Three sources of a fence price
Every fence bid in Traverse City is built from three kinds of cost. Some come from choices you make: how long, how tall, what material, how many gates. Some come from the yard itself: how easily a crew can reach the line, what lies under the soil, whether the ground slopes. And some come from paperwork and promises: permits, approvals, warranties and payment terms. Sorting each line of a bid into one of those three groups shows where you have room to change the total and where you don't.
Choices you control
Length and layout
The run of the fence sets the base of the price, since material and labor are both counted along it. The shape counts as well. Each corner and each end needs a heavier post and extra setting time, so a fence that zigzags around beds and trees can cost more per foot than a straight run of the same length. Ask whether a simpler line would still do the job.
Height
A taller fence takes longer boards or taller panels and more fasteners, and it can call for heavier posts. If privacy matters only along the patio, ask for a price with a tall section there and a lower fence elsewhere.
Material
- Wood can be repaired a board at a time; ask about the species, the grade and whether posts are rated for ground contact.
- Vinyl arrives as panels and posts from one system; ask about rail thickness and what the warranty excludes.
- Aluminum and steel sections keep the view open; ask about the coating and the picket spacing.
- Chain link is priced by height and gauge, with a coated finish or slats as extras.
Style
Within one material, the style shifts the count of boards and the labor. Spaced pickets use fewer boards than a solid privacy face. Shadowbox and board-on-board styles cover both sides, which adds boards. Lattice tops, post caps and trim each add a line.
Gates
A gate brings two stout posts, a frame, hinges, a latch and setting time. A drive gate or double gate can be priced well above a walk gate. Self-closing hinges, lockable latches and drop rods add more. Ask what hardware is included and what it is made of.
Conditions the yard sets
Reaching the line
A crew that can drive a skid loader or wheel a power auger to the line can work faster than one that has to carry every post through a narrow side gate. Ask whether access was considered in the bid, and who repairs lawn ruts afterward.
What the auger finds
Rock, roots, rubble and old concrete can slow a hole or force hand digging. Ask how each company prices a hole that hits an obstruction, and whether it will call you before adding cost.
Slope
On uneven ground a fence is either stepped, with level sections dropping at each post, or racked, with the rails following the grade. Either can take more layout time than a flat run. Ask which method was priced and how gaps under the bottom rail will be handled.
The old fence
Tear-out can be its own line or left off. Ask whether old posts are pulled or cut, whether old concrete collars come out, who fills the holes and whether haul-away and disposal are included.
Figures for the NOAA station named Traverse City
NOAA's engineering weather data lists a station named Traverse City. In an average year at that station, NOAA counts about 103 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 576 hours above 67°F. The same Traverse City station data lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet), a 100-year rainfall rate of 2.5 inches per hour and about 66 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year.
Paperwork that carries a cost
- Permits. Ask the city whether your fence needs a permit, and ask each bidder whether applying for it and the fee are in the price.
- Association approval. If an association reviews fences, ask whether the company prepares the drawing it wants.
- Locates. Ask who requests the state's one-call utility locate, and how private lines such as sprinklers or garden lighting will be found.
- The license question. Ask: "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?" Write the answer on the bid.
- Coverage. Ask for proof of liability coverage and workers' compensation.
Upkeep after the crew leaves
The price on the bid is only the first cost of a fence. Ask each company what its material will ask of you later: staining or sealing for wood, washing for vinyl, touch-up for coated metal, and tightening for chain-link fabric. Ask whether the stain is included and who decides when the wood is ready for it. Ask what the workmanship warranty covers apart from the maker's warranty, and how a claim is made.
Reading bids against each other
Sort every line of each bid into the three groups above. Then check that the choices match: same length, height, material, style and gates. Next, see whether each company priced the yard the same way, including access, digging, slope and tear-out. Last, compare the paperwork: permit handling, locates, the license answer, coverage, warranty and payment steps. A bid that comes in well below the rest may be missing a line from one of the groups; ask about it before you sign.
A short record for later
Keep the chosen bid, the contract, the permit, warranty papers and dated photos of the finished fence together. They can help answer questions later about a leaning post or a gate that drifts out of square, and about where the fence sits on the line.