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Instant fence & deck estimate
01 / 09GTA fence installation cost broken down by material, height and linear foot — cedar, vinyl, aluminum and chain link, with the site factors that move the price.
A fence is quoted on linear footage, height and material, and then adjusted for everything the tape measure does not capture. Material sets the band, from chain link at the economical end through pressure-treated wood and cedar to vinyl and aluminum. Height steps the rate up because taller fences need more material per foot and more post in the ground to carry the extra wind load.
After that the cost is driven by the post count, not the footage. Corners, ends, gates and changes in direction each force a post, so a broken-up yard costs more per foot than a long straight boundary of the same total length. Gates are the most expensive feet on any fence.
Fence replacement carries costs a new install does not, mainly demolition and disposal of the old fence and its footings. That work is real and belongs on the quote as its own line rather than buried in a per foot rate. A quote worth comparing should state:
Anything quoted over the phone is a guess about a yard nobody has seen. We measure on site, count the posts and gates your layout actually needs, and issue a fixed written price that does not move unless you change the scope.
The drivers that actually move a fence quote are short enough to list.
| Cost driver | What it is | Effect on the quote |
|---|---|---|
| Material and height | Chain link through pressure-treated and cedar to vinyl and aluminum | Sets the band, and height steps the rate because a taller fence carries more wind load |
| Post count | Corners, ends, gates and direction changes each force a post | Moves the price more than total footage does |
| Gates | Hardware and framing a straight run does not carry | The most expensive feet on any fence |
| Post depth | Set below the frost line rather than for speed | Costs more to install and is the only thing that keeps the line true |
| Removal and disposal | Old fence and its footings out and hauled away | A separate line, not something to bury in a per foot rate |
That table is why two quotes on identical footage can differ legitimately.
A hundred linear feet is a common backyard run and a useful unit to quote against, because it is long enough that per-foot pricing behaves predictably. The total comes down to the material and board pattern, the post size and spacing, the number of gates in that hundred feet, and whether an old fence has to come out and go to disposal first. Site conditions then adjust it: clay, roots, old footings, slope, or access too narrow for a machine all add crew hours. A hundred feet of chain link and a hundred feet of cedar board-on-board are very different jobs for the same footage. We measure the actual run — corners and steps add footage people forget — confirm the by-law height, and put a fixed price in writing before work starts.
National figures are close to meaningless for a fence, because the two biggest inputs are regional: lumber supply and frost depth. In southern Ontario, posts must be set below a frost line that is much deeper than in coastal British Columbia, which means more digging, more concrete and longer posts for the same fence. Local by-laws differ too, and they dictate height, gate hardware and pool enclosure requirements.
So the sensible comparison is within your own municipality. What is consistent everywhere is the cost structure: material and pattern first, post size and depth second, gates third, then site conditions and disposal of the old fence. We quote against your measured run and your municipality's rules rather than a national average.
On paper yes, because labour is a real share of any fence quote. In practice the savings get eaten by the parts that are easy to underestimate. Post holes need to reach below the frost line in GTA clay, which is hard work without an auger, and rental plus concrete plus disposal of the spoil adds up. You are responsible for calling in utility locates before you dig, and for the fence meeting your municipality's height by-law — a fence built too high can be ordered down.
Keeping a long run plumb and true across sloping ground is the part that catches most people, and a fence that reads crooked from the patio is not fixable without pulling posts. If you have the tools and the time, a short straight run is a reasonable DIY project. A full perimeter with gates usually is not.
A post costs far more installed than it does on the shelf, and that gap is where most DIY budgets go wrong. The installed cost of one post includes:
Post size matters: a six-by-six carries more load and resists twisting better than a four-by-four, and it costs more in both material and concrete. Corner, end and gate posts do the structural work and are often upsized for that reason. Because posts are priced inside the per-linear-foot rate rather than counted separately, the quote you get reflects spacing and post size without you having to tally them.
Two hundred linear feet is usually a full property perimeter or a large rear yard, and at that length two things start to matter. First, per-foot efficiency improves — the crew is set up once and works continuously, so a long open run is better value per foot than a short awkward one. Second, long runs cross more variation: a change in grade, a section along a driveway that has to be hand-dug, a neighbour's existing fence that partly stays.
Those sections are quoted on their own conditions. Gates, corner posts and disposal of an old fence are itemised so nothing is buried in a single number. Runs past two hundred feet move into volume pricing, which we handle as a custom quote rather than a calculator estimate.
A hundred linear feet is a common backyard run and a useful unit to quote against, because it is long enough that per-foot pricing behaves predictably. The total comes down to the material and board pattern, the post size and spacing, the number of gates in that hundred feet, and whether an old fence has to come out and go to disposal first. Site conditions then adjust it: clay, roots, old footings, slope, or access too narrow for a machine all add crew hours. A hundred feet of chain link and a hundred feet of cedar board-on-board are very different jobs for the same footage. We measure the actual run — corners and steps add footage people forget — confirm the bylaw height, and put a fixed price in writing before work starts.
National figures are close to meaningless for a fence, because the two biggest inputs are regional: lumber supply and frost depth. In southern Ontario, posts must be set below a frost line that is much deeper than in coastal British Columbia, which means more digging, more concrete and longer posts for the same fence. Local bylaws differ too, and they dictate height, gate hardware and pool enclosure requirements. So the sensible comparison is within your own municipality. What is consistent everywhere is the cost structure: material and pattern first, post size and depth second, gates third, then site conditions and disposal of the old fence. We quote against your measured run and your municipality's rules rather than a national average.
On paper yes, because labour is a real share of any fence quote. In practice the savings get eaten by the parts that are easy to underestimate. Post holes need to reach below the frost line in GTA clay, which is hard work without an auger, and rental plus concrete plus disposal of the spoil adds up. You are responsible for calling in utility locates before you dig, and for the fence meeting your municipality's height bylaw — a fence built too high can be ordered down. Keeping a long run plumb and true across sloping ground is the part that catches most people, and a fence that reads crooked from the patio is not fixable without pulling posts. If you have the tools and the time, a short straight run is a reasonable DIY project. A full perimeter with gates usually is not.
A post costs far more installed than it does on the shelf, and that gap is where most DIY budgets go wrong. The installed cost of one post includes the timber or steel itself, the hole dug below the frost line, the concrete that sets it, disposal of the excavated soil, and the labour to get it plumb and in line with every other post on the run. Post size matters: a six-by-six carries more load and resists twisting better than a four-by-four, and it costs more in both material and concrete. Corner, end and gate posts do the structural work and are often upsized for that reason. Because posts are priced inside the per-linear-foot rate rather than counted separately, the quote you get reflects spacing and post size without you having to tally them.
Two hundred linear feet is usually a full property perimeter or a large rear yard, and at that length two things start to matter. First, per-foot efficiency improves — the crew is set up once and works continuously, so a long open run is better value per foot than a short awkward one. Second, long runs cross more variation: a change in grade, a section along a driveway that has to be hand-dug, a neighbour's existing fence that partly stays. Those sections are quoted on their own conditions. Gates, corner posts and disposal of an old fence are itemised so nothing is buried in a single number. Runs past two hundred feet move into volume pricing, which we handle as a custom quote rather than a calculator estimate.
