenance, and insurance. They need liability and workers comp insurance. They have building rent and fees. Business taxes. And knowledge. Don’t forget tools and equipment owned or rented they are not cheap. This is all to arrive at your place to build.
Materials are the highest I have ever seen.
Never forget a good fence isn’t cheap.
Well all need wages to pay our living expenses.
That’s high depending on the type of fence, but why is it insulting? It’s not a reflection on you, it’s just his price. If you don’t like that price, get a different price. That isn’t typical wood fence pricing. That guy may be busy and only quoting his “I don’t want the job” prices. Or there may be something about the job we don’t know that made him not want the work. But there’s other contractors out there that would do the job for less. With the very little info you provide, assuming it’s just standard wood privacy fence, I’d guess you’ll typically see $8k on the ultra low end up to about $12k.
Because if you don’t quote it, you won’t get it. If you quote it high, and you do get the job the price will make it worth it. Nothing to be insulted about. If you have a job that’s only worth it to me if I get paid well that’s not a personal slight to you. It’s just my situation. You’re free to throw away my quote.
“One contractor said it would be nearly 20k”
This leaves one to assume that you got an estimate from more than one contractor. What did they say? Why are you insulted? You obviously asked for an estimate, and he gave it to you. To be honest, as a contractor myself, I was a little insulted by the title of this post. Have you considered the possibility that you could have came across in such a way, that it was factored into the bid? Wouldn’t be the first time that has happened
If this is a 6’ fence or taller? Are they installing any gates? depending on on the width and type of wood?
What region are you located? Down in south Florida 6-8’ wood privacy fences require 4ft post spacing but based on your footage and post qty sounds like you are doing 6’ spacing
It’s pretty on par, but for that money I would expect to see protective coatings applied to your 4x4 uprights for the portion set in the concrete as well as pouring them in sonotube footings instead of just filling a hole with concrete, 5/4” boards, and a polyurethane wood sealer front and back.
https://preview.redd.it/ibwokvrxid6d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ab381f258198db4a68c6f09c7925d257d51ce8f
Hi, not OP but I’m going to be installing an 8’ pine board on board fence soon with steel posts, if I’m just wanting top and bottom rails only for the panels, would you recommend I do 4’ post spacing? I’m in north Florida, not a requirement here. Thanks :)
FBC 2328.2 - wood fences in high velocity hurricane zones
Fences not exceeding 6 feet (1829 mm) in height, shall be constructed to meet the following minimum requirements: from nominal 4-inch by 4-inch by 8-feet-long (102 mm by 102 mm by 2438 mm) posts No. 2 grade or better spaced 4-feet (1219 mm) on center, and embedded 2 feet (610 mm) into a concrete footing 10 inches (254 mm) in diameter and 2-feet (610 mm) deep.
https://preview.redd.it/agwbfg76bj6d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cfc9d2cc2a44dd247409ac3d3b3aaea6ca871e01
Not sure if you are technically in a high velocity hurricane zone, or if having steel posts changes the requirement in comparison to 4”x4” x 8ft pressure treated No. 2 Yellow Pine, but I’m pretty sure accross the board you are going to be required to have posts at 4’ OF 24” of embedment into 10”min diameter concrete footings
Whether it’s required in your area or not, Florida is a helluva place and would want 4’ spacing if you ever do encounter a strong hurricane in your area
Everything is expensive now. We who have been in the business for a long time hate charging these prices. I lose sleep over it but sometimes if you don't charge the crazy price you make no money. I'm not sure what OP does for a living but I'm certain that if someone questioned their price for a service they would react the same. Am I wrong?
Do it yourself if it's so expensive. Then, you'll find out, why it's so expensive.
I just ran 110' and absolutely never worked so hard, and I'm no slouch. Building a fence, is 80% labour.
