How hard is it to DIY a wooden privacy fence?

do it yourself. there was a thread on here a few months ago with lots of info in it

It's not hard, but be realistic in your time expectations.
I couldn't complete 200' of fencing and gates within just a couple of weekends.
Although, I'm not a fast worker and I do all the work myself.

In think I’m going 6 feet apart and 3 runners instead of 2. Red cedar picketts

I just really don’t want to spend a month and all that money building it and end up hating a shoddy looking product.

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so it may be better to rent a power post hole digger and get all the holes done in a day.

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Home Depot sells gas power augers for $200. I have no problem buying one.

Like this one:

LINK

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Just make sure you've got a good straight line to work off of and especially make sure you're putting up that fence on your property and not infringing on a neighbors property.

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Luckily I have good neighbors on both sides and we’ll most likely be building it together and splitting everything.

I built the one on my last house. It's not terribly difficult but it sucks arse. There's a reason that labor is essentially the same cost as the materials

I bought an auger that can be operated by 1 person when I built my fence. If you want to drive to Lafayette you can borrow it.

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use a piece of 6 inch PVC pipe about 4 inches tall and center it over where the hole needs to be. Then use fluorescent spray paint to spray inside that PVC where the hole needs to be dug

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Are you a wizard?

Run two string lines, 1' off the ground and 6' or so off the ground.

Space your post 7'8" apart. Allows for error.

Paint the stringline at the 7'8" marks.

Rent auger from home depot.

Dig all your holes. Put 4x4s in. Pour in dry concrete. Put water on top and level the 4x4. No need for tie backs to keep the poles straight.

Lots of great tips here. Couple more:
Rent the towable hydraulic auger for 30 posts, can do all 30 in a few hours. 8" auger bit you have to be a little more precise but will use less concrete. 10" bit will give you more wiggle room but use more concrete.

Mark your post every 8' and use 16' runners. That way you only have to precise on every other hole.

String line and paint to make sure your holes are lined up.

Use 8' 4x4 posts and put them 2' in ground. Then just cut them off once your runners are in place so they are below fence picket level.

Use screws to attach runners to posts.

Set your first picket and then put one near end if it is flat whole way. Run a string from top of one picket to other so you just slide your picket to string line and fasten.

I tack pickets with finish nails in nail gun and then come back and screw once all pickets are up.

All great info. Are you building a 6' or 8' fence? I suggest 8' if you are in doubt. If you are a perfectionist like I am, pick your own posts. From experience, the 10' posts will look better and twist less than the 8'. Pro tip, look for posts that were cut further away from the core of the tree. Many 4x4 posts are peeler posts and are likely to look like a dog leg in a year. Also, the 12' gate really needs 6x6 posts to support the weight. There is a lot of weight in a 6' wide gate and that puppy will sag with a quickness using a 4x4. Corner posts would benefit being 6x6 as well. You will end up with a much sturdier fence for just a few dollars more. Like others have said, set you end posts first. Then put a screw in the back side of the posts. Run a line from the screw and around the front of the post. Pull it tight and you will get a much more true line to set your other posts to. Buy a box beam level. They are cheap and worth their weight in gold. Get more rubber bands for the level because the one that comes with the level will last about 3 posts before snapping. Better yet, have someone hold it to the post. Get the posts about where you want it then fill with dry concrete mix. Then get the post lined up and the face leveled with the string. Mound your cement up a bit around each post to make a little hill sloping away from the post. This will help channel water away from the post. A putty knife or taping knife works well for shaping the wet cement. Pre-drill the stringers before screwing them in place. They will last longer and you will have much less splitting. If you have dogs, set your first stringer about 4-6" up from the ground. It helps to keep the pickets from warping and making wiggle room for the dog to get through. Another tip, Take a flat spade and remove about 2" of dirt between each post. Buy a few more bags of concrete than you need and pour it in the trough between the posts. Much less weed eating and much harder for critters to dig under. Both Lowes and HD offer quantity discounts on concrete over 40 bags. You will need over 40 bags for that run of fencing.

If you can afford it, red cedar pickets will always look better than treated pine. Don't worry too much about the heights of your posts. Set them high and just cut them off to match. A recip saw with a 6" blade will make short work of the posts. It is a good idea to cap or treat any cutoffs. If your neighbors want a good look in their yard as well, look up shadow box style fences. It is more pickets and a little more setup but it makes for a beautiful fence on both sides that will actually hold up much better in high winds. If you use treated pine andf just one side of pickets, butt the pickets up when you attach them. They will shrink and give you spacing between the boards when they dry. Put a level on the edge of the picket at about every 10 or so and straighten the board up. If you are really out of true, make adjustments over a couple of boards until you are back to true. The gap will be much less evident. These are just a few tricks I have picked up over way too many feet of fencing installed over the years. It's not hard at all to do. Planning and set up can make a world of difference on how it goes though.