DIY vs. Hiring a Fence Installer: Where the Money Goes

Where the money goes

On an installed fence, labor runs 40 to 55 percent of the total. At a typical $22 per linear foot labor rate, a 150 ft wood privacy fence carries about $3,300 in labor. That is the number you are deciding to take on when you say you will build it yourself.

What that labor buys:

• Digging and setting 20 posts at 30 in. deep through grass, roots and sometimes rock
• Mixing and pouring roughly 40 bags of concrete
• Keeping a 150 ft run straight, plumb and at a consistent height
• Hanging gates so they swing level and latch for years
• Hauling away the old fence and the spoil from the holes

FenceCalc shows both totals side by side, so the gap between DIY and installed is always visible while you plan.

How long it really takes

For a two-person weekend crew, a 150 ft wood privacy fence takes about 30 to 40 crew hours: one long day to set posts and let concrete cure, then one to one and a half days for rails, pickets and gates. Chain link runs faster at roughly 18 to 24 crew hours. Composite and vinyl panels go up faster than pickets but panels are heavy, so count on two people.

Plan around concrete: posts need to set before you hang rails, so a wood fence is realistically a two-visit job.

Tools you will need

• Post hole digger or a gas auger (rent about $60 to $90 per day)
• String line and a 4 ft level, plus a post level if you want to save time
• Circular saw and a speed square
• Cordless driver with an impact function for driving screws
• Wheelbarrow and hoe for mixing concrete
• Come-along if you are installing chain link

When to hire it out instead

• Rocky or clay soil, or anything that turns a hole into an hour of work
• Slopes steeper than about 2 ft over 8 ft, which requires stepped or racked sections
• A long run, say over 200 ft, where the leveling errors compound
• Pool barriers, which usually need to meet a code inspection
• Buried utilities, irrigation or septic fields in the fence line
• HOA or permit requirements that need a licensed contractor on the paperwork

DIY mistakes that cost more than hiring a pro

• Holes too shallow, so the first hard freeze heaves every post
• Posts set without a string line, leaving a fence that visibly wanders
• Rails nailed to the post face with no blocking on gates, so the gate sags within a year
• No clearance under the bottom board, so pickets wick water and rot
• Setting a wood post directly in soil with no concrete and no gravel base

The hybrid path

The most cost-effective split for many homeowners: hire a crew to set posts in concrete, then install rails, pickets and gates yourself a few days later. Post setting is the part that needs equipment and experience; assembling the fence is the part you can do on your own schedule.

Do the math before you decide

Run your layout in the calculator once with labor included and once without. If the gap is $2,000 and you have two free weekends, that is a straightforward trade. If the gap is $700 because your site is rocky and sloped, hire it out and spend the weekend somewhere else.