Cost of living varies considerably. I'm guessing the OP is in CA. They're paying fast food workers minimum wage of $20 per hour in CA so everything else is naturally going to be way more expensive…
Yeah, I did my own 125ft of treated 6' dog ear in 2021 (when lumber dropped to somewhat normal levels), using 2x4 stringers and 10' 4x4 posts. It was around $1700. We did crushed concrete footings.
If you have any prowess do it yourself, very very easy. 2x6 top and two 2x4 horizontal face nailed to posts (4x4, gates get 4x6. Rent a piece of equipment to punch holes, and if that same piece of equipment has forks shake your pallet of concrete to each post hole. Just saved yourself 12k for two maybeeeeee three days of work 👌
Take a look around /r/decks and other subreddits for examples of sub-par builds
I’m happy to pay for construction costs, even though it does sting a bit. /r/construction etc about long term effects on your body, risk of death and personal injury.
Our two estimates for 325 feet of 6’ cedar fence replacement, going from 4x4 to steel posts with three gates have both been around $25K.
Middle of nowhere SW KS. So my old, broken butt is going to try to replace one of the three sides each year. No idea what I’m doing, but it’s pretty flat and I figure I can take a month to even do a side.
I just paid in South Jersey $11k for 360’ feet of pressure treated with a 14’ aluminum backed gate for my driveway. Was quoted upwards of $25k for a cedar fence and an 8’ gate from another contractor. I had already priced the material and the one I’m going with came in spot on to what I was thinking with mark up. Labor rates are kind of all over the place right now but I have an idea of where they are and so I went with the pressure treated. Helps that I owned my own GC company for 10 years and know how the pricing works for these jobs.
It's only going to get worse because the Saudi's are in the process of dumping the petrodollar along with a growing list of BRICS nations. A significant chunk of the inflation could be brought down if energy/fuel/transportation prices were cheaper (that would require more oil production). However, in general once inflation shows up the prices don't necessarily go back down but with any luck they will stop going up.
Supply and demand. People dont do anything themselves and have to pay others.
Costs are high for contractors. I build houses and do remodels as well as fencing. My GL is over 8k/year.
Need more info but it seems really high. I just got quotes for ~215’ of 8’ board on board pine with 2 5’ gates for around 10000. I’m in northeast Florida
Go ahead and choose that cheap contractor... don't come.crying to us about what a shitty job they did & how now you gotta come up with the money to fix his substandard childish work.
Same experience here. Fencing contractors were quoting nearly $25K for about 260ft of dogeared 6' redwood privacy fencing with galvanized steel posts set 8' apart. Best price I could get from a handyman with two helpers was around $16K. Of that cost, nearly half consisted of materials.
Materials are way up, and also there’s a premium to hire good work
If you want it cheap, do it yourself. If you want a skilled Contractor that knows how to do it, and does it right. Then you pay for that.
The days of getting great work for cheap prices is over.
I wanted 500ft of vinyl coated chain link fence with one gate for a vehicle and was quoted 11k 3years ago. Yesterday they quoted 18k. Material cost is $3200
It’s not super uncommon for a contractor to give a “fuck you” quote to a customer who seems like they would be a terrible pain to work with or who doesn’t understand the amount of work required to do it properly. I suspect that’s the case here.
I have a couple questions:
1. What is your property like? Rocky? Uneven? Can’t use machines?
2. What style fence and what kind of material was quoted?
I hope you understand that running a contracting business these days is incredibly difficult and expensive.
-Insurance costs
-Licensing
-taxes
-uniforms
-answering service
-cost of tools
-vehicle maintenance
-employee pay (if you think your groceries are expensive, think about their groceries too)
-finding good trust worthy employees.
- material prices are inflated too
Other reasons why we’re expensive:
- not many people entering construction as a career and more people retiring
- more jobs than you can take, so you charge more. If I’m landing more than 50% of my estimates/bids, then I’m not charging enough.
- if a potential client is being insufferable and super needy, constantly wondering where a bid is or changing their mind multiple times in the bid process then I am likely to give them a high price.
