Your Guide to the Price of a Wood Fence
- Eric Lafleche
- 6 days ago
- 15 min read
For homeowners in the Ottawa–Gatineau area, a practical starting point for budgeting is knowing that a professionally installed wood fence typically costs between $45 and $85 per linear foot.
That range gives you a solid baseline for planning, but the final number on your quote will hinge on specific, actionable choices you make for your yard.
Understanding the Real Price of a Wood Fence
Figuring out the cost of a new wood fence is a lot like pricing out a kitchen renovation. You can get a basic idea, but the final cost comes down to the materials you choose and the complexity of the job.
Actionable Insight: Treat your fence material choice like a key investment decision. A straightforward fence made from pressure-treated pine is like getting standard laminate countertops—it's functional, affordable, and does the job well. On the other hand, opting for a custom-built Western Red Cedar fence is like choosing granite countertops; it’s a premium material that enhances property value and lasts longer, but it comes with a higher initial price tag.
Ultimately, your quote is a blend of materials, labour, and design choices. Each one is a lever you can pull to align the project with your budget.
A Baseline for Your Budget
To get a clearer picture, let's look at some numbers. While our local Ottawa-Gatineau market has its own pricing, national averages show a similar trend. A complete wood fence project often falls somewhere between $2,500 and $8,000, with the average homeowner spending around $3,233.
That's a pretty big spread, which really drives home how much variables like your yard's size and the type of wood you pick can affect the bottom line.
This chart gives you a quick visual of what that range looks like, from a simple, budget-friendly project to a high-end, custom installation.
As you can see, the final cost can swing quite a bit depending on what you need.
To give you a more specific idea, here's a quick look at what you can expect for some of the most common fence types we install around Ottawa.
Estimated Wood Fence Costs at a Glance
This table breaks down the typical costs per foot and for a standard 100-foot project, helping you match a fence style to your budget.
Fence Type | Average Cost per Linear Foot (Installed) | Estimated Cost for 100 ft Project |
|---|---|---|
Pressure-Treated Pine | $45 - $65 | $4,500 - $6,500 |
Western Red Cedar | $65 - $85 | $6,500 - $8,500 |
These figures are a great starting point, but remember that every project has unique details that will fine-tune the final price.
Key Variables Shaping Your Quote
No two backyards are the same, so no two fence quotes will be identical. Knowing what drives the cost helps you make smart decisions that work for your budget. To get a feel for your potential expenses, use a cost estimation calculator to model different scenarios.
Here are the main factors that will influence your final quote:
Wood Type: This is your biggest cost lever. Pressure-treated pine is the go-to for affordability, while premium woods like cedar offer superior natural beauty and resistance to rot.
Fence Style: A simple, classic spaced-picket design is more budget-friendly than a complex shadowbox or board-on-board style, which requires more lumber and build time.
Total Length: It’s simple math—the longer the fence, the more materials and labour you’ll need. Actionable Tip: For very large projects, ask your contractor if they offer a lower price-per-foot to reflect the scale of the job.
Labour Rates: You're not just paying for materials; you're investing in expertise. Professional, insured crews in the Ottawa area have rates that reflect their skill, efficiency, and the quality of their craftsmanship.
Breaking Down Your Core Cost Components
When you get a quote for a new wood fence, it boils down to two key things: materials and labour. Understanding how these two factors shape the final price is the best way to compare quotes and make a confident decision. It’s like buying a car—you’re not just paying for steel and rubber, but for the engineering and assembly that makes it reliable.
In a typical fence project, the cost split is straightforward. Materials usually make up 50-60% of your total bill, with skilled labour accounting for the other 40-50%. Let’s take a closer look at what goes into each category.
The Material World: Wood Choices and Costs
The type of wood you choose will have the biggest impact on the material side of your quote. In the Ottawa-Gatineau area, homeowners almost always choose between two fantastic options: pressure-treated pine or Western Red Cedar. Each has distinct advantages you can leverage.
