Repair the fence when the trouble is in one area and the posts everywhere else are firm. Replace it when the repair bill approaches half the price of a new fence, or when the posts are failing from one end to the other.
A simple way to decide
- Repair: a single damaged area, firm posts on both sides, rails and boards worth keeping.
- Replace one run: a group of posts next to each other has gone, but the fence past them stands straight.
- Replace the fence: posts rock or are soft at the soil line all along it, or the repair would cost about half of a new fence.
My fence is about 15 years old, a few posts are rotted and it leans. Posts or whole fence?
Test each post by hand before deciding. Lean on it and watch the base. If only a few give, replace those and keep the rest. If most of them rock, the fence has reached the end of its posts and new ones here and there will not stop the next failure. Wood posts in Akron's damp clay tend to go at the soil line well before the boards wear out.
The repair quote is $1,400 and a new fence is $5,200. Which makes sense?
The repair, if the posts that are staying are solid. $1,400 is roughly 27 percent of $5,200, far below the half-cost line. The risk is paying for another repair next year. Ask the contractor to check the remaining posts and put in writing how many passed.
Half my pickets are rotting and the gate will not close. Fix it section by section?
You can, provided the posts and rails are still good. Start with the gate, since a gate that will not close points to a post that has moved and that is structural. Then change the pickets one stretch at a time. Pickets rot from the bottom where mulch, leaves or snow lie against them, so clear the base of the fence when the new ones go on.
How long does a wood fence last in Akron?
We will not give one number, because it would not be honest. The life of a wood fence depends on the species, the depth of the posts, the drainage and whether it is sealed. Cedar boards outlast pine boards. Posts set shallow in wet ground fail early. A fence kept sealed and clear of soil and leaves lasts longer than a neglected one.
A measured, written quote is the only number you can rely on, and ours is free. Call (330) 521-3641 or text a photo of the yard.