Two contractors walk the same property line, measure the same 200 feet, and both write down “6 foot wood privacy fence.” One quote comes back at $3,800. The other at $7,800.
Most people conclude somebody is overcharging. Usually nobody is. The two companies quoted genuinely different fences and used identical words to describe them.
Here is where the money actually goes, in the order the gap tends to open up. Some of this explains why our quotes land at the high end, which is not a comfortable thing to publish, and is the whole point of writing it down.
First, confirm they quoted the same fence
Before anything else, check the four specs that should match across both estimates. A surprising number of quote gaps come down to nobody measuring the same thing.
- Linear footage. If one contractor measured 200 feet and the other 235, everything downstream is different. Ask each what number they used.
- Height. Six feet costs meaningfully more than four in both material and labor.
- Style. A stockade fence, a shadowbox, and a board-on-board are three different quantities of lumber for the same run. Board-on-board uses the most by a distance.
- Gate count and type. More below, because this is where gaps hide most often.
If those four match and the numbers are still thousands apart, the difference is in things you cannot see from the driveway.
What is under the ground
This is the single largest invisible cost in any fence, and almost no estimate itemizes it.
Post material. Most fences in this area are set on wood posts. We set ours on steel. Steel costs more per post, and it is the difference between a fence that fails at the post in year nine and one that does not, because a wood post buried in wet Georgia clay eventually rots.
Post depth. Ours go four and a half feet into the ground. A contractor setting posts significantly shallower saves real money on labor, on concrete, and on time, and none of it shows on the estimate. It shows up years later when the fence starts to lean.
Concrete. How much goes in each hole, and whether it goes in at all, varies more between contractors than homeowners imagine.
Ask both contractors three questions: what are the posts made of, how deep do they go, and how much concrete is in each hole. If a contractor cannot answer from memory, that is your answer.
What the fence is built from, above the ground
“Wood fence” covers an enormous range of actual wood.
We build with number one grade 2×4 posts, hand-selected for straight, strong boards, and premium pickets with no mixed-grade or warped stock in the bundle. Cheaper builds use whatever came off the truck that week, which includes the bowed boards, the ones with large loose knots, and the ones already cupping.
Both fences look fine the week they go in. They stop looking the same somewhere in year two or three, when the lower grade pickets twist, cup, and pull their fasteners.
Three more specs never appear on an estimate and change both cost and lifespan.
Rail count. A six-foot fence built on two horizontal rails uses less lumber than the same fence built on three. It also gives the pickets less to hold onto, and it is the more common corner to cut on tall fences, which catch a great deal of wind.
Post spacing. Posts set further apart means fewer posts, fewer holes, less concrete, and less labor. It also means longer unsupported spans.
Fasteners. Outdoor fasteners have to be selected for the materials and the conditions they sit in. The wrong fastener on treated lumber corrodes, stains the wood, and lets go early. It is a small line item that decides whether a fence stays tight.
None of this is visible at the curb. All of it is in the price.
Put numbers on it. A wood privacy fence runs $18 to $28 per foot installed in this area. On a 200 foot run that is $3,600 at the bottom and $5,600 at the top. A $2,000 spread on materials and build quality alone, before a single gate or any tear-out. Add a couple of gates and removal of the old fence and the $4,000 gap in the title arrives without anybody padding a number.
Gates are where the gap usually hides
Gates cost more per foot than fence, and they are the most common place for an estimate to quietly diverge.
A walk gate, a double drive gate, and a wide equipment gate are three different numbers. So is the hardware. Gates take repeated strain that stationary panels never do, which is why hinges, latches, and the post the gate hangs on are all working harder than anything else in the fence. It is also why we set steel at every gate opening.
When you compare quotes, check that both include the same number of gates, in the same places, at the same widths. Then ask what hardware each is using. A cheaper gate is very often the same gate with hardware that will not survive five years of a family using it daily.
What got left out
Four line items are routinely missing from the lower bid, not to deceive anyone, but because leaving them out makes the total look smaller and the conversation happens later.
- Removing and hauling away your old fence. Real labor, real disposal cost.
