A realistic DIY fence weekend, hour-by-hour for 150 feet
What actually happens across Saturday and Sunday when two people build a 150ft cedar fence. Schedule, snags, and when to call it a day.
The FenceCalc blog
Notes from the post hole. Opinionated, specific, occasionally dirty.
Call 811, survey your line, and other things to do before you dig
The three pre-dig steps that separate a clean fence build from a buried-utility nightmare or a boundary-dispute lawsuit.
Trex Seclusions and the composite fence promise, reviewed
A close look at Trex Fencing and its competitors. Where composite earns the 3x price tag and where it doesn't.
Fence permit rules, state by state (and why they matter)
A rough guide to which states require fence permits, height thresholds, and the paperwork you can't skip.
Three ways to make a chain-link fence private (and one not to)
Slats, windscreen, hedges. The pros and cons of each cheap privacy hack for a chain-link yard.
How to set fence posts in concrete (and not have them lean)
Hole depth, crown, Quikrete vs Sakrete, the details that separate a 20-year fence from a 3-year sagging mess.
Fighting your HOA over a fence (and how to win by not fighting)
Reading your CC&R, submitting architectural approval correctly, and the one sentence that gets 90% of requests approved.
What a 6ft privacy fence actually costs in 2026
Real pricing for a standard 6ft wood privacy fence, broken down by material, labor, and regional market.
Wood vs vinyl fence, a 10-year total cost breakdown
Wood looks better. Vinyl lasts longer. Here's the math on which one actually costs less over a decade.
The cheapest fence options that still look okay
Chain-link with slats, 4ft pressure-treated, and two other budget builds that finish a yard for under $2,500.
Need a cost estimate first? Head to the fence calculator. Got a post idea? Send it over.