Repair the fence when the damage is in one place and most posts are still tight in the ground. Replace it when the repair would cost about half as much as a new fence, or when posts are soft at the soil line all along the run.
A simple way to decide
- Repair: the problem is one panel, one gate or a couple of posts, and the others do not rock when pushed.
- Rebuild one side: a whole run has bad posts, but the other sides of the yard are sound.
- Replace everything: most posts are soft at ground level, boards are split and gray from end to end, 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 deciding. If only a handful move and the boards are still solid, replace those posts and keep the fence. If most of them move, it is time for a new one. At 15 years in the Central Valley sun, also look at the boards: if they are thin, cupped and splitting, new posts will be holding up a fence that is nearly worn out.
The repair quote is $1,400 and a new fence is $5,200. Which makes sense?
The repair makes sense if the posts not being replaced are still firm. $1,400 is about 27 percent of $5,200, well under half. Ask how many of the remaining posts were checked. If several more are due to fail, a second repair next year could bring the total close to the new fence price, and the boards would still be old.
Half my pickets are rotting and the gate will not close. Fix it section by section?
You can, as long as the posts and rails are solid. Pickets that rot at the bottom are nearly always sitting in wet soil or in the path of a sprinkler head. Fix the gate first, since a gate that will not close points to a post. Then replace pickets section by section, and turn the sprinklers away from the fence or the new ones will go the same way.
How long does a wood fence last in Modesto?
It varies too much to give one figure. The wood species and grade, the post depth, how wet the base stays and whether the fence is ever sealed all count. Here the sun dries and cracks the boards while irrigation rots the posts, so a fence that is sealed and kept clear of sprinklers and soil outlasts one that is not by years.
We can only give a real number after seeing the fence line. The estimate is free. Call (209) 231-7679 or text us a photo of the yard.