A wood privacy fence starts at $28 per linear foot installed for cedar, the industry-standard species, and runs to $55 per foot for premium grades and upgraded styles. Pressure-treated pine trims a few dollars off that, typically starting around $24 per foot, while redwood - mostly a West Coast product - starts near $40. On a typical 150-foot backyard, that puts a basic cedar privacy fence at $4,200 - $6,000 installed, before gates and tear-out.
But species is only half the price. The picket style, the posts holding it up, and whether you finish it properly swing the total by thousands. Here is the full picture from someone who has set a lot of posts.
Wood Fence Cost by Species
Pressure-Treated Pine: $24 - $40 per foot
Treated pine is the budget wood. The chemical treatment resists rot and insects, which is why it dominates in humid markets. The catch is movement: pine pickets go in wet from the treatment process, then dry out and want to warp, cup, and twist. A pine fence that looks straight at install can look wavy by the end of its first summer. Buy it when budget rules, and plan to stain it once it dries out (usually 2-6 months after install) to slow the warping.
Cedar: $28 - $55 per foot
Cedar is the default for a reason. Its natural oils resist rot and insects without chemical treatment, it stays straighter than pine as it dries, and it takes stain beautifully. Grades matter: a #2-grade picket with tight knots costs less than clear or premium grades with few defects. Most quality residential fences use #1 or select-grade pickets with treated pine rails and posts - cedar's rot resistance is in the wood itself, but for structural members below grade you want treated lumber or steel.
Redwood: $40 - $70 per foot
Redwood outperforms cedar on rot resistance and looks, and it is priced like it. Outside California and the Pacific Northwest, freight makes it hard to justify - which is why you mostly see it quoted by California fence companies. If you are in redwood country and plan to stay in the house 20 years, it is a legitimate buy.
Picket Style Changes the Price More Than You Think
Style determines how much lumber goes into every foot of fence, and lumber is most of your material cost.
- Dog-ear (side-by-side): The baseline. Pickets butt against each other in a single layer. Cheapest, fastest, and fine for most yards. Gaps open up as pickets shrink - expect 1/4 to 1/2 inch of daylight between boards after a year.
- Board-on-board: Pickets overlap by an inch or more, so shrinkage never opens a sight line. Uses roughly 30% more pickets and more nails and labor. Adds about $6 - $10 per foot over dog-ear. This is the style to buy if full privacy matters.
- Shadowbox (good-neighbor): Alternating pickets on both sides of the rails. Looks finished from both sides and lets breeze through, but it is not full privacy - stand at an angle and you see through it. Adds $4 - $8 per foot over dog-ear.
- Cap and trim: A horizontal cap board and trim piece across the top of any style. Sheds water off the picket end grain (the most rot-prone spot) and sharpens the look. Adds $3 - $6 per foot.
Wood Fence Cost Table by Style
Installed prices per linear foot for a 6-foot privacy fence, and what that means on a typical 150-foot project:
| Style (6 ft privacy) | Treated Pine (per ft) | Cedar (per ft) | 150 ft in Cedar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dog-ear | $24 - $32 | $28 - $38 | $4,200 - $5,700 |
| Shadowbox | $28 - $38 | $32 - $45 | $4,800 - $6,750 |
| Board-on-board | $30 - $42 | $34 - $48 | $5,100 - $7,200 |
| Board-on-board with cap and trim | $34 - $46 | $38 - $55 | $5,700 - $8,250 |
Add $250 - $600 per walk gate and $3 - $5 per foot for tear-out of an existing fence.
Posts: Where Wood Fences Actually Die
Here is the trade secret most homeowners never hear: wood fences almost never fail at the pickets. They fail at the posts, right at the ground line, where moisture and soil eat the wood. When your fence leans after a windstorm, that is rotted posts - and fixing posts under an existing fence costs nearly as much as building new.
Treated Wood Posts
The standard 4x4 pressure-treated post, set 24-36 inches deep in concrete, is included in every baseline price above. Expect 10-15 years from them in most soils - less in wet, poorly drained ground. Ground-contact-rated treatment is a must; if a bid does not specify it, ask.
Steel Posts (Postmaster and Similar): The Upgrade Worth Making
Galvanized steel fence posts - Postmaster is the brand most crews carry - are designed so pickets or trim conceal them, meaning the fence still looks all-wood from both sides. They cost roughly $3 - $6 more per linear foot installed, and they change the math on the whole fence: steel posts routinely outlast two or even three sets of cedar pickets. You re-picket the fence in year 15 instead of rebuilding it from the dirt up. In high-wind markets like North Texas, plenty of crews now quote steel posts as the default because wood posts snap at the ground line in straight-line winds. If you make one upgrade on a wood fence, make it this one.
Stain and Seal: The Line Item Everyone Skips
Raw wood grays out in a year and starts absorbing water. A quality penetrating stain repels moisture, blocks UV, and adds years of life - but it costs real money and needs repeating.
- Professional stain application: $900 - $1,800 for a typical 150-foot fence, depending on whether you do one side or both
- DIY with a pump sprayer: $200 - $450 in stain and supplies, plus a weekend
- Recoat schedule: every 2-3 years for full protection; semi-transparent stains show wear before solid stains do
Timing matters. New treated pine needs to dry before it will accept stain - stain too early and it peels. Cedar can usually be stained within a few weeks of install. Either way, get the first coat on within the first year; a fence that grays and checks for three years first never takes stain as well.
How Long Will a Wood Fence Last?
| Configuration | Expected Lifespan |
|---|---|
| Treated pine on wood posts, never stained | 10 - 12 years |
| Treated pine on wood posts, maintained | 12 - 15 years |
| Cedar on wood posts, maintained | 15 - 20 years |
| Cedar on steel posts, maintained | 20 - 30 years (re-picket once) |
Climate moves these numbers. Hot, dry markets like Phoenix cook the oils out of pickets but rot posts slowly; humid Gulf Coast markets do the opposite. Sprinklers hitting the fence line every morning will cut years off any wood fence - adjust the heads.
What Cheap Wood Fence Bids Leave Out
When one bid is $1,500 under the rest, look for these cuts: posts set 18 inches instead of 24-36, two rails instead of three on a 6-foot fence (pickets will cup without mid-rail support), pickets nailed with too few fasteners, posts spaced wider than 8 feet, and no ground-contact rating on the posts. Every one of those saves the installer money and costs you the fence early.
Get Wood Fence Quotes From Local Pros
Lumber prices, soil conditions, and labor rates are local, so the only number that matters is the one on an itemized quote for your yard. Compare two or three established installers through our directory of fence companies by state, and ask each one to price steel posts as an alternate - it is the best-value upgrade in wood fencing.