We put up new wood fences and gates across Cedar Mill, Beaverton, Bethany and the streets around them. Going by Portland-area market figures from November 2026, a fence of about 150 feet usually costs $1,700 to $7,500, materials included . Send a picture of where it should run to and you'll get a written number back .
Slava has spent 7 years doing this work with his own hands.
Which fence styles and gates can Cedar Mill Property Repair put up?
Wood, mostly. Around here the standard backyard privacy fence means cedar pickets fastened to pressure-treated posts and rails, so that's our default quote . Low picket fences for a front yard are on the list too, plus single walk-through gates and wide double gates for a driveway.
Vinyl and chain link may not be . Steel gates and railings are their own job: a snapped hinge tab or a cracked frame joint can be welded if the metal around it is still sound .
Check your existing posts first. When nearly all of them stand firm and it's just a few pickets or one rail that failed, fence repair costs far less than starting over.
What does fencing cost per job and per foot here?
These rows show what similar Portland-area work tends to run, collected from market sources this November. Treat them as a guide, not our quote.
| Job | Low | Typical | High | Unit | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New wood fence | $1,700 | $3,200 | $7,500 | roughly 150 ft | materials included |
| Wood gate, built or rebuilt | $250 | $600 | $1,500 | job | materials included |
| Welding a steel gate or railing | $300 | $600 | $1,500 | job | labour only |
The table prices a run of about 150 feet as one job, not by the foot . Length and height drive most of it. Next come pulling the old fence, the gate count, slope, a narrow side yard where every board gets hand-carried, and board-on-board styles that use nearly twice the pickets . Hourly and minimum charges live on our prices page.
Does a new fence need a permit in Washington County, Portland or Beaverton?
That turns on which government your lot sits under, and three of them share our zone. We checked each rule in November 2026.
| Lot is in | Permit kicks in at | Also |
|---|---|---|
| Unincorporated Washington County | Above 7 ft; setbacks apply | Retaining walls above 4 ft also need one |
| City of Portland | Wood above 7 ft; masonry or concrete above 4 ft; chain link or woven wire above 8 ft; every pool enclosure | Front setback usually capped at 3½ ft |
| City of Beaverton | Ask the city's building office | Its own setbacks may apply |
HOA rules can be stricter still.
Do fence posts need a utility locate first?
Yes. Oregon's dig rules treat a fence post hole as excavation, so somebody files a locate two to ten business days before the first hole: dial 811, or 1-800-332-2344, or go through Oregon811.com. Wait longer than 45 calendar days to start and the ticket has to be renewed.
Utility crews paint their own lines only as far as the meter or the spot where your private service begins. Anything beyond is on you: irrigation pipe, landscape lighting wire, power run out to a shed or spa. Before digging we'll ask you to walk the route and show us what you know is down there .
How is the fence line decided?
You mark the boundary, and the fence goes on your side of it. Property lines are settled by survey pins or a surveyor, never by us.
In Portland city limits nothing may stand in the public right-of-way, and that strip often reaches farther into a front yard than owners assume. On a shared boundary, agree with the neighbour on height, which face looks their way and the cost split before any lumber shows up.
What keeps fence posts from rotting in west-side soil?
Wood posts almost always fail at grade, the inch or two that stays soaked from fall through spring. So how a post is set counts for more than the pickets.
Slava's method goes here: post size, hole depth, concrete or gravel, and a crowned footing top that sheds water . Many fence crews sell steel posts or wood bolted to buried pipe; his straight take on that belongs here as well .
On sloped lots, common on West Slope, the fence either steps down in level sections or rakes to follow the ground. When a large fir root crosses the route, we'd move a post before cutting it .
How do you build a gate that stays square?
Sagging starts when the gate's weight drags the latch side down and pulls its post over. So the hinge post is the heaviest on the run, the frame gets a diagonal from the low hinge corner up toward the latch side, the hardware is rated for the gate's weight, and the latch opens from either side.
Width gets planned around the mower, the garbage cart and a wheelbarrow .
How does a fence project run, start to finish?
- Photos by text or a visit, then a written estimate.
- Over $2,000, Oregon guidance says the agreement has to be on paper; see what Oregon expects in a home-improvement contract.
- The locate ticket goes in and we wait out the two business days.
- Old fencing comes out .
- Posts, then rails, pickets and gate, then cleanup.
Expect a 150-foot fence to take from first post to last picket.
What do we leave out of fence work?
No chemical moss treatments. Removing an old painted fence from a pre-1978 home can disturb lead paint, which we stay away from . Retaining walls are still an open question . See the jobs we don't take for the rest and who handles them.