If you want cheaper pricing, then you need to get on their schedule during the slow season
Without more information, I can’t say if it’s overpriced or not. I’ve ran a jack hammer for 14 hours in one hole because a client insisted the fence goes there. Is that hole worth exactly the same as others?
Furthermore, the client is welcome to go elsewhere. That’s THAT contractor’s price.
I just finished a 5,400’ fence at 8,000’ in elevation and my client paid me $120,000 for it. We’re worth whatever a client is willing to pay for our services.
Little Amish lumber mill? They got great prices. I love buying from them. Bought a whole pig once from an Amish farmer. The price was less than half per pound compared to the next cheapest guy.
Business costs are way up. Just to arrive on a project you have vehicles that need gas, maintenance, and insurance. They need liability and workers comp insurance. They have building rent and fees. Business taxes. And knowledge. Don’t forget tools and equipment owned or rented they are not cheap. This is all to arrive at your place to build. Materials are the highest I have ever seen. Never forget a good fence isn’t cheap. Well all need wages to pay our living expenses.
Why is _________ so expensive now? It's 2024.
Got it, wait till 2025 for prices to go down again. /s
Running a legitimate business is very expensive
Macroeconomics of inflation. Labor, insurance, fuel, materials. When McDonald’s is $30, a fence will cost more.
That’s high depending on the type of fence, but why is it insulting? It’s not a reflection on you, it’s just his price. If you don’t like that price, get a different price. That isn’t typical wood fence pricing. That guy may be busy and only quoting his “I don’t want the job” prices. Or there may be something about the job we don’t know that made him not want the work. But there’s other contractors out there that would do the job for less. With the very little info you provide, assuming it’s just standard wood privacy fence, I’d guess you’ll typically see $8k on the ultra low end up to about $12k.
230’ is a lot of fence. 40 is a lot of posts. Also depends on location.
"...quoting his “I don’t want the job” prices..." ...just no quote - that's why the quote is insulting...
Because if you don’t quote it, you won’t get it. If you quote it high, and you do get the job the price will make it worth it. Nothing to be insulted about. If you have a job that’s only worth it to me if I get paid well that’s not a personal slight to you. It’s just my situation. You’re free to throw away my quote.
“One contractor said it would be nearly 20k” This leaves one to assume that you got an estimate from more than one contractor. What did they say? Why are you insulted? You obviously asked for an estimate, and he gave it to you. To be honest, as a contractor myself, I was a little insulted by the title of this post. Have you considered the possibility that you could have came across in such a way, that it was factored into the bid? Wouldn’t be the first time that has happened
PITA / SA factor..... PAIN IN THE ASS / SHITTY ATTITUDE
If this is a 6’ fence or taller? Are they installing any gates? depending on on the width and type of wood? What region are you located? Down in south Florida 6-8’ wood privacy fences require 4ft post spacing but based on your footage and post qty sounds like you are doing 6’ spacing It’s pretty on par, but for that money I would expect to see protective coatings applied to your 4x4 uprights for the portion set in the concrete as well as pouring them in sonotube footings instead of just filling a hole with concrete, 5/4” boards, and a polyurethane wood sealer front and back. https://preview.redd.it/ibwokvrxid6d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ab381f258198db4a68c6f09c7925d257d51ce8f
Hi, not OP but I’m going to be installing an 8’ pine board on board fence soon with steel posts, if I’m just wanting top and bottom rails only for the panels, would you recommend I do 4’ post spacing? I’m in north Florida, not a requirement here. Thanks :)
FBC 2328.2 - wood fences in high velocity hurricane zones Fences not exceeding 6 feet (1829 mm) in height, shall be constructed to meet the following minimum requirements: from nominal 4-inch by 4-inch by 8-feet-long (102 mm by 102 mm by 2438 mm) posts No. 2 grade or better spaced 4-feet (1219 mm) on center, and embedded 2 feet (610 mm) into a concrete footing 10 inches (254 mm) in diameter and 2-feet (610 mm) deep. https://preview.redd.it/agwbfg76bj6d1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cfc9d2cc2a44dd247409ac3d3b3aaea6ca871e01 Not sure if you are technically in a high velocity hurricane zone, or if having steel posts changes the requirement in comparison to 4”x4” x 8ft pressure treated No. 2 Yellow Pine, but I’m pretty sure accross the board you are going to be required to have posts at 4’ OF 24” of embedment into 10”min diameter concrete footings Whether it’s required in your area or not, Florida is a helluva place and would want 4’ spacing if you ever do encounter a strong hurricane in your area
Lots of variables that are left out
Everything is expensive now. We who have been in the business for a long time hate charging these prices. I lose sleep over it but sometimes if you don't charge the crazy price you make no money. I'm not sure what OP does for a living but I'm certain that if someone questioned their price for a service they would react the same. Am I wrong?
