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Fence cost calculator

Type the length and a low and high installed rate from your bids. Gates and removal of the old fence get their own lines.

7 ft model building-permit exemption for fences Model administrative provisions, read in Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Building Code, 2024, section 105.2: fences other than pool barriers not over 7 ft. It waives no zoning height, covenant or easement.

Fence cost = linear feet × the installed rate per foot on your bid, plus gates and removal of the old fence. 150 ft at $18 to $32 per foot, plus $900 of gates and $600 of removal, is $4,200 to $6,300. Check zoning height and the boundary before you order.

Work out your fence

Arithmetic on your figures. Nothing is stored or emailed.

An example to start. Measure the run you were quoted.

From your lowest bid. Leave at 0 until you have one.

From your highest bid, or the same as low.

Walk and drive gates with hardware.

0 if the bid includes it.

— Total on your figures
— Fence line
— Gates and removal

What this assumed —

A check on a bid, not a quote. Height, setback and the boundary are not in the arithmetic.

Worked examples

Two fences, run through the calculator

Two bids, one band

150 ft of fence at $18 and $32 per foot from two bids, plus $900 of gates and $600 to remove the old fence. Fence line $2,700 to $4,800; total $4,200 to $6,300. The rates are examples; type yours.

One bid, one number

80 ft at $45 per foot in both boxes, with a $400 gate. Fence line $3,600; total $4,000. With one rate the band collapses to a single figure.

Linear feet × the installed rate on your bid, plus gates and removal. Height, setback and the boundary are not in the arithmetic.

Fences lean and heave at the posts

A per-foot price is quoted on material and height. How long a fence stands up depends on the holes, which are filled in before you see them.

Ask for the post detail in inches. Hole depth, hole diameter, what fills it, and how the bottom drains. Two bids that differ on price and say none of this cannot be compared.

Frost is why depth matters. Water in soil expands as it freezes. A post whose bottom sits in the freezing layer can be lifted a little each winter, and soil slumps in under it. That is frost heave.

The frost line is local. The frost line itself is not in the model code. It is set locally in Table R301.2 by the adopting jurisdiction, and it is the number your building department publishes for your county.

It ranges from nothing in the warm south to several feet in the north, and it is the single figure that decides how deep a post or a footing has to go.

Soil changes it too. Clay holds the water that freezes and shrinks and swells on its own. Web Soil Survey shows your mapped soil for free.

What the model code says about depth

The model code’s footing provisions cover buildings and structures. A garden fence may fall outside them, but the frost they describe still applies.

Minimum depth and frost protection

IRC R403.1.4, minimum depth. Exterior footings placed not less than 12 inches below the undisturbed ground surface, and where applicable also meeting the frost provisions that follow. Recorded as consistently published; we did not read ICC’s own library, so this is not offered as a verbatim quotation.

IRC R403.1.4.1, frost protection, as reproduced in the Indiana Administrative Code, 675 IAC 14-4.4-43: “foundation walls, piers, and other permanent supports of buildings and structures shall be protected from frost by one or more of the following methods”: extended below the frost line specified in table r301.2(1).

Constructed in accordance with section r403.3; constructed in accordance with asce 32; erected on solid rock.

And: “Footings shall not bear on frozen soil unless the frozen condition is permanent.” Ask how the ground was prepared if posts go in during a freeze.

Exceptions are local

That state adoption carries an exception for freestanding accessory structures at or below 721 square feet, and a further exception for decks not supported by a dwelling. Both the threshold and the wording are that state’s own.

Other adoptions we saw referenced in the same search used different areas and different construction types. Treat the existence of an exception as normal and its numbers as strictly local.

We read a state adoption and a code-hosting reproduction, not ICC’s own library, on 5 September 2026.

What the bid should say about posts

Depth in inches, and the local frost depth it was set against.

Hole diameter and fill: concrete, compacted gravel or soil, and how the bottom drains.

Corner, end and gate posts: these carry more load than line posts. A gate post holds a swinging weight.

Ground-contact material: wood rated for ground contact, named in writing.

No building permit does not mean permission

The model exemption for fences covers one thing in one code, and the next sentence says so.

The exemption. “Fences, other than swimming pool barriers, not over 7 feet (2134 mm) high.” From the model administrative list, Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Building Code, 2024, section 105.2, read on 5 September 2026.

The sentence after it. “Exemptions from permit requirements of this code shall not be deemed to grant authorization for any work to be done in any manner in violation of the provisions of this code or any other laws or ordinances of this jurisdiction.”

What else can stop a fence. Zoning height limits, which can differ between front and back yards. HOA covenants on height, material and color. A recorded easement. A sight-triangle rule on a corner lot. A deed restriction.

Check each one before you take a bid. The building department confirming no permit is needed answers only its own question.

Where the fence line actually is

An old fence is not a survey. It shows where a previous owner thought the line was. Replacing it “in the same place” keeps any error it had.

When a survey is worth it: an old fence, a disputed strip, a creeping hedge, or a boundary you have never seen on paper. Building a foot inside your own line is the other way to avoid the question.

Talk to the neighbor first. Say what you plan to build before it goes up. Cost-sharing rules for boundary fences vary; HyreYard gives no legal advice on them.

The lines a fence bid should carry

HyreYard’s checklist, built from the code material on this page. The last column is what you are left guessing when a line is missing.

