Repair the fence when the damage is limited to one area and the posts still stand firm. Replace it when the repair would cost close to half of a new fence, or when most of the posts are loose or rotted at the ground.
A simple way to decide
- Repair: the problem is one section, a gate or a few boards, and the posts do not move when pushed.
- Rebuild a side: the posts along one side have failed and the other sides are straight.
- Replace the fence: posts are failing all the way around, or the repair price is near half of a new fence.
My fence is about 15 years old, a few posts are rotted and it leans. Posts or whole fence?
Push on every post before you decide between posts or whole fence. If only a few give, replace those and keep the fence. If most of them move, the fence is at the end of its life even if the boards look fine. A wood post here spends every spring in wet ground and every winter being pulled by frost, so the posts age faster than the rest.
The repair quote is $1,400 and a new fence is $5,200. Which makes sense?
Repair, provided the rest of the posts are solid. $1,400 is about 27 percent of $5,200, well short of half. What you want to avoid is paying $1,400 this year and the same again next year for a different section. Ask for a count of the posts that were tested and found firm.
Half my pickets are rotting and the gate will not close. Fix it section by section?
Section by section works when the frame is good. Pickets rot from the bottom up where snow, leaves or soil rest against them, and they are cheap to swap. Deal with the gate first. A gate that will not close means a post has moved, and that is the more serious fault.
How long does a wood fence last in Saint Paul?
It depends on the wood, the post depth, the drainage and the care it gets, so we do not give one number. Cedar outlasts pine above ground. Fences kept sealed and clear of soil and snow piles go longer. In nearly every old fence we take down, the posts gave out before the boards.
The only firm number is a written quote for your own yard, and the estimate is free. Call (651) 362-2183 or text us a photo of the fence line.