Most wood fences in the DFW area run somewhere between $13 and $50 per linear foot installed. A typical full backyard project lands between $2,000 and $8,000, larger custom work can reach about $10,000, and replacing a failed section usually falls between $1,000 and $3,000.
That is a wide band, and homeowners are right to ask why. The per foot number is not a price so much as the result of six or seven decisions, most of which get made before a single post goes in the ground. Once you know what they are, you can read a quote instead of just comparing totals.
If you want the full picture on project pricing, start with our breakdown of wood fence cost in Fort Worth. This post goes a level deeper into the line items that move the number.
Height and Rail Count
Height is the most direct driver. Going from six feet to eight feet adds material to every single picket on the job, and it usually adds a third rail, longer posts, and deeper post holes to carry the extra wind load.
Rail count matters on its own. A six foot fence should have three rails. Some low bids run two to save material, which shows up three summers later as a bowed fence line. When you compare quotes, compare rail counts.
Picket Grade and Wood Species
Cedar costs more per picket than pressure treated pine, and in this climate it earns the difference. Cedar carries natural oils that resist rot and insects and it moves far less through the North Texas cycle of wet clay winters and dry triple digit summers. Pine takes on and gives up that moisture, and as it does it cups, twists, and splits around the fasteners.
Grade moves the number inside each species too. A tighter knot grade and a thicker picket cost more up front and stay flatter. We get into the specifics in our post on cedar vs pine for Fort Worth yards.
Posts and How They Are Set
Posts are where quotes quietly separate. Steel posts cost more than wood posts and outlast them. Post diameter, hole depth, and whether the post is set in concrete all change both the price and how long the fence stands straight.
North Texas clay is the reason this matters. Our soil swells when it is wet and shrinks when it is dry, and it works on a shallow post all year. A post set too shallow in expansive clay will move, and when the post moves the whole run moves with it.
Gates Are the Biggest Per Unit Line
A gate is the most expensive few feet of any fence. It needs heavier posts, bracing, hardware, and labor that the rest of the run does not, and a double drive gate needs all of that twice.
One walk gate is standard. Add a second walk gate and a twelve foot double drive gate and you have added real money to a project that is otherwise priced by the foot. This is also the most common reason two quotes for the same footage come back hundreds of dollars apart. Count the gates on each one.
Demo, Haul Off, and Site Access
Removing an old fence is labor, and disposing of it is a fee. If the old fence has concrete footings that have to come out, that is more labor again.
Access matters just as much. A crew that can back a trailer to the fence line works faster than a crew carrying every picket and every bag of concrete through a narrow side gate. Sloped yards, tight easements, tree roots, and existing landscaping all add time, and time is most of the cost of a fence.
Why a Phone Quote Per Foot Is a Guess
Anyone who gives you a flat per foot price over the phone without seeing the yard is estimating around the parts they cannot see. They do not know your grade, your soil, your gate count, your access, or what is already standing there.
Sometimes that guess comes in low and the real number arrives as a change order once the crew is on site. That is the part homeowners hate, and it is avoidable.
What a Real Estimate Looks Like
A good estimate names the species and picket size, the rail count, the post material and spacing, how the posts are set, the number and size of gates, and whether demo and haul off are included. If a quote is one line and one number, there is nothing in it to compare.
Buzz Custom Fence has been pricing and building fences across Fort Worth and DFW for more than 25 years. You get a free on-site estimate with the work spelled out and no surprise charges, every install is backed by our 1-Year Workmanship Warranty, and 12-month no-interest financing is available for a limited time.
Ready for a real number on your yard? Request a free on-site estimate or read more about our fence installation service.