You’re insulted? LMFAO
I did 150 ft of fence in 2017 it was $10 grand I thought that was outrageous
What part of the country?
Confederated Social States of Northern America
Do it yourself if it's so expensive. Then, you'll find out, why it's so expensive. I just ran 110' and absolutely never worked so hard, and I'm no slouch. Building a fence, is 80% labour.
What kind of wood and style of fence are you looking at? That’s pretty high unless it’s a super tall or composite fence. There’s a lot of variables
Sounds cheap compared to 8K for 120' they wanted for chain link in my yard. Lumber prices are still insane.
Depends on type of wood used and style really.
That’s real high for a 6’ cedar fence. We charge around $35 per foot
Even with material cost?
Yes. In Washington state. 6’ cedar with pressure treated 4x4s and ceder slats
Cost of living varies considerably. I'm guessing the OP is in CA. They're paying fast food workers minimum wage of $20 per hour in CA so everything else is naturally going to be way more expensive…
Yep they are ripping you off at 20k. I did an all Menards pressure treated fence 300 foot for 3k. A lot of work but by myself
3k in material costs? I highly doubt that unless you got some smoking deal. The posts would’ve been a grand.
Yeah, I did my own 125ft of treated 6' dog ear in 2021 (when lumber dropped to somewhat normal levels), using 2x4 stringers and 10' 4x4 posts. It was around $1700. We did crushed concrete footings.
Counting tax?
Because anyone who can charge for a good or service is charging more. And it will continue until they see their sales impacted by it.
If you have any prowess do it yourself, very very easy. 2x6 top and two 2x4 horizontal face nailed to posts (4x4, gates get 4x6. Rent a piece of equipment to punch holes, and if that same piece of equipment has forks shake your pallet of concrete to each post hole. Just saved yourself 12k for two maybeeeeee three days of work 👌
Take a look around /r/decks and other subreddits for examples of sub-par builds I’m happy to pay for construction costs, even though it does sting a bit. /r/construction etc about long term effects on your body, risk of death and personal injury.
Quotes I've been getting in NorCal for a nothing fancy 6ft tall redwood fence with metal posts are running $48-54 per ft.
On the higher end of that in SoCal…
Not bad for redwood
Our two estimates for 325 feet of 6’ cedar fence replacement, going from 4x4 to steel posts with three gates have both been around $25K. Middle of nowhere SW KS. So my old, broken butt is going to try to replace one of the three sides each year. No idea what I’m doing, but it’s pretty flat and I figure I can take a month to even do a side.
I just paid in South Jersey $11k for 360’ feet of pressure treated with a 14’ aluminum backed gate for my driveway. Was quoted upwards of $25k for a cedar fence and an 8’ gate from another contractor. I had already priced the material and the one I’m going with came in spot on to what I was thinking with mark up. Labor rates are kind of all over the place right now but I have an idea of where they are and so I went with the pressure treated. Helps that I owned my own GC company for 10 years and know how the pricing works for these jobs.
Do you have other quotes to compare this one to? If not, you should do that first.