Pressure-Treated (PT) PineThink of PT pine as the reliable workhorse of the fencing world. It’s been chemically treated to stand up against rot, decay, and insects, which makes it a tough, long-lasting choice that’s also easy on the wallet. Choose PT pine if your primary goal is durability on a budget. While its initial greenish hue weathers to a soft grey, it takes paint or stain beautifully if you want to customize the colour down the road.
Western Red CedarCedar is the premium pick. It's famous for its stunning natural look and its built-in resistance to bugs and moisture, thanks to its natural oils, meaning no chemical treatments are needed. With its beautiful, rich tones ranging from amber to deep reddish-brown, cedar brings a level of elegance to a backyard that's hard to beat. Choose cedar if curb appeal and long-term natural performance are your top priorities.
Curious to see what these look like in local backyards? You can check out some great examples of wood fences from FenceScape.
Actionable Takeaway: Choosing between PT pine and cedar comes down to balancing your immediate budget with your aesthetic and maintenance goals. Pine delivers rugged durability at a great price, while cedar offers unmatched natural beauty and inherent weather-resistance that many feel is worth the extra investment.
Of course, larger market forces are always at play. The cost of lumber has been on a steady climb, and that directly affects what you pay for fence materials. By mid-2025, the Producer Price Index for sawn wood fence stock was sitting around 220, reflecting a trend of rising prices over the last couple of decades.
The Value of Professional Labour
Labour is much more than digging holes and nailing boards. It’s the skilled craftsmanship that guarantees your fence will stand straight, look great, and last for years. When you hire a professional, insured crew, you’re paying for a complete, hassle-free process from start to finish.
Here’s what your labour quote buys you:
Site Preparation: Precise layout of the fence line to ensure it’s perfectly straight and respects property boundaries.
Post Hole Digging: Using professional-grade augers to dig deep enough—well below the frost line—to prevent post-heaving in our cold winters.
Setting the Posts: Each post is carefully set in concrete, made perfectly level, and secured to withstand freeze-thaw cycles.
Frame and Panel Assembly: Skilled construction of the frame and attachment of boards with an expert eye for clean lines and a uniform finish.
Gate Installation: Perfect installation of moving parts like gates is critical for smooth operation. Adding one, like some of the nice pre-built fence gates available, will factor into the final project cost.
Final Site Cleanup: A pro team never leaves a mess. They’ll haul away all the debris and excess dirt, leaving your yard spotless.
Actionable Insight: It can be tempting to save money on labour, but this is where the long-term quality of your fence is determined. A poorly installed fence can sag, lean, or warp in just a couple of years, leading to repairs that cost far more than your initial savings. Paying for an experienced crew is an investment in your peace of mind and the structural integrity of your fence.
How Your Design Choices Shape the Final Price
Once you’ve settled on materials and labour, the next big thing that moves the needle on your fence’s final price tag is the design itself. Think of it like ordering a custom-built piece of furniture. The wood has a base cost, but the intricacy of the design—the details, the complexity, the craftsmanship—is what truly defines the final investment.
Your choices in height, style, and gates aren't just about looks; they have a tangible impact on the bottom line. Each decision affects the amount of material needed and the hours of skilled work required. Understanding how these choices add up is the key to designing a fence that perfectly suits your property and your budget.
The Impact of Fence Height
A taller fence requires more "stuff"—longer posts, more boards, and more fasteners. That naturally drives up the material cost. But it also adds to the labour. Taller fences are heavier and demand more effort to ensure every section is level. A standard 6-foot fence is the go-to for backyard privacy in Ottawa. Compare that to a decorative 4-foot fence, which is more about marking a boundary. That extra two feet of height can easily bump the total project cost by 15-25%.
Actionable Choice (4-Foot Fence): A great option for front yards or areas where you want to define a space without feeling closed in. Uses less material and is faster to build.
Actionable Choice (6-Foot Fence): The undisputed champion of backyard privacy. Requires a bigger investment in both lumber and labour time.
How Fence Style Affects the Bottom Line
The style you pick is a huge factor in the final cost, mainly because it dictates the complexity of the build and the volume of wood required. An intricate design with overlapping boards or special patterns takes more time, more precise cuts, and more skill from the installer.
