What would be the cost differance between building your own fence or paying some one?

Question

I have about 100 feet I need to fence with one gate. I dont have any tools and its just me and a friend. We wre quoted $1500 to do it by a contractor. But I was wondering how much cheaper would it be If I did it. I also have about 75 feet old fence that needs to tear down.

Answer 1

Hmmmm, $1500 is a lot... But tools are cheap and all it takes is a little work... so... I'd say doing it yourself will cost about $100, $ 400 at max, but it will take longer >.<

Answer 2

Take appropriate measurements, then go to your favorite building supply store, see what they have, develop a bill of materials, and cost it out.  It will probably cost considerably less than $15 a foot.

Answer 3

Almost always cheaper to do it yourself IF you know what you're doing and have the tools.

Consider what you'll have to put out for the tools, and the materials and whether your friend is expecting to be paid for his contribution.

Is the contractor taking the old fence down and getting rid of the debris in his $1500.00 bid?  What kind of fence is he proposing to install?

He's charging you $15.00 a foot.  Considering what it entails to build one, that sounds like a very reasonable price.

If you're unsure, get more estimates and, if you do decide to hire the job out, get references before you hire anyone.

Best of luck to you!

Answer 4

It would cost you around $800-$1,000 in materials, assuming you have the tools needed to do the job.

Answer 5

That depends on how handy you are with the tools. When I was out of town and without my knowledge, my wife hired my brother in-law to install a fence, this guy barely gets his pants on right. Well it didn't go so well, almost immediately the gate fell apart, as you looked down the fence line it leaned in and out and the poles shifted back and forth, and worst of all, half of the fence was on my property and the other half ended almost 2ft into the neighbors. The neighbor complained about and my wife argued with him, I stayed out of it but, the neighbor was right, he then had his property surveyed. The funny thing was she said the survey was screwed. Finally I solved the whole problem by completely tearing the whole thing down.

Now if you know what your doing, a fence is pretty easy to put up,

1. know the property line

2. run a string to measure from and ensure your in a straight line.

3. Mark your distance between poles and dig the post holes

4. You want your pole to be at least 18" deep

5. You can use concrete to set the post (quikcrete). Ensure the posts are level (both ways)

6. If needed trim the poles to the proper elevation

7. Install the horizontal pieces and the poles at either side of the gate will need a gusset piece (diagonal from Top to bottom)

8. Install the fence boarding, install the gate and paint

Good Luck