Why do fencing quotes vary so much?

Start with the part nobody can quote away. MyBuilder found fencing prices vary by 20% to 30% between installers for identical specifications, and their explanation is unglamorous: how busy the contractor is, how far they are travelling and how they buy materials. A quiet week in February and a fully booked week after a storm produce different numbers from the same firm. That variance is real before anyone changes the specification, which means two honest quotes can differ by hundreds of pounds on exactly the same job.

Then check the unit. A price per panel and a price per metre cannot be compared without knowing the panel width, and "fencing from £32 a panel" is usually a supply only merchant price. A fitted bay also needs a post at £22 to £35 to supply or £50 to £80 fitted, a gravel board at £8 to £23.60 to supply or £30 to £70 fitted, a bag of postcrete at about £7.50, and £40 to £60 of labour. The honest installed equivalent lands at £70 to £130 per metre.

Scope is where most of the remaining gap hides: removing the old fence, breaking out concreted footings at £50 to £100 per post, tipping charges or skip hire, gravel boards, and the treatment level of the timber. Dip treated and pressure treated panels look identical stacked on a driveway. Forest Garden's own guarantee terms separate them: dip treated products must not go into direct ground contact, must sit on a pressure treated gravel board, and must be retreated every year. At Wickes that gap is £32 against £41.50.

Labour assumptions differ too. Published national fencing day rates run £240 to £400, hourly work is typically around £30 with a minimum call out of one to two hours, and a rate aggregator lists Cheltenham at £32 an hour and £234 a day excluding VAT, which is an aggregator rather than an industry survey. An installer covering 10 to 15 panels a day prices your job in days, so a job landing awkwardly at a day and a half may be quoted as two. That explains some odd looking totals.

Make the quotes comparable before you compare them. Ask each installer for the same eight lines in writing: total metres, fence height, panel or board type, post material and size, gravel board material, whether removal and tipping of the old fence is included, the minimum charge, and whether the total includes or excludes VAT. An installer who will not put those in writing is not someone to hand a deposit to. Our own guide ranges are published on the costs page and exclude VAT.

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