Reading a fence price in layers
A fence goes up from the bottom: the line is staked, the holes are dug, the posts go in, then the rails, then the boards or panels, then the gates. A fence price can be read the same way. Taking each layer in turn shows where labor and material sit in a bid, and makes it easier to spot where two bids describe different fences under the same name.
The ground layer: staking and digging
Before any hole, someone measures the run and stakes every corner, end and opening. Ask who does that, how the stakes are checked against your boundary, and whether a survey is part of the price or a separate cost.
Much of a crew's time can go into holes nobody sees afterward. An auger can stall on roots, rock, an old slab or buried rubble, leaving the crew to finish with a digging bar and a shovel. Ask each company how it prices a hole that hits something, and whether it will stop and call you before adding to the bill. Ask whether the soil from the holes is spread on the lot or taken away.
If the yard rises or falls along the route, ask whether the sections will drop in level steps or tilt with the ground, and what will close any gap left below the bottom rail.
The frame: posts and rails
Posts and rails are the skeleton, and they can be priced quite differently from one bid to the next. Ask for the post material and size, the spacing between line posts, the hole depth, what goes around each post in the hole, and whether corner, end and gate posts are heavier. Ask how many rails each section carries, what they are made of and how they are fastened. When two bids show the same height and style at different totals, the frame is one place to look.
The face: boards, panels, pickets or wire
The face is the part people see, and its price can move with both height and how much it covers.
- Board fences. Which wood was priced, at what grade, and how many boards fill one section in the pattern you picked? Does the neighbor's side show the rails, or are they covered?
- Pickets. How wide is each picket, and how much air is left between them?
- Vinyl panels. What are the panels and rails made from, and how do they join the posts?
- Aluminum or steel. What finish is on the metal, and does a can of matching paint come with the job?
- Chain link. How tall is the mesh, what wire thickness was priced, and are a vinyl coating or screening slats included?
If you want post caps, trim or a decorative top band, ask for a separate figure on each so you can keep or drop them one by one.
Gates: a price inside the price
An opening carries costs a straight run does not: a pair of posts that take the swinging weight, a frame, hinges, a latch and the hours spent hanging it true. Have each bidder put every gate on its own line, showing how wide it is, whether it is one leaf or two, the metal its hardware is made from, which way it opens and what keeps it from dropping. An opening wide enough for a car is worth a separate line again.
Edges of the job: tear-out and cleanup
When an existing fence has to go, its removal is labor too. Find out how the bidder deals with the old posts and any concrete around them, whether the empty holes get backfilled, and whether the old material leaves on the bidder's truck or sits at the curb for you. On the final day, scraps and wrappers have to go somewhere: ask whether cleanup is in the bid. With wood, ask if a first coat of stain or sealer is priced and how long the bidder suggests waiting before it goes on.
Who will be in your yard
Ask each company whether its own employees will build the fence or whether any part of the work goes to another company. If another company is involved, ask for its name and what it will do, and ask who you should call with a problem on the day.
Tennessee's license rules, as worded
Tennessee's rules for contractors and subcontractors read:
- In Tennessee, a state contractor's license is required for a construction project totaling $25,000 or more, including materials, labor and profit, and the license must be in place before a price is bid or offered.
- Electrical, mechanical, plumbing, HVAC and roofing subcontractors must hold a Tennessee contractor's license when their portion of a project is $25,000 or more; for masonry subcontractors the threshold is $100,000 or more.
Ask each company: "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?" Note the answer on that company's bid.
Coverage, deposits and payments
Ask for proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation, and call your own insurer if you have questions about your policy while the work is going on. Ask how much is due at signing, what is due at completion, and whether any payment falls in between. Ask for a start window in writing and what happens to it if materials arrive late. Avoid paying in cash, so every payment shows up on a statement.
Comparing bids layer by layer
Lay the bids next to each other and read them one layer at a time: ground, frame, face, gates, edges, then the license answer, coverage and payments. Where one bid names a detail and another leaves it out, ask the second company to put its answer in writing. Compare totals only after every bid describes the same fence from the ground up.