DIY vs PRO - Is DIY Fence Building Really Cheaper?
Stuck between deciding on building your fence DIY or hiring a contractor? Well you're in luck! In this video I'm breaking down the pros and cons of DIY fence building! At the end of the video you'll have your mind made on which way you should build your fence!
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Great points. I just put up a 50ft section with gate on my property recently. Would have cost me a couple thousand to hire a company. I did it myself for around $500. Two things you didn’t take into account is, 1. Upfront cost. I plan to fence in my whole 1 acre property. That would cost several tens of thousands to hire a company. I will chip away little by little myself until it’s done. Couple hundred here and there over the next 6 months until it’s done. 2. Pride. Nothing like sitting back and taking pride in the awesome project you just completed. But you are correct. For most people, hiring a company is the best route.
I'm just like you. I've got about 1.5 acres to fence and will do it little by little. I've done enough research and will do it the right way so it lasts. It's going to take me a while but it will get done and I'll be proud of it, having done it myself. Hiring a company to do it is way out of my budget.
@@chandracox6814Exactly. I can’t afford 40k-50k for a new fence right now. But I can afford a couple hundred each paycheck to buy materials and do the fence myself. Sure there is time involved as well, but I enjoy doing it so that’s more of a benefit in my eyes.
I'm doing 600' of board on board by myself. About $8000 not counting stain. One neighbour paid $37k a couple years ago for the same footage. Made a few jigs and I'm about half way finished.
I was quoted 2000 to do 60ft of my backyards privacy fence, did it myself instead for around 500$ in materials. Just took me 3 weekends to do by myself..
Joe Everest: Fence Expert and Small Business Accounting Guru. Great job breaking down the value that small businesses can bring! I've saved hundreds doing QUICK DIY tasks, but the value of time, warranty, and the mental load of a task being on a company means it is almost always worth paying the premium. And thank you for including our comment from the fence breakdown video in this one!🥺
I'm building a fence on 3/4 acre lot. Contractors wanted $55 a linear foot, so 40-50k. Instead, I work on it every other week for a couple days, and by the time I'm done it'll have cost me $8k in materials.
I think you’re right on probably 99% of folks. However, you left out the area you’re building in and the DIYers skill level. In my area (central Texas) the housing boom is crazy and finding good fence companies is tough, there are lots of scammers. These better companies come with a higher price and 6+ week lead time, which might not be a an issue. In my case (DIYer) I have a construction and ranching back ground, therefore tools are already bought and we have commercial accounts for materials. My brother and I did 390’ of picket fence in 3 days. That includes tear down and haul off of old fence and posts (old fence post were anywhere from 7-10’ part), digging new holes at 8’ apart, setting galvanized posts, and installing runners and pickets , and two gates. And we used screws not nail guns. Throw another day on for stain a few weeks later by myself. I know my situation is different than most but for us at the time we saved $3500+ verse paying a company.
Adam, living in Central Texas you must have been super awesomely efficient with a jackhammer to remove 40+ posts in 3 days, including the reinstall of the fence. Assuming the original fence was properly installed, of course. Even a professional crew would cry when confronted with that goal. Especially if they were asked to use screws.
One critique I always have is professionals use of nails vs screws which are vastly superior imo. Having similar background/tools as you I would much rather do it myself and know its done properly.
@@jameshill4900 SS screws are in excess of 20 bucks a box, and you typically need one box per panel. Another criticism is that nails bend and screws don’t, so if the fence shifts over time you’re more likely to blow out the crossmembers with screws. Assuming a conventional install. That said, I still prefer them if you’ve got the time. It makes the fence more easily repairable IMO.
@@declanfarber SS is overkill on a wood fence. Exterior coated deck screws will last the lifespan of the fence and do bend. My experience and articles testing them show to 90 degrees.
@@jameshill4900 Coated deck screws will stain cedar over time. Not as quickly as uncoated screws, but they will still stain. And screws are definitely more brittle than nails, which means that the wood is more likely to fail than to bend them, particularly when close to the end grain.
