Should I repair or replace my fence?

Repair when the damage is local — one post, a panel or two, a gate, a batch of pickets — and the posts around it are solid at the base. Replace when a quarter or more of the posts are rotted or loose, when the whole run leans, when rails or posts are soft or rusted through, or when the fence is at the end of its material's life and still needs work.

What does fence repair or replacement cost in 2026?

Repairs: a post $150–$400, a panel $150–$500, pickets $8–$20 each, a gate rehang $100–$300, a new gate $300–$1,500. Full replacement per linear foot, installed: pressure-treated pine $15–$35, cedar $25–$50, vinyl $25–$45, chain-link $10–$25, aluminum $30–$60, wrought iron $40–$100+. A typical 150-foot yard is $2,250–$5,250 in pine and $3,750–$7,500 in cedar.

Can I replace just the posts and keep the panels?

Yes, one or two at a time, and it is the right repair when the panels are sound. It stops making sense when many posts are going at once: five new posts on a 20-post fence cost $750–$2,000, roughly a third of a new pressure-treated fence, and the other fifteen are the same age.

Do I need a permit or a survey to replace a fence?

Often, for the permit; always worth it, for the survey. Many municipalities require a permit for a new or fully replaced fence and cap heights around six feet in back and lower in front. A survey or plat confirms the line before you build on it, which is cheaper than moving a fence.

Repair or replace your fence?

Q: How long does a fence last?

Pressure-treated pine 10–15 years, cedar or redwood 15–30, vinyl 20–30, chain-link 20–30, aluminum 30–50, wrought iron 50+ if it is kept painted. Wood posts fail first, at the soil line, and they set the real lifespan of a wood fence.

A fence fails from the ground up. The panels and pickets you can see from the kitchen window are rarely the problem; the posts holding them are, and specifically the few inches of each post at the soil line. So the repair-or-replace question is really three questions: how many posts have gone, whether the damage is in one place or everywhere, and how far into its lifespan the material already is.

When a repair is the right call

Repair when the failure is local and the posts on either side of it are solid. Push on them. A post that does not move at the base is doing its job, and everything hung on it can be fixed piecemeal:

A leaning or wobbling post with sound panels on both sides. Reset it or replace it outright for $150–$400.
One or two broken panels from a storm, a limb, or a car. A single 8-foot section runs $150–$500 installed, plus the posts if they went with it.
Split, warped, or missing pickets on an otherwise straight run: $8–$20 each installed. A bundle of them on one panel is still a repair.
A gate that drags or will not latch. Usually a sagging hinge post or stretched hardware, $100–$300 to rehang or brace. A new gate is $300–$1,500.
Graying, mildew, or peeling stain. Cosmetic, not structural. Cleaning and re-staining one side of a 150-foot, six-foot wood fence runs $900–$2,700 and buys years.

The catch is matching. New cedar is orange-pink next to gray ten-year-old cedar, and a replacement vinyl panel is whiter than the run beside it. On a back property line nobody cares. Along the street, a patchwork of ages reads as neglect, which is worth weighing against the cost of doing the visible stretch all at once.

When it's time to replace

Replace when the failure is spread along the run or built into the posts:

A quarter or more of the posts are rotted, heaved, or loose at the base. A 150-foot fence on 8-foot centers has about 20 posts. Replacing five of them is $750–$2,000, roughly a third of a new pressure-treated fence, on a fence whose other fifteen posts are the same age, in the same soil, and next in line.
The whole run leans. Panels do not lean; posts do. A fence tilting along its length has lost its footings, and resetting every post costs close to building new.
Rot you can push a screwdriver into on rails or posts, or rust through the rails and posts of chain-link or iron. That is material failure, not damage, and it is not confined to the piece you tested.
It is at or past the lifespan for its material (below) and needs more than a couple of pickets. Money into a fence in its last years buys a season or two, not a decade.
You are on the third repair in two seasons. Each one was cheap. Together they are the down payment on the fence you are going to build anyway.

Why the post is the whole decision

Wood posts rot where air, water, and soil meet, right at grade, and it happens fastest on posts set in concrete with no gravel underneath, because the concrete collar holds water against the wood. A panel is a $150–$500 part hung between two posts; a post is the structure. So a fence with sound posts and ugly panels is a cosmetic project, and a fence with clean panels and failing posts is a rebuild that has not admitted it yet. If you are ranking outdoor work, a fence sits below siding, which protects the structure, and about level with a deck, which is built from the same lumber and rots the same way.

How long does a fence last?

Pressure-treated pine: 10–15 years for the posts, longer for the panels if they are stained every two to three years.
Cedar or redwood: 15–30 years. Naturally rot-resistant, but the posts still go first.
Vinyl: 20–30 years. Does not rot; gets brittle in cold and can crack on impact.
Chain-link: 20–30 years. Rust at the posts and along the bottom of the fabric is what ends it.
Aluminum: 30–50 years. Does not rust; the failure mode is a bent section, which is replaceable.
Wrought iron: 50+ years if it is repainted before the rust gets under the finish.

Where a fence sits in that range matters as much as the damage. A five-year-old cedar fence with a car through it is a repair. A twenty-year-old one with the same hole is a replacement that a car scheduled for you.

What it costs in 2026

Repairs, done by a pro:

Replace a post: $150–$400 each.
Replace one 8-foot panel or section: $150–$500.
Pickets: $8–$20 each installed.
Rehang or brace a gate: $100–$300. New gate: $300–$1,500.
Clean and stain, one side, 150 feet by six feet: $900–$2,700.

Full replacement, installed, per linear foot and for a typical 150-foot yard:

Pressure-treated pine: $15–$35 per foot; $2,250–$5,250.
Cedar: $25–$50 per foot; $3,750–$7,500.
Vinyl: $25–$45 per foot; $3,750–$6,750.
Chain-link: $10–$25 per foot; $1,500–$3,750.
Aluminum: $30–$60 per foot; $4,500–$9,000.
Wrought iron: $40–$100+ per foot; $6,000–$15,000+.

Tearing out and hauling away the old fence adds $2–$5 per foot, or $300–$750 on that yard, if it is not in the quote. Height above six feet, slopes, rock, and extra gates push every band up. See our methodology for how we build these bands.

Run the arithmetic on your own fence before you call anyone. Count the posts, count the ones that move, and price the repair. If the repair is under about a quarter of a replacement quote and the posts you are not replacing are solid, repair. Past a third, or with the remaining posts the same age and softening, the repair is buying time you will pay for twice.

Before you replace: the property line and the permit

A new fence is the moment the line gets checked. Pull the plat or survey before the crew arrives; a fence built a foot onto the neighbor's side is an argument you fund. Many municipalities cap backyard fences at six feet and front-yard fences lower, and require a permit above those heights or for a full replacement, so a call to the building department costs nothing and a tear-down order does not. A homeowners' association adds its own material and color rules on top.

The bottom line

Repair a post, a panel, a gate, or a season's worth of pickets on a fence whose remaining posts are solid and whose material has years left. Replace when a quarter of the posts have gone, when the run leans, or when the fence is at the end of its material's life and the repair list keeps growing. Either way, check the posts before you price the panels, because the panels are never what you are actually paying for. If this is pre-sale work, our guide to upgrades that actually add resale value shows where a fence ranks against the rest of the list.