fence estimate

[harvey]

I was quoted $10,000 for ~1600 feet 4 board, no face board, 5" round psts, treated poplar boards, unpainted. If my math is right it come out to about $6.25/ft. Does that sound reasonable? High, Low, opinions, etc. At any rate, Go Big Brown!! Maybe not the prettiest win, but win he did!

[walaa]

if that includes labor that is slightly less than average, we paid 7 a foot including labor, for alot of high tensile and 4 board, and, seperately, about 3500, for some electro braid in our front pasture, and we bought all the braid, that was just for clips, labor and posts, for about a 3 acre pasture. about 7200 for all, but fencing is EXPENSIVE. we looked at a 14 acre property that needed fencing, and for vinyl and/or wood, the average estimate, was 40,000 to 44,000 for 14 acres!! we did not buy the property

[soundfast]

If you do it yourself using electric fencing tape with a solar fence charger it could cost a lot less. www.horse.com sells tape,insulators,etc if they are not available at your local farm supply store.

[spex4me]

I love love love....did I say love electric fence!! We did 3 board for a paddock and 3 board for the aesthetic look of what is seen at the road/first view, but then we did 3 strand elec tape 1/2". My filly accidentally flew sideways through the fence (bad brakes lol ) and within 10 seconds we cut the charge, and she was up and running, essentially snapping the one tape that got looped over one hind leg. Took us less than 1 minute to repair, and all she had was a muddy side and a small scratch on her leg. God knows that would have been 10 times worse had that been board.

But if you just like board.... unfortunately that does sound about right. Here is a good link about fencing and potential pricing. http://www.kencove.com/fence/3_Horse+Fence+Comparison_resource.php
Labor is what really seems to send the cost way up. On a side note the plastic fence (looks like wood but rolls out) is very nice, reasonably priced and is easy installation. We helped friends put this up. We did 20 acres and it took less than half a day. With lots of breaks!!

[madelyn]

It sounds a bit high. A word, also, though, about poplar. Most horses absolutely LOVE the taste of it and will chew it to nothing in no time.

[soundfast]

I read about a stallion and a filly at different farms suffering fatal injuries running into board fence. I think electric is much safer also. A lot of horses will chew untreated wood of other kinds too and sometimes painted wood also.

[Sock Monkey]

The price sounds good to me. But, I agree w/ Madelyn - you definitely do not want poplar boards. Oak is the way to go. Poplar is so soft when they chew on it, it just comes off in strips and you'll have scalloped fence in no time. They will still chew on oak, but it's so much harder it takes a lot more work to really do damage. Treated boards are not necessary if you will paint the fence. Also, five inch posts are the smallest diameter you would want on a four board fence.

[walaa]

Any good installer the price should include a strand of hot wire set out 3-6 inches from the top or middle board, thus no chewing. it doesnt make sense to put up a wood fence, any fence, without hot wire, to me anyways. All our 4 board has hot wire on top board, set out, not on top. All our tensile-5 strands, is hot. I didnt have any cribbers till the off tracker I bought in June, but I guarantee you hasnt touched an inch of wood!! and he cant crib on the wire, so it helps discourage that behavior if you should run into it, otherwise no matter what type wood, if bad habits, or boredom from not enough grass, your very costly wood fence has to replaced, board by board, over, and over, and over,..... vinyl looks great, lasts longer, but a horse can go through it too, and its pretty ugly just like wood when it happens. It's up to you, what works for you, and what you can afford, but trust me, after looking at over 50 properties, 7 a foot is average. my horses have been kept in barbed wire, because its all there was, and never a problem, mares, thoroughbred, but my friend got a t-bred and first day, broad daylight, ran smack straight into 5 strand wire. So it doesnt matter what fence you want, or what horses you have, if they go through it, they will get hurt. My horses have always had some weird respect for the barb wire at the crappy stables I had to keep them, thank god they are on my own property now. I love the electro braid in our front pasture, and the vet and farrier and everyone else who has been here has commented on it, inexpensive, and if I had had the equipment and no-how, cheap to install too. And I know everyone says do it yourself, its cheaper, but the the difference in the look, if you havent installed before, is thousandfold than having it done right. and if you dont have a powerful enough tractor, and a big auger, and easy to dig ground, you run into much bigger problems doing it yourself. Im in TN, and in our front pasture the installers auger broke, (lots of rock ), dont know how much it cost him to leave property, go order another one, come back another day, and start over, but Im glad it wasnt me and my tractor Also you have to figure cement, etc. I guess I'm just old and lazy, pay the price, get the material you want, and have it done right You will save money, time, fustration, and your back