I totally disagree. For my 1.5 acres, it would be an astronomical amount to have it fenced by a company. I'm a stay at home mom so I'm home all the time already and I have the tools and the skills ti build my own fence. I'm good building a wood privacy fence in the back acre and will likely contract out a company to build a steel fence with a driveway gate in the front half acre. I know where my downfalls are as far as where I need help and it's definitely in the front but I'll save thousands doing it myself in the back. I think this video is for the typical small yard home, and not for those with acres to fence. The cost savings difference is much more than a couple hundred bucks doing it ourselves when the "yard" is more than an acre but I can appreciate your sentiment and I see where you're coming from.✌️
I live in a house where 13 years ago someone flipped it and sold it to me. They did an awesome job setting the posts, but used cheap thin pre-fab fence panels with pickets. Fast forward today, and most of my pickets are broken and rails are cracked since they are very thin wood. The posts are in great shape firm set in concrete. I called several contractors. The cheapest contractor reluctantly agreed to use the existing post and replace/build new pickets and rails. The quote was $4,500. All other contractors wanted to replace the posts and quoted me $7K. I went to my local Lowes and found prefabricated panels that were thicker and better quality than the ones I had. I decided the DIY it. Lowes delivered new pre-fab pickets that were much thicker and higher quality than my pervious ones. I used Waste Management Bagster to dispose of my old fence. In total my cost was $1,500 saving me $3K. Only reason this was easy was because my post were in great shape. I used wood cleaner on them to bring them back to life and make the color match the new fence. Not Everst quality fence, but it's a lot better than what I had before.
I was quoted $22k by a fencing contractor , I just bought the materials for $4.5k and I’m doing it myself, so yah there’s a big difference
I built my fence. I saved more than 10%. I learned a TON. I then added a gate later on when our needs changed. I then added a small add on to the fence when our needs changed again but I had the tools and left over materials to make it even cheaper. Yes fiddling with the gates was a pain, but again I learned so much and every time it got easier. Bottom line you can save a good amount of money the first time you DIY and the savings only gets larger as you make more projects.
Great stuff but man that thumbnail is awefull. What pro would use 2 rails for a 6 foot privacy fence.
Great video, all great points. Here's a hypothetical question, I want to fence off a wonky side yard that adjoins highway property. They neglect it completely so I'm just going to "take" it with a new fence, i.e. encroach on property that isn't mine. Does a pro installer take this job or does the homeowner have to DIY?
and yes ive got air compressor everything I need ,at least when you got it you get the money easy from other people for the best cheapest price
👍great video
I will add that in my area of Texas I have seen to many people diy their own fence, completely incorrectly because the “professionals” also do it the same way. Stringers installed flat and only two on a 6’ fence, post set way too shallow because “we don’t have a frost line”. Fence looks good for about 3-5 months and looks like crap in 2 years.
I've worked for Overlook Fence Company, Ballard Fence Company, and West Alabama Fence
Nice! Thanks for watching and commenting!
I can do 21 meters of fence in the uk for 700 pounds ,I charge them 500 ponds for my work .people are happy and they know is cheaper then ask someone else to do it ,,,and its a superb job ,so you talking about 1200 pounds
The problem we see with the DIY fencers, and also can be true with some unlicensed fence contractors is that it doesn’t get installed correctly. Not only does that effect their property value, but everyone around them as well. If someone knows how to build fences and have done it before it would be a great way to save money, but it typically takes our guys 2 years of training to be able to fully understand and be capable to properly install a fence. It’s not rocket science but there is a science behind it.
One thing on the payroll, if you build the fence rather than going out of town or something it saves you even more money
I'm on the fence about this.
😂
Bid a privacy fence for a small company. The squaked!! Did it themselves with their employees. Took forever and they paid wages and benefits but didn't get profit by those employees doing the company's normal biz. They did it with panels. It looked horrible and cost probably 3x.... but at least they saved the 10% they would have paid me. I laugh every time I drive past.
In short, the DIYer needs to look at his knowledge set and ability, add any possible time restrictions, and see if that is enough to justify saving on the labor cost of hiring a professional. DIY will typically take longer, but you'll save the labor cost. Contractors will have a ton of hands-on experience, but that doesn't mean the DIYer doesn't have the skillset needed to do a quality job. And, both contractors and DIYers don't always do the job "properly". They'll often take shortcuts or go "ehh..." to save on time. I'm sure there are DIY fence builders out there following the advice of Renovision, for example........ /facepalm
You absolutely will save a significant amount of money if you install your own fence, I'm sorry you can try and spin it however you like, the math tell the truth
Every homeowner doesn't know what they don't know. "I built my own fence and saved $$". Uh-huh. Your time has little value and that fence looks bad and won't last. I respect a DYIer and understand being poor but don't think you did what a pro would have done. Not usually.