Repair the fence when the damage is limited to one area and the remaining posts are solid. Replace it when the repair price approaches half of what a new fence would cost, or when posts are giving way the whole length of the line.
A simple way to decide
- Repair: damage in one place, posts firm elsewhere, rails and boards still hard when you press a screwdriver into them.
- Replace a section: several posts in a row are loose or rotted, but the fence beyond them is straight.
- Replace it all: posts move or are soft at ground level along the whole fence, or the repair comes close to 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. If only a few give, replace those and keep the fence. If most of them give, the fence is worn out below ground and new posts here and there will not hold it for long. Damp prairie soil, snow drifted against the boards and years of wind all wear on wood posts at the ground.
The repair quote is $1,400 and a new fence is $5,200. Which makes sense?
The repair, as long as the posts being kept are sound. $1,400 is a little over a quarter of $5,200, so it is well below the half-cost mark. What you want to avoid is paying for another repair twelve months later. Have the contractor test the remaining posts and tell you the count of good ones.
Half my pickets are rotting and the gate will not close. Fix it section by section?
You can, provided the posts and rails are solid. Boards rot from the bottom up where grass clippings, mulch or wet soil sit against them. Deal with the gate first, since a gate that will not close means the hinge post has shifted. After that, replace boards a stretch at a time.
How long does a wood fence last in Springfield?
It varies too much for one honest number. Species, post depth, drainage and upkeep all matter. Cedar boards outlast pine boards, and a sealed fence held clear of the soil outlasts a bare one sitting in it. Here the posts usually fail before the boards do.
A real price needs a look at the yard. The on-site estimate is free. Call (217) 262-9381 or text us a photo of the fence line.