A simple, classic spaced-picket fence is one of the most budget-friendly options. It’s light on materials and relatively quick to put together. On the other end, you have styles designed for total privacy and a more robust look.
Key takeaway: The more detail, overlap, and custom work you want in a fence, the more it will cost per foot. To manage costs, balance your desired look with a simpler construction style.
To give you a clearer picture, let's look at how fence style and height can influence the price.
Cost Impact of Different Wood Fence Styles
Fence Style | Common Height | Relative Cost Factor | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
Spaced-Picket | 4 ft | Low | Defining boundaries, classic curb appeal. |
Shadowbox | 6 ft | Medium | Privacy with good airflow, a "good neighbour" fence. |
Board-on-Board | 6 ft | High | Maximum privacy, a premium and substantial look. |
Horizontal | 6 ft | High to Very High | Modern aesthetics, often requires more structural support. |
As you can see, a fence isn't just a fence. The style you choose is a major part of the equation. Finding the right look often means balancing aesthetics with your budget. If you're looking for inspiration, our guide on 7 trending wooden fence styles for Ottawa homes is a great place to start exploring your options.
Don't Forget the Gate
Gates are a necessity, but they're almost always quoted separately from the main per-foot price of your fence. A gate is a moving part that needs specialized hardware, a reinforced frame, and expert installation to hang straight and swing smoothly. A sagging gate is a constant headache, so getting it right from the start is critical.
Several things determine the cost of a gate:
Width: A standard 3-foot or 4-foot walkway gate is common. If you need a 6-foot gate for a ride-on mower or a 10-foot double gate for vehicle access, the cost will increase accordingly.
Hardware: This is not the place to skimp. Actionable Tip: Invest in heavy-duty, powder-coated steel hinges and latches. They cost more upfront than basic zinc hardware, but they’ll stand up to Ottawa's weather and prevent sagging down the road, saving you on future repair costs.
Complexity: A simple gate that matches your fence is one thing. Adding a custom arbour, decorative accents, or an automatic opener will significantly increase the price.
Uncovering What's Really in Your Fence Quote
While the cost per linear foot is a great starting point for budgeting the price of a wood fence, a professional quote will include other essential items. It's a mistake to think of these as "hidden costs." They're not surprises; they're necessary investments to ensure your fence is built right and built to last.
A professional quote will always lay these items out clearly. They represent the real work needed for a sturdy, long-lasting fence. Let’s pull back the curtain on these common costs so you know exactly what to expect.
Prepping the Ground: Site Preparation
Before the first post is set, the fence line has to be perfectly clear. This initial step, site preparation, often adds to the total cost, depending on your yard's current condition. A good crew will walk the line and spot potential challenges that require extra time and effort.
Clearing Brush and Debris: If the fence path is overgrown with bushes, small trees, or old yard waste, it all has to be cleared.
Old Fence Removal: An old, rickety fence must be dismantled and hauled away for proper disposal, which comes with its own costs.
Difficult Terrain: Not every yard in the Ottawa-Gatineau area is flat. Slopes, rocky soil, or heavy clay make digging post holes tougher work, requiring more time and specialized equipment.
Actionable Tip: You can potentially reduce site prep costs by clearing the fence line of brush, debris, and small items yourself before the crew arrives. Discuss this with your contractor to see if it can lower your quote.
Navigating Permits and Red Tape
Depending on your fence's height and location, you’ll likely need a building permit from your city, whether that's Ottawa or Gatineau. This is almost always the case for privacy fences.
The process usually means submitting plans and paying a fee, which can run from $100 to $300 or more. The permit is your guarantee that the project is up to code and meets all local safety and zoning rules. A reputable fence contractor will handle the paperwork for you, but the permit fee itself will be part of the project total.
The Importance of a Property Survey
This might be the most critical "extra" cost—one that can save you from massive headaches and legal disputes. A property line survey, done by a licensed surveyor, establishes the official, legal boundaries of your land.