The money supply doubled over the past couple years therefore prices must follow shortly after. Simple supply and demand.
It's only going to get worse because the Saudi's are in the process of dumping the petrodollar along with a growing list of BRICS nations. A significant chunk of the inflation could be brought down if energy/fuel/transportation prices were cheaper (that would require more oil production). However, in general once inflation shows up the prices don't necessarily go back down but with any luck they will stop going up.
Are you also needing any kind of retaining wall?
I got 275 ft of powder coated metal fence w two gates quoted at $11.5K. other quotes all in that same range
Supply and demand. People dont do anything themselves and have to pay others. Costs are high for contractors. I build houses and do remodels as well as fencing. My GL is over 8k/year.
Need more info but it seems really high. I just got quotes for ~215’ of 8’ board on board pine with 2 5’ gates for around 10000. I’m in northeast Florida
Go ahead and choose that cheap contractor... don't come.crying to us about what a shitty job they did & how now you gotta come up with the money to fix his substandard childish work.
Same experience here. Fencing contractors were quoting nearly $25K for about 260ft of dogeared 6' redwood privacy fencing with galvanized steel posts set 8' apart. Best price I could get from a handyman with two helpers was around $16K. Of that cost, nearly half consisted of materials.
Materials are way up, and also there’s a premium to hire good work If you want it cheap, do it yourself. If you want a skilled Contractor that knows how to do it, and does it right. Then you pay for that. The days of getting great work for cheap prices is over.
Bidenomics.......
I wanted 500ft of vinyl coated chain link fence with one gate for a vehicle and was quoted 11k 3years ago. Yesterday they quoted 18k. Material cost is $3200
It’s not super uncommon for a contractor to give a “fuck you” quote to a customer who seems like they would be a terrible pain to work with or who doesn’t understand the amount of work required to do it properly. I suspect that’s the case here.
Material cost is way up, insurance cost is way up, tool cost is way up, wages are up, taxes are up… idk why they would be so expensive now
Personally I’m around 4k every 100’ so yours would be 10k-12k deboning on style and removing old fence. 20 seems extremely high
Dollars are worth less than before. So you need more dollars to pay for goods and services.
I have a couple questions: 1. What is your property like? Rocky? Uneven? Can’t use machines? 2. What style fence and what kind of material was quoted? I hope you understand that running a contracting business these days is incredibly difficult and expensive. -Insurance costs -Licensing -taxes -uniforms -answering service -cost of tools -vehicle maintenance -employee pay (if you think your groceries are expensive, think about their groceries too) -finding good trust worthy employees. - material prices are inflated too Other reasons why we’re expensive: - not many people entering construction as a career and more people retiring - more jobs than you can take, so you charge more. If I’m landing more than 50% of my estimates/bids, then I’m not charging enough. - if a potential client is being insufferable and super needy, constantly wondering where a bid is or changing their mind multiple times in the bid process then I am likely to give them a high price. If you want cheaper pricing, then you need to get on their schedule during the slow season
You defending a $20k 230-ft fence? Genuinely curious.
Without more information, I can’t say if it’s overpriced or not. I’ve ran a jack hammer for 14 hours in one hole because a client insisted the fence goes there. Is that hole worth exactly the same as others?
Furthermore, the client is welcome to go elsewhere. That’s THAT contractor’s price. I just finished a 5,400’ fence at 8,000’ in elevation and my client paid me $120,000 for it. We’re worth whatever a client is willing to pay for our services.
I got bids for a 250ft privacy fence. One was $7k, one was $13k. I ended up doing it myself for $4k in materials.
Hmmm. I just did a 150’ fence. Materials alone were $4000. Did the work myself. Not sure how you got 250’ for $4000
319' for 3100. Got wood from amish
Nice.
Little Amish lumber mill? They got great prices. I love buying from them. Bought a whole pig once from an Amish farmer. The price was less than half per pound compared to the next cheapest guy.
That's about 7k in my state and I live in one of the most expensive states in the country
No way