Wood Fence Cost: Pine, Cedar, Panels, and Stain

Where wood fence cost actually goes

Most fence quotes fall apart the same way: the bidder prices lumber, forgets that finish is recurring, and treats posts as an afterthought. This guide walks the four material lines, per 100 linear feet of six foot fence. For the install sequence, permits, and non wood materials, read our fence installation cost guide. For a takeoff walked step by step, see the fence cost calculator.

Pine against cedar, priced at the picket

This is the biggest lever on wood fence cost, and both suppliers stock both species. A nominal 1×6 board has an actual face of 5.5 inches, so 100 feet of solid fence takes 219 boards.

On one McCoy’s shelf that day, a cedar dog ear picket was $4.19 against $2.19 for pine. Two dollars a board, about $438 across the 219 pickets, and it buys a wood that resists rot on its own rather than by treatment.

Price the fence from one photo of the yard →

Loose pickets against preassembled panels

The second decision is whether you build the fence or buy it in sections. A preassembled treated privacy section, six by eight feet, runs $59.99 to $74.99. Thirteen cover 100 feet, or $780 to $975.

That premium over loose pine pickets only reads as waste if your own hours are free. The panel is bought labor: somebody already nailed pickets to rails. On an easy grade it wins the whole job. On a slope, panels step and gap, and stick building wins.

Posts and the concrete nobody counts

Posts at eight feet on center means 14 posts across 100 feet, not 12. Treated 4×4 posts run $10.79 plain to $26.99 with a gothic top, so $151 to $378.

Then the footing. A 10 inch hole 24 inches deep holds 1.09 cubic feet, the post fills 0.17, leaving 0.92 cubic feet of concrete. A 50 pound bag yields 0.375 cubic feet, so three bags a post, 42 for the fence. At $7.99 a bag that is $336, close to what the posts cost, the line most bids leave out.

The stain line nobody prices

What separates a wood fence cost estimate from a lumber list: wood needs finish, and finish is not a one time purchase.

Exterior stain and sealer runs $29.99 to $54.96 a gallon across the two suppliers, the same Ready Seal gallon at $39.95 to $49.99 in one chain and $48.99 in the other. A 100 foot fence six feet tall has 1,200 square feet of face counting both sides, and it comes back for a fresh coat on whatever cycle your climate demands.

The honest way to quote wood fence cost is two numbers: what it costs to stand up, and what it costs to keep. Cedar buys a wood that looks acceptable longer bare. Pine buys a lower bid and a standing appointment with a stain brush.

What the crew costs

Federal wage data covers this trade. Fence erectors earned a median of $23.07 an hour in the May 2025 release, the middle half between $19.43 and $28.18. Carpenters, who often build the same fence, earn $29.12.

A two person crew costs about $46 an hour in wages, not what you bill. Your price carries overhead, insurance, and margin on top. Our contractor hourly labor rates guide holds the full table.