Where a fence price comes from
When three companies look at the same backyard and hand back three very different totals, it can feel as if somebody is wrong. Not necessarily. Each one may have priced a slightly different fence: a different post, a different gate, a tear-out included or left off. A fence price is a stack of separate decisions, and the way to make sense of it is to take the stack apart. This guide names the pieces so you can ask for them one at a time.
Household figures from QuickFacts
U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts counts 87,858 households in Little Rock for 2020–2024, with 2.26 persons per household over the same period.
QuickFacts also gives the owner-occupied housing unit rate in Little Rock for 2020–2024 as 53.5%.
Footage, corners and ends
Fence work is often priced by the running foot, but the shape of the route counts as well as its length. Each corner and each end calls for a stouter post and a little more layout time. A route that bends around a flower bed or jogs past a tree can be slower to stake out than a straight run along the back line. Draw the route on a copy of your survey, mark every corner and opening, and give that drawing to each bidder so the footage they price is the footage you want.
Height and style
Going taller means longer boards and more fasteners, and it can call for heavier posts. A solid privacy style uses more lumber or panel than spaced pickets, and a design that looks finished from both sides, such as board-on-board or shadowbox, uses more again. Lattice toppers, post caps and trim boards each add a line of material and a little labor. If you only need privacy along one stretch, ask for a price with full height there and a lower style elsewhere.
Material, now and later
The price on signing day is one cost; upkeep is another. Ask each company to talk through both:
- Wood: asks for stain or sealer and the odd board replacement over time.
- Vinyl: comes in its own color; ask what cleaning it needs.
- Aluminum and steel: an open look; ask what the coating is and how chips are repaired.
- Chain link: a plain way to fence in pets; ask whether a vinyl-coated finish is part of the price.
Ask which product line is being quoted and what the maker's warranty covers.
Holes and posts, the hidden labor
Part of the effort in a fence is underground and out of sight once the job is done. Hole depth, post size and the setting method all change the hours and the material. Concrete footings add bags, mixing and curing time. Ask each bidder to write down the post material, size, spacing and depth, and how posts are set, so the proposals can be read against each other.
When the ground pushes back
Digging conditions are hard to know in advance. Roots, rock, an old patio slab or buried debris can stall an auger and force a crew to dig by hand. A sloped yard has its own choice: panels stepped down the hill, or a fence racked to follow the grade, and both can take more time than flat ground. Ask how each company prices a hole that hits something unexpected, and whether it will stop and call you before adding to the bill.
Each gate is a small project
A gate brings heavier posts, hinges, a latch and fitting time. A wide drive gate or a pair of leaves can need sturdier posts and bracing than a walk gate, and the price can reflect that. Self-closing hinges, a lockable latch and a cane bolt for a double gate are further additions. Ask what hardware each gate includes and what it is made of.
Taking the old fence out
Removing an existing fence, cutting or pulling its posts and hauling away the debris may be its own line, or may be missing from a proposal altogether. Ask whether old concrete footings get dug out or left in place, and who fills the holes they leave.
Permits and the paperwork line
Ask the city whether your fence needs a permit, then ask each bidder whether its price includes preparing the application and any homeowners association submission. Put one more question to every company: "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?" Write the reply on that company's proposal.
Finish and cleanup
New wood may need stain or sealer once it is ready to take it. Ask whether finishing is in the price and who decides when it happens. Ask too about the spoil from the holes, scuffed turf along the route and leftover boards or panels.
Deposits and the calendar
Ask how much is due when you sign, what is due when the last gate is hung, and whether materials are ordered before or after the deposit clears. Ask when the crew can start, how many working days the job should take and what happens to the schedule if wet weather halts digging. A written start window is easier to plan around than a date given over the phone.
A worksheet for comparing proposals
Write the items from this guide down the left side of a page, one per row: route and footage, height and style, material, posts and setting, digging conditions, gates and hardware, tear-out, permits, finishing, cleanup, warranty and payment terms. Give each company a column and fill it in from its proposal. Any blank square is a question for that company. Compare the totals only after every column is full.
After the last post
File the survey, the route drawing, any permit, the signed proposal, warranty papers and photos of the finished fence in one folder. Those records can help if a post leans, a gate drops or a question about the line comes up years from now.