LineWhat it should sayIf it is missing
Length and set-outLinear feet, set out from a survey, pins or the old fence.The old fence line, and any error in it.
Post depth and diameterInches, and the local frost depth.The detail that decides heave is unstated.
Hole fillConcrete, gravel or soil, and drainage at the bottom.Left to the crew on the day.
Corner, end and gate postsHow these differ from line posts.Gate posts set like line posts.
Ground-contact materialThe product rated for ground contact.You cannot tell by looking.
Gates, itemizedWidth, hinges, latch, drop rod, any opener.Gates buried in a per-foot rate.
Old fence removalTake-down, haul-away, old concrete footings.Old footings found on the day, as an extra.
SlopeStepped or racked, and gaps at low points.A solid run across a drainage path.
811 locateWho calls 811 before digging.Holes dug over unmarked lines.

A checklist, not a price list or a contract review. HyreYard holds no fence prices.

A solid fence can hold back surface water

Rain runs across a yard as a thin sheet along the grade. A solid fence with a low bottom rail can stop it.

What happens

Water backs up on the uphill side and drops silt and leaves, which make the blockage worse. The uphill side stays wet longer after rain, and so do the posts.

EPA on developed land: “much of the land surface is covered by buildings, pavement and compacted landscapes. These surfaces do not allow rain and snow melt to soak into the ground which greatly increases the volume and velocity of stormwater runoff”. A fence is not paving, but it changes where water goes.

What to do at design time

Walk the line in heavy rain and mark where water crosses it.

Ask for a raised bottom rail, a gap or a gravel trench at those points. Specified up front, this is ordinary carpentry.

Soil group matters: group A is low runoff; group D is high runoff.

Before you accept a fence price

  • Ask the building department for the local frost depth

    It is the number the post depth should be set against.

  • Ask whether a permit is needed, and the zoning height limit

    Two questions, and they can be two desks. Front and back yards can differ.

  • Look up your parcel on Web Soil Survey

    Drainage class and hydrologic soil group, free.

  • Decide whether the boundary is in doubt

    If it is, get a survey or build inside your line.

  • Ask each bidder for post depth, diameter and fill

    In inches, in writing.

  • Ask who calls 811

    Someone has to request the locate before the first hole.

Words on a fence bid

Frost line
The depth your building department sets for frost in your area. It decides how deep footings go.
Frost heave
Ground, and anything set in it, lifting as water in the soil freezes and expands.
Groundline
Where a post meets the soil, and where wood posts tend to rot first.
Racked or stepped
Two ways to follow a slope: rails parallel to the ground, or level rails that step down.
Easement
A recorded right someone else has over part of your land. It can bar a structure on that strip.
Sight triangle
A zoning limit on height near a corner or driveway so drivers can see.
Permit exemption
A rule that a building permit is not needed for certain work. It does not waive zoning, covenants or easements.

What this calculator cannot see

A fair rate. HyreYard publishes no fence prices, so both rate boxes start at 0.

Height, boundary and posts. Zoning, a survey and your frost line decide those.

The grade. Whether the fence crosses a drainage path is something to see on site, in the rain.

Fence less. A shorter screen closer to where you sit can block the same view as a boundary fence, with a fraction of the length. HyreYard does not build fences.

Questions this calculator answers

How much does a fence cost?
Linear feet times the installed rate per foot on your bid, plus gates and removal. HyreYard publishes no national average: material, height, soil and slope all change the rate.
Why are there two rate boxes?
So you can type two bids and see the band. With one bid, type the same rate in both boxes and the answer is a single figure.
Do I need a permit for a fence?
Possibly, and zoning is a separate question. The model code exempts fences up to 7 ft from a building permit where adopted, but zoning, HOA rules and easements still apply. Ask your building and planning desks.
How tall can my fence be?
Your zoning code decides, and front and back yards can have different limits. HOA covenants can set their own. The building-permit exemption does not answer this.
How deep should fence posts go?
Deep enough for your local frost line, which your building department publishes. Ask each bidder for post depth, hole diameter and fill in writing.
Who owns the fence line?
A survey decides that, not an old fence. If the line is in doubt, have it surveyed or build a foot inside your own line.
Do I need to call 811 before digging post holes?
Yes. Call 811 before any digging. It is free, and utilities mark their buried lines first.

Sources and methodology

Figures dated September 5, 2026. Last reviewed .

  • Work exempt from permit (Model administrative provisions, read in Texas Windstorm Insurance Association Building Code, 2024, section 105.2, retrieved September 5, 2026). Fences other than pool barriers not over 7 ft, and the rule that an exemption authorizes no violation of other codes. A state adoption, not ICC’s own library.
  • R403.1.4.1, frost protection, as adopted (Indiana Administrative Code 675 IAC 14-4.4-43, via Cornell LII, retrieved September 5, 2026). The four frost-protection methods and the rule against bearing on frozen soil. Its exception thresholds are Indiana’s own.
  • Web Soil Survey (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, retrieved September 5, 2026). Mapped soil, drainage class and hydrologic soil group for your parcel. A survey map, not a site test.
  • Nonpoint Source: Urban Areas (US Environmental Protection Agency, retrieved September 5, 2026). Hard, compacted surfaces increase the volume and speed of runoff.

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