How do we price fence installation jobs?

FAQ: Do we price jobs by the linear foot?

Short answer: 

No.

Long answer: 

We get frequent calls and messages asking “what do you charge per foot for xxx style fence?”. We tell most callers that we just can’t provide a cost per foot. If you are looking to install one section it’s going to have a lot higher cost per foot than if you are looking to install one thousand sections and there is a spectrum of cost per foot charges for every size job in between. Typically, this means that we are less competitively priced on small jobs and much more competitively priced on larger projects (>200 linear feet). We still do install a lot of smaller projects as our customers trust us and want an experienced crew with all the proper materials and equipment to install their jobs but it does mean that our smaller jobs aren’t typically awarded to us just based on price alone. Our customers would rather pay a little more for their small jobs because they know we stand behind our work and they will have a good experience working with us rather than save a bit of money and the job create a headache for them. Another reason why we don’t provide blanket costs per foot to install fences is it helps us weed out those who are just price shopping and looking for the lowest cost. It saves us a lot of time not being able to give linear foot costs as typically they are just calling around trying to find the cheapest quote. Sometimes we are the cheapest quote but it isn’t the norm. Our customers for the most part are more interested in quality, service and dependability than saving some money and having issues with their fence either during the installation process or down the road.

Now back to the original question, simply put we price our jobs using a pretty detailed excel spreadsheet that details all of our costs of doing business, material costs for each specific job, what our labor rates are and expected labor production. We add up the exact material cost required for each project (not sparing any necessary expense), we add our labor burden for the job, our overhead costs for the job and then a percentage for profit so we can stay in business and that is the price for each job. When pricing by the foot we have found that you can either just break even or lose money on small projects and then way overcharge on larger projects. For us to stay in business and continue to give our customers the level of service and quality they expect we need to be making a set percentage on each job so we can be around for years to come. 

So, if you are located in Sarasota, Manatee, Pinellas or Hillsborough counties please give us a call. We offer free, no obligation quotes and would love the opportunity to have a shot at your next fence project and the possibility to partner with you on it. We will do everything we can to make it the best fence project you’ve ever done!

Our service areas: Manatee, Sarasota, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. Sarasota, Venice, Osprey, Bradenton, Ruskin, Parrish, Ellenton, St. Petersburg, Largo, and everywhere in between!