Repair the fence when the damage is in one place and the posts are still solid. Replace it when the repair would cost about half as much as a new fence, or when most of the posts are soft or loose at the ground.
A simple way to decide
- Repair: one section is hurt, the posts do not rock when pushed, and the boards are sound.
- Rebuild one side: the posts along one line have failed, but the other sides stand straight.
- Replace everything: posts are failing all the way around, the boards are split and cupped from sun, or the repair comes to roughly half the price of new.
My fence is about 15 years old, a few posts are rotted and it leans. Posts or whole fence?
Push on each post before deciding. If only a handful move and the rest are tight, replace those posts and keep the fence. If most of them move, a new fence is the better use of the money. Look at the boards as well. After 15 Fresno summers, the side facing south or west is often cracked and thin while the shaded side still looks fine.
The repair quote is $1,400 and a new fence is $5,200. Which makes sense?
Take the repair, provided the posts that are staying are sound. $1,400 is about 27 percent of $5,200, which is well below the halfway point. Ask the contractor to say in writing how many of the remaining posts they tested. If those start failing next winter, two repair visits can add up to half a new fence, and the fence is still old.
Half my pickets are rotting and the gate will not close. Fix it section by section?
Yes, as long as the posts and rails are good. Pickets that rot from the bottom are nearly always sitting in wet soil or getting sprayed by a sprinkler head. Fix the gate first, since that points to a post. Then work section by section, and move the sprinkler or pull the soil and mulch back so the new boards stay dry.
How long does a wood fence last in Fresno?
We cannot give one number, because it depends on the wood, how the posts were set and how wet the base stays. Sun is the main wear on boards here. It dries them until they crack and cup. Water is the main wear on posts, and in Fresno that water mostly comes from irrigation. A fence kept clear of sprinklers and sealed every few years outlasts the same fence left alone.
We only know the real price after we measure your yard. The estimate is free and comes in writing. Call (559) 719-6557 or text us a photo of the fence line.