Privacy fence cost calculator

A privacy fence is priced by how much board it takes, and that is decided by the style rather than the run. Solid, shadowbox and spaced picket over the same hundred feet are three different material orders — shadowbox is roughly double a solid fence, because it is boards on both sides of the rail.

Style is the price, not the run

Solid butts the boards edge to edge: one board's face width per board width of fence, and total privacy.

Shadowbox alternates boards on either side of the rail with an overlap. It looks the same from both sides — which is why HOAs like it — lets air through, and uses about twice the board. That doubling is the single biggest surprise in privacy fence quotes.

Spaced picket leaves a gap. Cheaper in board, lighter on the posts, and not actually private — a design choice rather than a saving on the same product.

Height costs more than the extra board

Going from a four-foot to a six-foot fence adds fifty percent more picket. It also adds deeper posts, longer posts and more concrete, because a taller fence is a bigger lever on the post — and a solid face catches the wind the whole way up.

So the cost curve with height is steeper than it looks. Work the post depth out properly on the depth calculator before pricing the posts, and check the height against your ordinance before either — details in fence permit rules.

What is not in the total

Gates, demolition and disposal, a survey, permit and HOA fees, clearing the line, and any finish. Price gates separately — a privacy gate is a heavy, solid leaf that needs the bracing and hardware described in gate hardware, and it is not a bay of fence with hinges.

Prices move weekly and by region. Enter the unit price your yard quoted you — the defaults are round placeholders, not a market average.

Sources

Nothing here is asserted as a current figure. The tool is arithmetic on what you type, and every default is a round placeholder for your yard's quote.

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