[harvey]

I have both old, sagging, well-chewed board (oak) fence and much, much more electric fence, hate-love thing there! I've had horses go through everything, including tube gates and it's true that when they burst through our pitiful version of elec fence, they remain unscathed, time after time after time once they've gotten the hang of it. This has occured only when the dread SEPARATION from mom or best buddies happened. So, a board fence has worked in the past for us during weaning, etc., not to mention the asthetics. I checked out the vinyl (too expensive), high tensile, etc., but well, I like board and from what you say $6.25/ft is pretty reasonable. My husband and I still might try to do it ourselves. (Shudder)

Thanks for all the input--$40,000 to fence 14 acres--Holy Cow!!!

[FOS]

hi harvey

I was quoted $10,000 for ~1600 feet 4 board, no face board, 5" round psts, treated poplar boards, unpainted. If my math is right it come out to about $6.25/ft. Does that sound reasonable? High, Low, opinions, etc. At any rate, Go Big Brown!! Maybe not the prettiest win, but win he did!

To my way of thinking...for the most part, quality fencing boils down to the materials and the installation.

For starters...you'd likely be wise to deal with a fencing materials supplier that genuinely has the knowledge and experience to help you select the materials you'll need to accomplish what you're setting out to do. If you're depending on a fence installer/builder to supply the materials...I might suggest BEWARE. I've seen that backfire on many a novice.

As for your 5" round posts...you didn't mention length. I might suggest that you be careful NOT to buy posts that are too short. Yes, shorter posts are often cheaper (as you might expect) but the depth of the post in the ground is extremely important. Just think for a moment how the posts might lean/be affected when (for example) mares might (over time) rub or lean on/into the fence...hmmm.

As for the diameter of your posts, you might find that a diameter in excess of 5" might be worthy consideration (maybe 6" or 7"), especially if your goal is to have a quality fence long-term. What you'll likely find (and I would strongly suggest that you measure) is that 5" rounds will likely have more diameter measurements that are less than 5" than you might expect.

Even fence boards that are described as 1" in diameter (for example) are often (if not usually) less than 1".

How to deal with that? Inquire about (and possibly buy) export quality boards. Export quality? What is that? Think about it...when fence materials are exported in huge volume, the quality is usually superior. Why? Because if the materials (for export) are not consistently outstanding...those who purchase for export will NOT buy...and have been known to refuse orders that are not as consistent (quality-wise) as the samples that they based their purchases on. Example...if a board (for export) is represented as 1" in diameter...it will most assuredly be minimum 1" in diameter. A board represented as 1" in diameter at your local fence supply store will often be less than 1" in diameter. Those fractions of inches can affect how sturdy and/or long lasting the boards will be. Export quality boards are often even straighter (yes straighter) than the boards that many fencing retailers offer for sale.

Bottom line...some fence materials suppliers (usually high volume dealers) have access to superior materials (boards, posts etc)...others do NOT.

That said...I would strongly recommend that you search out fence materials supply facilities/stores/distributors that will understand your needs (and budget) and have the integrity to educate you re: what might be best for you to achieve your goal. Ask lots of questions...I'm sure you'll figure out who you'd like to do business with.

And remember...it's not just materials...or the fence design...or the installer. You need excellence in every category to achieve the best result.

Take some time...and I'm confident that the fence you intend to build/have built can and will be better (and will even look better) than you might imagine right now.

Best.

Respectfully

[Cathy D]

$6.25 per running foot sounds about right in my area (MD). I was quoted $7 and $9 per running foot last year for No-Climb and Diamond Mesh with Oak Top boards.

I second Madelyn's comment regarding oak boards. You don't want to use a soft wood. Oak is stronger and harder, and doesn't splinter lengthwise if a horse runs into it.

FOS, that was excellant advice. Some of the materials supplied by fence builders are not suitable for the long haul. Although I like the heft of the larger posts, actually 4 1/2" to 6 1/2" are the strongest line posts. They accept pressure treatment better. A lot of the large posts are only pressure treated in the outer 2 inches, and the middle part rots and fails.

The other thing I would recommend is have the fence builder show you his materials. If they are high quality, so much the better. Otherwise, you might want to shop for them yourself. I also found it was a good idea to study up on fence construction and installation. Joe Taylor's book is excellant. It gives the exact specifications for the board fence, right down to spacing the boards and which nails to use! My experience with fence contractors was that they want to do what is easiest and most profitable for them, not necessarily what is most durable for you.

Good luck with your fence project!