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 posts are rotten all along the line.
A simple way to decide
- Repair: one area is broken, the posts stay put when you push on them, and the boards are not soft.
- Rebuild a side: the posts on one side have failed, but the other sides are straight and tight.
- Replace the fence: posts are rotten at the ground along most of the line, 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 choosing between posts or whole fence. A handful of soft posts among firm ones means new posts are worth it. If most of them move, it is time for a new fence. A pine fence of that age in Charlotte has been through many humid summers, so look at the rails and the bottoms of the pickets too.
The repair quote is $1,400 and a new fence is $5,200. Which makes sense?
The repair makes sense if the posts that stay are sound. $1,400 is about 27 percent of $5,200, well short of half. Ask how many of the posts not being replaced were checked and found firm. If several more are close to failing, a second repair next year would bring you near the cost of a new fence without giving you one.
Half my pickets are rotting and the gate will not close. Fix it section by section?
You can, provided the posts and rails are good. Pickets that rot from the bottom are usually sitting in mulch, touching soil or getting wet from sprinklers. Deal with the gate first, since that points to a post. Then replace pickets section by section and pull mulch and plants back from the fence.
How long does a wood fence last in Charlotte?
It varies too much for one honest number. The wood, the treatment, how the posts were set and how much shade and moisture the fence gets all matter. Heat, humidity, mildew, termites and wet clay shorten the life of wood here. Sealing the fence and keeping soil, mulch and vines off it lengthen it. The posts normally go first.
The only way to get a real price for your yard is a site visit, and ours is free. Call (980) 291-4187 or text us a photo of the fence line.