I knew what I wanted but didn’t quite know what I was getting into for a DIY project. I wanted a 6 foot cedar fence around the entire yard, which after measuring, was 285 feet.
After figuring material pricing for 50 treated posts, 600 pickets and 150 2×4’s, I know I was going to be in over my head to hire someone. I did a quick double check on CostGuide and figured on was on the far high side of fence costs. With $3,500 in materials alone, I knew I would have to figure out a way to build this on my own.
Luckily, my family decided to come into town, we fixed the post-hole digger and I had some great friends to help.
So we started!


After 2 full weeks of work, the fence is done! We still have gates to build and minor details to complete but the dogs are happy!
Author Bio: Mandy Black is the Online Customer Liaison for HomeAdvisor. Mandy has been a Colorado resident for 21 years. She recently purchased a foreclosure in Golden, CO where she has quickly become an expert in DIY projects.
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Just a quick question…I know your article says you estimated costs to be around $3,500. Can you tell what you have invested in the fence now after completion?
Thanks in advance and it looks great!
I believe I ended up at right around $4,500. I bought treated 4x4x8’s instead of regular 4×4’s for the posts which brought the price up. I live in a high wind area so we wanted the posts to last as long as possible. I was able to bring some of the other costs down by purchasing clearance pickets from a local company. They had ordered several pallets of the wrong pickets for another customer and they happened to be the ones I wanted. I have not painted or stained the fence yet and I am quessing I will spend another $500 on materials along with the time to do it myself.
Thanks for your comments! If you have any other questions, please feel free to let me know.