What affects timber fencing cost

Why a per-metre price is misleading

Two 30 metre fences can be very different jobs. One is a flat back boundary with a wide driveway beside it and no old fence to remove. The other steps down a slope, sits above a block wall, has an old fence with substantial concrete footings, and is reached down a 900mm side path with four steps.

Same length. Very different work. A single rate per metre hides that difference, which is why the number quoted over the phone so often is not the number on the invoice.

The things that move the price most

Roughly in order of how much they matter:

• Length of the fence. The most obvious input, and the one to measure before you enquire.
• Height. A 2.4m fence carries more palings and more rails than a 1.5m fence over the same length.
• Fence style. Lapped fences use more palings than single paling over the same length; lap & cap adds the capping rail on top of that. Hardwood is a more expensive material than treated pine.
• Removing an existing fence. Both the fence and its footings have to come out and be taken away.
• Gates. Each gate needs framing, hardware and gate posts sized for the load. A driveway gate is a bigger item than a pedestrian gate.
• Access. If material has to be carried down a narrow side path and old fencing carried back out, that is labour that a wide driveway does not require.
• Ground conditions. Rock, tree roots, fill and services all affect how posts are dug and set.
• Retaining. Where a change in level has to be held before the fence can be built, that is separate work.

The two things people forget to mention

Access and the old fence. These two account for most of the gap between what people expect and what a job actually involves.

A rear yard reached only by a narrow path and steps changes every part of the job, because every paling, every post, every bag of concrete and every piece of old fence goes in and out by hand.

And old footings vary enormously. Some lift out. Some have to be broken out. Some sit exactly where a new post needs to go.

What you can do to get an accurate quote faster

The more accurately you describe the job, the more useful the first response is.

• Measure the length of the fence, even roughly. A pace is close enough to a metre for a first estimate.
• Tell us the height you want, or say you are unsure and would like advice.
• Say whether there is an existing fence and what condition it is in.
• Say how many gates you need and roughly how wide.
• Take photos: the existing fence, the boundary, the access path, and anything unusual.
• Mention slope, retaining walls and anything you know about the ground.

How the quoting process works

It runs in two stages, which is deliberate.

• You send through the measurements and details, and receive a fencing estimate based on what you have provided.
• If you want to proceed, a free on-site visit is arranged and the boundary is measured properly.
• After the visit you receive an updated, site-verified estimate.
• Work usually starts within 1 to 2 weeks of a deposit being received, and materials are usually delivered within 2 to 3 days.

Where the money actually goes

A timber fence is materials plus labour, and the split is not always what people assume. Posts, concrete, rails and palings are real costs, but so is the labour of removing an old fence, digging in ground that fights back, and carrying everything in and out of a site.

That is why the same materials on two different properties do not cost the same to install, and why the site measure is not a formality.

What we will not do

We will not quote a price on this page. Not a range, not a from-price, not a per-metre rate.

A number published here would be either so wide as to be useless or so specific as to be wrong for most properties, and either way you would end up with a different figure after the measure. Which is the exact problem people complain about.