Putting up a fence is no small project, and it can feel like an enormous (and costly) undertaking. However, there are ways to put up a fence without having to remortgage the house it surrounds. Here a few tips to keep you on track with a fence budget:
Pick up a Hammer
Doing as much of the work as you can on your own will stretch your dollar by quite a bit. Building a fence is a big job, but if you have a strong back, a set of helpful friends, and a good-sized toolkit, then you might be up for the job yourself. You can save money by buying your fencing wholesale.
A DIY fence requires more than manpower, it takes planning as well. Tap into the huge network of help out there. Ask friends that have built fences. Settle in for some wonderful YouTube tutorial videos, and read up on all that you can to make sure you have the right tools. You’ll need to make sure you have the equipment to dig holes deep enough to hold your fence steady, and there are plenty of tricks of the trade out there to keep the fence level.
Choose Wood Carefully
As you are researching the how-to process of building a fence, give some time to the important decision of what to use. There are so many options: wood, plastic, and composite. When you are working up your budget for the building project, the immediate instinct might be to go for the cheapest option but take a moment to breathe. Sometimes you pay for the cheapest option a few times. Yes, you can go with the cheapest wood, but if you are planning on looking at this fence for more than a year or so, you might pay the price for that. Cheap wood bends and warps more quickly. It also needs more maintenance and care.
Cedar, on the other hand, is more expensive upfront, but it is a durable wood and won’t need your attention much as the years go by. You can also look at Trex fencing. It is also more costly upfront but is long-lasting and low maintenance. Using a wholesale fencing supplier is a great way to invest in the best options for the long term without too much money in the short term.
Sharing is Caring
If your fence is on a property line, then it might be worth talking to a neighbor and seeing if there is any interest in sharing the cost of the fencing. You’ll know best if this is a realistic possibility, but if you and your neighbor have a friendship where you can communicate opinions and expectations clearly, then sharing the cost of a fence can help both parties!
Measure Twice, Cut Once
Planning is essential in the process of building anything, but it can feel especially important when you are standing at the edge of your yard with 6 feet between where you wanted the fence to end and where it actually ends. That’s a headache you want to avoid! Make sure you measure your space carefully, doing it twice if possible, making sure that you get it right. Also plan the height, knowing that you’ll need to dig down to at least one third the height of the fence you are planning (i.e., a 6 foot fence needs at least 2 feet deep holes for the posts). Cutting corners on digging the fence post holes will not save you money or time. A leaning fence will cost you both of those things! Make plans to compensate for ups and downs in your yard, and decide how low the fence will go. Are there animals to keep in check? Once again, tap into the genius of your friends. Ask others what worked and what didn’t as they built their fences. Learn from their mistakes. Don’t worry, you’ll make plenty of your own.
Bigger isn’t Always Better
If you want to invest in higher quality wood but that puts you over your budget, you might take another look at your design and see if you could be happy with a shorter fence. Just a few inches can save you a good chunk of money. Does it need to be a privacy fence? Can you build a fence tall enough to keep in the pets but short enough to keep it in the budget? Height is one area where you can trim dollars without losing quality.
Build in the Off-season
Just like renting a beach house at Christmas, there are times of the year when building a fence is cheaper than other times. Spring and fall are busy times for fence building. That’s understandable since those are the most comfortable seasons to be outside. Contractors are busy during those times of the year. Those slow months of hot or cold might mean you can get help from a contractor at a lower rate, and you might even be able to get supplies at a lower cost. It can cause some delays or other challenges, but the money saved might be worth considering it.
Let us Help!
Before you get going on your fencing needs, let us help you with the planning process and getting the best materials at the best pricing. With planning, thought, and a bit of elbow grease, you will have the fence you want at the price you need.
