Wood Fence Installation Styles
Dog-Ear Privacy Fences
Dog-ear pickets, with the top corners clipped, are the standard wood privacy look: boards set edge to edge for a solid face. They're the usual pick when the goal is privacy at the lowest wood price.
- 6 ft privacy: $25 to $50 a linear foot installed
- Fixr's example: about $4,500 on average for 209 feet of cedar dog-ear fence with a gate
Board-on-Board Fences
Board-on-board overlaps the pickets, and HomeGuide notes that overlapping board fences cost more but give the most privacy. The shadowbox version staggers the pickets so air can pass while the yard stays hidden.
- 6 ft: within the $25 to $50 privacy range, at the higher end for overlap
- 8 ft privacy: $50 to $75 a linear foot
- Post holes for 8 ft fences: 3 feet deep or more
Horizontal Slat Fences
Horizontal boards give a modern look and can be set tight or with small gaps. Fixr notes they need careful installation by someone experienced with the style, and a taller fence uses more boards to reach the same height.
- Fixr: $15 to $22 a linear foot installed
Wood on Steel Posts
Galvanized steel posts with wood rails and boards keep the wood look while removing the part of the fence most likely to rot or be eaten. Fixr notes that metal posts are unlikely to rot, hold up in strong winds and can't be damaged by termites.
- Metal post: $5 to $30 material, $10 to $60 installed
- Wood post: $10 to $50 installed
Cedar vs Redwood vs Pine
Cedar and redwood resist insects and rot on their own; pine is cheap but needs treatment and regular sealing.
- Cedar privacy: $35 to $40 a foot; Western red cedar lasts 25 years or more
- Redwood privacy: $35 to $50 low-grade, $70 to $120 high-grade; lasts 25 to 35 years
- Pine privacy: $20 to $45 untreated, $45 to $90 pressure-treated; basic pine lasts 5 to 10 years
Why Hesperia homeowners call Hesperia Expert Fencing
- Calling or using the form doesn't cost you anything
- We send your job to one contractor, so your phone isn't ringing all week
- Ask for posts, footings, gates and haul-away priced line by line
- Look up the C-13 (fence) or C-29 (block wall) license at cslb.ca.gov
Wood Fence Pricing and What Drives It
Wood is the most common privacy fence. HomeGuide splits a 6-foot privacy fence into about $10 to $30 a foot for materials and $15 to $20 for labor. Beyond style and species, these move the quote:
Height
8-foot fences need deeper posts and more lumberPost setting
posts in concrete 2 feet deep cost more than posts in tamped dirt over gravelRocky ground
Fixr says rough, rocky sites can add 20% to 40% to laborFinish
stain or paint runs $2 to $14 a linear footGates and tear-out
gates are priced on their own, and so is removing an old fence (fence removal)
HomeGuide's installed totals for wood picket and privacy fences up to 6 feet tall:
| Fence length | Installed total |
|---|---|
| 50 ft | $1,000-$2,500 |
| 100 ft | $2,000-$5,000 |
| 200 ft | $4,000-$10,000 |
| 300 ft | $6,000-$15,000 |
A front-yard picket fence 3 to 5 feet tall costs less per foot than privacy, at $20 to $40, though front-yard height limits apply (see the wrought iron page). Fixr's figures run lower than HomeGuide's across most styles, so treat both as a range to test quotes against, not a price.
Worked example (our arithmetic): 150 feet of 6-foot cedar privacy fence at $35 to $40 a foot comes to $5,250 to $6,000, before gates and stain.
Wood Fence Timeline, Step by Step
- 1
Agree on the line
with your neighbor if the fence divides two lots (see below). - 2
Mark utilities
before post holes go in (811 and DigAlert). - 3
Set posts
Corner posts go first with a string line between them. Concrete needs 1 to 4 days to cure. - 4
Rails and boards
HomeGuide puts picket or privacy styles at 13 to 16 hours per 100 feet, so 200 feet is roughly 26 to 32 hours of work (our arithmetic). - 5
Seal or stain
Plan the first coat, then one every 1 to 2 years.
Neighbors, Termites and Dry Air in Hesperia
Shared fence costs
California's Good Neighbor Fence Act (Civil Code 841) presumes adjoining owners share a dividing fence's reasonable construction, upkeep and replacement costs equally, unless they've agreed otherwise in writing.Notice
An owner who plans to spend on that fence must give each affected neighbor 30 days' prior written notice.Termites
Hesperia's building code criteria rate the local termite hazard as very heavy. Steel posts, pressure-treated lumber or naturally resistant cedar and redwood all reduce the exposure.Sealing
HomeGuide names unsealed wood as the most common cause of wood fence failure, so the recoat schedule matters as much as the species.Wind
A solid wood face catches wind like any privacy fence; posts are the first thing to check (wind-damaged fences).