Fence Pricing

A2Z

I'm going to look at a job and was wondering how some of you pro's price out your fencing...I'm looking at probably around 500 ft of privacy fencing<wood>...Anything else you need to know? Thanks in advance for your help..

Susan Betz

My husband costs in his fixed costs like trucks, shop lease, tools, insurance, etc., as well as labor, plus the variable cost of wood (pt < cypress), so that he can work out lineal foot costs and mark up from there. Basically, you have to pay your fixed cost and labor, then figure out what you should be earning and mark up (profit = your salary, and don't forget you'll plow some of that back into the business). If you compare this number to what your competitors are charging, you should be in the ballpark. You'll be able to charge more if you deliver an exceptional final product.

Your post leaves lots of unanswered questions. Are you building your panels or installing pre-built? What kind of wood are you using? Are you gravelling and cementing your posts? Will you include stain in the cost of the fence? If you're delivering Lowe's fence built on pressure-treated posts that you cement in, you're not going to be able to charge as much as you could if you build quality panels that are properly installed on cedar or cypress posts that are gravelled, hand set, with a cement collar, with a double coat of stain whose color the homeowner/developer has selected. That's not necessarily a bad thing - the Lowe's fence goes up fast and cheap.

Quality costs more. In our area, we're up against many fence installers that don't even know how to run a string line, so it's not hard to grab the quality niche. But even PT fence can stand out if it's straighter than every other fence in the neighborhood. Consult the client, decide what you're going to deliver, and price accordingly.

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Fences of Distinction, Ocala, FL
http://www.fencesofdistinction.com

Teetorbilt

Susan, any relation to Steve? Used to be in Tampa?

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You can't solve you're problems with the same level of thinking that created the problems.

Albert Einstein

Susan Betz

None. I'm Ohio born and bred, all my family is back there.

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Fences of Distinction, Ocala, FL
http://www.fencesofdistinction.com

A2Z

Thanks for your responce...He wants to do it cheap starting in the front which is 350 ft. we are going to use shadow fencing 8ft across and estimated the price of materials @$3500.00 it's pressure treated he's paying for the materials and we are going to charge him about $7500.00 total!