How difficult is it to build your own fence?

I guess that depends on how good you are with this type of thing. I've done it but I also have a good bit of experience with woodworking/building. But really it isn't that hard.

Dig holes
set posts making sure they're plumb
once set, attach 2x4 runners
run a masonry line from one end to the other to keep your fence boards in line
nail em up

Gates will be more challenging, but still not too hard.

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200 sq ft, one side gate, treated pine for $3,200 and the same but cedar for $5,000 is the average I am getting

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Absolute ripoff for 200 square feet... 200 lineal feet is a different story.

Do you know how to use a level, tape measure, and post hole diggers? Do you own a nail gun and compressor? If so, you may be able to handle it yourself.

I use screws to attach the horizontal 2x4s that run between posts... would not got over 8' on center, unless a random tree with some hateful arse roots shows up. shite, you probably need a reciprocating saw for areas with minor roots. Use 6d galvanized ring shank nails, as they won't rust nor poke through the backside of the 2x4. And string lines are your friend. The tops of your slats don't need to be 100% level, but they sure as shite better be straight. And the 4x4s also need to be in a straight line.

Personally I don't concrete in anything except the hinge side of the gate. Depending on gate size, a 4x6 could be a good idea. Some folks will tell you to concrete everything, but I'm not here for that debate.

I built the one on my last house. It was my first time doing it. It's not that difficult but is quite a bit of labor. I built it slowly over about 3 months.

Rent an auger for the posts. Learn from my mistake and definitely put up the 2x4s shortly after you set your posts or they will start to warp. I had to dig up a number of them.

All in all it costs about half to do it yourself. Mine was roughly 50x100

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did a little back-of-the-napkin arithmetic to determine where the other posts would go

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The answer is almost always 8 feet.

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then used 2 little shims to make sure each slat was perfectly spaced then he just nailed the shite out of each board.

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Wet pt is always gonna shrink and leave gaps between slats. You don't need to do this at all. Slats are rarely perfectly straight. Only time to slightly gap a slat is correcting the plumb on crooked boards.

I did mine a few years ago (first-time fence for me) and the hardest part was digging the holes even with an auger, but it was missing the extension.

If you are able bodied, go for it. The post holes are the most backbreaking part of it, although it may be worth it to see how much it is to rent a powered post hole digger from HD or Lowes. If I did it again, I'd at least look into that.

Couple of tips from someone who did this a couple years ago:
Call 811 and get the utility companies to mark the underground lines.
Make sure all your permits are in order. I said screw it and some nosy piss-ant neighbor reported me to the Parish. Added over $300 to my costs. The $30/$40 to get a permit is worth it.

Most important: consider weather. Due to my permitting issues, I ended up having to do most of the work in the summer time. It would have been a lot easier in fall, winter, spring.

Otherwise, it's relatively easy. You'll hit a few unanticipated snags, like roots or random pieces of concrete under the ground. But the string method mentioned above works well. Just make sure you don't let the string sag. I agree that shims are unnecessary unless you specifically want spaces in between pickets.

If you do it yourself, make damn sure you're careful with the auger while digging the holes. If it gets caught up on/in something it can spin you around and you'll have both wrists/elbows/arms in a cast for 6-8 weeks.

its one of those jobs that looks and seems super easy but in most cases it looks like shite if you do it yourself because of the little tricks of the trade the pros pay attention to that you dont know about such as straight but its not square or too high or not high enough off the ground and being just a hair out of level ends up with a leaning fence when you step back at a distance

use string lines to keep it all straight and be very OCD about setting the post perfectly level and straight and thats 90% of having it look right when its done

It’s hell of a lot easier with a second person, gas post hole digger and either a nail gun or belt fed screw gun , depending on how you are attaching the boards.


I did about 550 myself in sections and wasn’t that bad. I didn’t have a second person and it would have been incredibly easier with one.

It's not a really hard project, I'd rank it a 6 out of 10 on difficulty, 7 out of 10 on physical ( lugging around concrete mix, boards, auger, etc. is tougher than you think), and , for me, it always takes longer than I thought.
One extra bonus for the DIY not mentioned yet, is that you get to select the fence boards. Plenty of crappy ones at the big box stores that, I'm sure if you hired someone to do it, they would use whatever board, (knots, cracks,etc)