Post and Rail fencing...utterly ridicolous prices!£3500 for 1/2 acre!

[seabiscuit]

I have just been quoted, by 3 different fencing companies, £3250 to £3500 for a mere 180 metres of post and rail fencing!! ( to go around a tiny 1/2 acre paddock)
Am gobsmacked.That cannot be right can it??

Even if I ordered just two rails on the fencing instead of 3 rails, it would still be about £2500!!

 

[S_N]

Good GOD!! You buy the raw material and I'll come and do it!!

 

[6410]

I could do all of that for £500 labour with customer supplying the wood.

 

[seabiscuit]

I know!! I literally screamed when I heard that price! I thought it was just the one company, but no, 2 other companies quoted the same!

PMSL Iz!! You are welcome to come and put it up

 

[seabiscuit]

Are you serious?! That would be fab if you are! Would you come to Hampshire and do it if I pay your petrol

 

[S_N]

[ QUOTE ]
I know!! I literally screamed when I heard that price! I thought it was just the one company, but no, 2 other companies quoted the same!

PMSL Iz!! You are welcome to come and put it up

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm damn sure we could do it between us!! Fencing is not rocket science - I've done enough of it with my Father and on the Studs that I have worked on!

 

[sevenoceans]

OMG!!!! REALLY!!!!! U can buy materials easily and we give u hand.... boris would love to see his auntie again!!!

 

[poggio]

Timber is seriously expensive these days... but if you've been quoted that by a company they're bound to be overcharging

 

[PeterNatt]

It is not over the top if the job is done properly, done with heavy duty post and 3 rails and it will last.

Although the wood will come as treated the contractors should paint it all again before installing it. The holes should be drilled out in the rails as if you nail directly in to them it will cause it to split. At least every third post should be concreted in as should every corner post. The gates should have the hinges reversed on them to prevent the gates being lifted off the hinges. I also recommend having Equi-fencing (a tight type of sheep fencing) put over it to prevent them kicking through it.

 

[clipclop]

Sounds reasonable to me.

If you are being quoted for quality P & R. It's labout intensive.

Could you go and have a look at some examples of their past installations?

You may well find it cheaper if you find a good "One man band" operation. They won't have the overheads that a larger company has.

If we were to fit P & R, to do 200 metres would probably cost in excess of £4,000.

Our overheads are huge and with growing costs of health and safety, training, soaring insurance premiums and all the other joys of employing people and running a business,,,,,,,,we don't get asked to do much post and rail fencing. LOL.

Ask around locally, Order your own timber and find someone to fit it for you. That way you are in control of the materials used and you can agree a price for labour.

Right, I will stop waffling. Tarraaaa for now

 

[cloppy]

sounds about right I know someone who paid 4k for 225 metres and it was a terrible job not as peternatt describes.

 

[conniegirl]

what we did was buy the materials, get a local farmer to knock in the posts and we screwed the horizontal bars on ourself, total cost for about half an acre (or there abouts), £300 (with 4 rails not 3).

 

[severnmiles]

Thats stupidly expensive! We did a 3acre(half actually as the other half was a bloomin great big hedge) field for a few hundred (materials only), borrowed our friends post knocker and it only took us a day!

 

[Maesfen]

We are upping sticks and moving down to your way if that's what the going rate is down there!!

Out of interest I'll get OH to do a quote for you. Is it 3 rails, do you want half round or 4 x 2" sawn rails? You can get Tannabrown (already darkened) rails but the colour fades within a month or two so not really worth it, still better with the creosote after it's weathered a bit) What about electric rope on top to stop chewing? If to divide a field we would recommend e.rope both sides, it stops them getting too close to each other which is when the damage happens as they lean or kick out and is well worth the extra (in the scheme of things, the extra £60 ish, is far cheaper than having to repair broken rails and spoil what should be a neat job!)

Would be interested to know what they charged for labour and what for materials too.