Building your fence even a few inches onto your neighbour's property can land you in serious legal hot water, potentially forcing you to tear the whole thing down at your own expense.
Spending $500 to $1,000 on a survey provides absolute certainty. It's the official map that says, "this is where your property ends," protecting your investment and keeping the peace on your street.
Putting It All Together: What a Wood Fence Really Costs
Per-foot pricing is useful, but real-world examples make it much easier to picture your own investment. Let's walk through three common fencing projects to see how the numbers play out in typical Ottawa–Gatineau yards.
I'll break down the costs for each, showing you exactly how materials, labour, and specific features add up.
Scenario 1: The Townhouse Backyard
First up, a classic townhouse backyard. The goal here is simple: create a private little oasis for relaxing or letting the dog out, all without a massive budget.
Project Size: 50 linear feet
Fence Style: A standard 6-foot-tall privacy fence.
Material Choice: Pressure-treated (PT) pine, the go-to for durability and value.
Key Features: No gate needed for this simple perimeter fence.
For a smaller project like this, efficiency is key. The modest length keeps both material and labour costs down, making pressure-treated wood the perfect fit. It gives you fantastic privacy and a long-lasting fence at a really accessible price.
Estimated Total Project Cost: $2,500 – $3,500This range covers everything—all materials, professional installation, and a full site cleanup. It’s a great example of how you can get complete backyard privacy, even on a tighter budget.
Scenario 2: The Standard Suburban Lot
Now, let's picture a typical suburban home with a medium-sized yard. The homeowner wants to fence in the backyard for privacy and security, and they definitely need a gate for access. They're trying to balance the upfront cost with long-term curb appeal.
Project Size: 150 linear feet
Fence Style: A 6-foot-tall privacy fence.
Key Features: One standard 4-foot-wide walk gate.
This is where the choice between pressure-treated pine and cedar creates two very different price points.
Option A: Pressure-Treated PineThis is still the most popular and budget-friendly choice for a full privacy fence. It’s a workhorse material that gets the job done reliably.
Estimated Total Project Cost: $7,500 – $9,750
Option B: Western Red CedarGoing with cedar instantly boosts the look and feel of the entire yard. Yes, the upfront cost is higher, but that investment pays you back in stunning curb appeal and the wood's natural resistance to rot and insects.
Estimated Total Project Cost: $10,500 – $12,750
As you can see, once you get to an average-sized yard, your choice of wood becomes the single biggest driver of the final cost. Both fences do the same job, but the premium for cedar’s natural beauty is clear. It's worth noting that other fencing materials come with their own cost considerations; you can learn more about chain link fence pricing in our complete guide to see how it stacks up.
Scenario 3: The Large Property Line
Finally, let's look at a bigger property—maybe a corner lot or a home with a huge backyard. The owner is looking for both privacy and a touch of style to really elevate the property.
Project Size: 250+ linear feet
Fence Style: A 6-foot-tall board-on-board cedar fence.
Key Features: One 4-foot walk gate and one 10-foot double gate for vehicle access.
This is a significant investment, and the details reflect that. A board-on-board style uses more lumber to create that beautiful, textured look with zero gaps. For a premium project like this, cedar is the obvious choice. Adding a wide double gate also adds to the overall complexity and cost.
Estimated Total Project Cost: $20,000 – $25,000+
This example really shows how project size, a premium fence style, and multiple gates all work together to determine the final price. On larger projects, even small per-foot cost differences can really add up.
Smart Ways to Manage Your Fence Investment
While the final price of a wood fence can feel like a big number, it’s not always set in stone. The key is to think about your fence as a long-term home investment you can manage, not just a one-time expense. With strategic thinking, you can lower costs both at the start and for years to come.
There are practical levers you can pull to make the installation more affordable without sacrificing the quality you get from a professional build.
Reducing Your Upfront Installation Costs
Bringing down that initial project cost usually comes down to smart timing, collaboration, and keeping the design straightforward.