- Gates, quoted separately or omitted.
- Permits, where a jurisdiction requires them. Most Augusta-Richmond residential fences do not, but Historic Districts and some neighboring jurisdictions are different.
- Utility locating. Calling 811 before digging is free and required by law. A contractor who skips it is not saving you money, they are moving risk onto your property.
Ask both contractors, in writing: what is not in this price?
Employees or subcontractors
A quote from a company using its own crews and a quote from a company brokering the job to whoever is available that week can look identical on paper.
Everyone who works on your fence is our own employee. Nobody is a one-off subcontractor. Our crews are trained by expert fence builders and manufacturers, with ongoing training as standards and products change.
The reason this shows up in price is straightforward: employing and training a crew costs more than hiring one for the day. The reason it shows up in your fence is that a subcontracted crew changes from job to job, and so does the work. Consistency has a cost, and it is in the number.
The warranty gap is worth more than the price gap
The other half of the $4,000 is what happens after the crew leaves.
Warranties in this market range from one year to twenty. If the cheaper quote carries a one-year labor warranty, then from month thirteen every problem with that installation is yours to pay for. Our wood fences carry a non-prorated 20-year labor warranty and a lifetime warranty on the steel post in the ground.
Look for the word prorated. A prorated five-year warranty shrinks each year until it covers almost nothing, while the headline still says twenty. Non-prorated does not shrink. That single word can be worth more than the entire price difference between two quotes, and it is not something you can see without asking.
When the cheaper quote really is the same fence
Sometimes it is, and we will say so.
If both contractors are using comparable lumber, setting posts to a similar depth in similar material, including the same gates and the same tear-out, and offering a comparable warranty, then the cheaper company may simply have lower overhead, a lighter schedule, or a crew already working on your street.
That happens. When you have checked all of the above and the specs genuinely match, take the cheaper quote. You did the work and you found a better price on the same fence.
What we would rather you not do is take the cheaper quote without checking, decide that fence companies are all the same, and find out the difference in year six.
Frequently asked questions
Why is one fence quote so much cheaper than another?
Usually because it is a different fence. Post material and depth, lumber grade, rail count, post spacing, gate hardware, and whether removal and disposal were included all move the total without changing how the estimate reads.
Is the cheapest fence quote always a bad idea?
No. If the specifications genuinely match on lumber, posts, gates, tear-out, and warranty, a lower price can simply mean lower overhead. The mistake is assuming they match without asking.
What should be itemized on a fence estimate?
Total linear footage, height, style, number and type of gates, removal and disposal of any existing fence, post material and depth, and the warranty terms. If any of those are missing, ask for them in writing before you compare.
How do I know if a fence contractor is cutting corners?
Ask what the posts are made of, how deep they go, how much concrete goes in each hole, how many rails the fence has, and what grade of lumber they use. A contractor who builds well answers all five without hesitating.
Should I get three fence quotes?
Two or three is sensible. More than that tends to produce noise rather than clarity, especially if you are comparing bottom-line numbers instead of specifications.
Does a fence estimate expire?
Lumber and steel prices move independently of anything happening in your yard, so quotes are generally held for a set window. Ask each contractor how long theirs stands.
Why do some contractors refuse to give a price over the phone?
Terrain, access, slope, and the actual measured line change the number enough that a phone figure would be a guess. A written estimate after someone walks the property is the only number worth comparing.
Is a verbal quote worth anything?
No. Get every quote in writing. A verbal number cannot be compared, cannot be held to, and tells you how the rest of the project is likely to be run.
What to do next
- Put both estimates side by side and confirm they used the same footage, height, style, and gate count.
- Ask each contractor what the posts are made of and how deep they go.
- Ask what grade of lumber and how many rails.
- Ask specifically what is not included in the price.
- Find the word prorated in each warranty, and ask if it is not there.
- Ask whether the crew is employed or subcontracted.
- If everything matches and one is cheaper, take the cheaper one. You earned it.
- Call 706-214-2665 and we will walk your property, give you a written estimate, and tell you plainly where we sit against the other number you are holding.