The Unexpected Costs Of Installing Your Own Fence

Considering adding a fence to your yard and thinking of doing it yourself? If so, you may go down to the local home improvement store and look at the price of panels of fencing. After doing some quick multiplication in your head, you've come to the conclusion of how much you think the fence will cost to install. Here are some unexpected costs that may come up that can quickly make that fence installation more expensive.

Clearing the Land

The first thing you'll need to do before you dig a single post hole is clear the land in the path where the fence will be going. If there are trees in the path of the fence, they'll need to be dug up and potentially have the roots removed. This can be an extremely labor intensive job, which may cause you to seek out professional help to get it done quickly. That's why you need to factor tree removal in your fencing costs.

Permits and Land Surveys

Your city may require you to get permits to install a fence on your property, which means paying a small fee to your city for permission to do so. You'll also need to know where you are installing the fence, which requires a land survey. This will prevent installing the fence on a neighbor's property, causing you to remove it when a dispute arises.

Miscellaneous Hardware

A fence involves a lot of additional hardware that really adds up, which you may not be accounting for. All of the screws to attach the fencing to the posts, the hinges for the gate, a handle that allows the gate to lock. When the job is all finished, you could easily end up spending an additional $100 on hardware that you didn't factor into your initial estimates.

Paint, Stain, or Sealant

Once the fence is installed, you are likely not going to leave the material bare. At the very least, you'll need to seal wood material so that water does not get into the fence and cause it to rot. In addition to the sealant, you may need to purchase tools to apply the sealant, which include rollers, paint trays, or a spray gun to quickly apply it.

In order to know what you are getting into when installing a fence, it is best to leave this job to the professionals. Have a local fencing contractor come to your home to give you an estimate on the total cost of a fence installation.