Here are a few proven ways to do it:
Schedule During the Off-Season: Fence installers are busiest in spring and summer. If you can wait to book your project for the late fall or even winter, you might find better pricing and more open schedules.
Opt for a Simpler Style: A fancy board-on-board or horizontal fence looks fantastic, but a classic privacy fence or simple spaced-picket design uses less material and takes less time to build, directly cutting your cost.
Team Up with Neighbours: This is a big one. If you share a property line with neighbours who also need a new fence, approach a contractor as a group. A larger, continuous job means we can buy materials in bulk and work more efficiently, and we pass those savings right back to you.
Pro Tip: By coordinating a neighbourhood project, homeowners can often knock 10-15% or more off their individual costs. It’s a win-win: you leverage collective buying power, and the installation process becomes much smoother.
Getting a better price on the initial build is great, but the truly savvy homeowner also thinks about the total cost of ownership over the fence's life.
Protecting Your Investment for the Long Haul
The installation bill is just chapter one. In Ottawa, a wood fence has to stand up to everything from blazing summer sun to heavy snow and ice. Proactive maintenance is what separates a fence that looks great for 20 years from one that needs major repairs in 10.
A little regular upkeep is your best defence against rot, warping, and decay.
Seal or Stain Regularly: This is non-negotiable. Applying a quality waterproof sealant or stain every 2-3 years is the single most important thing you can do. It creates a barrier that repels moisture, blocks UV damage, and stops the wood from drying out and cracking.
Keep It Clean: Give your fence a gentle power wash once a year to get rid of the built-up dirt, mildew, and grime that trap moisture.
Perform Quick Inspections: A couple of times a year, walk your fence line. Look for loose boards, wobbly posts, or rusty hardware. Catching these little things early prevents them from snowballing into big, expensive structural problems.
When you factor in these long-term needs, your fence becomes more than just a purchase—it's a lasting improvement to your home. A well-cared-for fence doesn't just last longer; it holds its value and keeps your entire property looking sharp.
Frequently Asked Questions About Fence Costs
Even with all the numbers laid out, a few common questions always pop up when homeowners are planning their fence budget. Let's get straight to the answers you need to finalize your plans with confidence.
Do Wood Fence Prices Change with the Seasons?
They absolutely do. Think of it like any other seasonal work in Ottawa—timing is everything. Spring and summer are prime time for fence building, which means contractors are in high demand and their schedules are packed. Naturally, pricing is at its peak.
Actionable Advice: If you have flexibility, scheduling your installation for the late fall or even winter can be a savvy move. You’ll often find that crews have more availability and pricing can be more competitive. It's one of the best ways to get more value out of your investment.
Is It Cheaper to Repair or Replace My Old Wood Fence?
This comes down to the scale of the problem. If you’re just dealing with a few rotten boards or one wobbly post, a repair is almost certainly your most budget-friendly option.
But if you're looking at widespread issues—like rot across more than 25-30% of the fence, or multiple sagging sections—replacement becomes the smarter financial choice. Constantly patching up a fence that's on its last legs is throwing good money after bad. A full replacement solves the problem for good.
Actionable Checklist: A detailed quote should break down all costs, including materials (wood type and grade), labour, fence dimensions, gate specifics, post depth, concrete usage, old fence disposal, and a project timeline. Transparency protects you from surprises.
What Should a Good Fence Installation Quote Include?
A proper quote from a professional should be completely transparent, leaving you with zero guesswork. It's much more than just a final number at the bottom of the page.
You should expect a clear, itemized list that breaks everything down, including:
Materials: The specific type and grade of wood proposed for your project.
Labour: A clear cost for the installation crew's time and expertise.
Dimensions: The total linear footage, fence height, and chosen style.
Gates: The number of gates, their sizes, and the hardware that will be used.
Extras: Any additional costs like tearing down and hauling away your old fence, site prep, or permit fees.
Ready to get a clear, no-surprise quote for your project? The experts at FenceScape provide detailed estimates that break down every aspect of your new fence. Get your free, no-obligation quote today and take the first step toward a beautiful, durable fence built for Ottawa–Gatineau seasons.
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