True Cost Tuesday

I want to break down the actual costs of a recent job I did and compare it to doing it yourself. There is definitely money to be saved and pride to be had for doing it yourself. But I want to break down the numbers so you can decide if it is worth it for you to hire a professional or to do it yourself.

This privacy fence was in a backyard and was 87' long. For ease I included tax into the individual prices of each item and totaled each section.

Materials: $863.56

11x) pressure treated 4x4x8' posts $11.80 each ($129.80 total)

11x) 50 lbs bags of Quick crete $4.98 each ($54.78 total)

22x) pressure treated 2x4x8' supports $4.58 each ($100.76 total)

190x) pressure treated 5/8"x5.5"x6' pickets $2.28 each ($433.20 total)

760x) 2" nail gun nails $45.97 for 1,000 ($45.97 total)

88x) 3" decking screws $10.98 for 62 ($24.05 total)

$75 delivery fee or you spending approximately 4 hours picking out materials, loading materials, and unloading materials if you have a truck or trailer. Or having to rent one if you do not.

Tools: $716.11

Auger from Harbor Freight $240.89

Nail gun from Lowes $217.91

Air tank from Lowes $141.26

Air hose from Lowes $29.54

Drill from Lowes $86.51

If that price is ridiculous and you want to just rent the tools instead of buying tools that will take up space in your garage: $196.01

Auger rental $99.65/day

Nail gun rental $43.80/day

Air tank rental $28.47/day

Drill rental $24.09/day

So grand totals

Buying materials and tools: $1,579.67 and google average 16 hours of your time (buying tools, watching videos on how to install fence, plotting out property line, making a materials list, ordering materials, digging 11 holes, installing 11 posts with concrete, installing 22 support rails, installing 190 fence pickets, cleaning up, taking any debris to a landfill)

Buying materials and renting tools: $1,059.57 and google average 16 hours of your time

(lining up availability for tool rental, watching videos on how to install fence, plotting out property line, making a materials list, ordering materials, picking up tool rentals, digging 11 holes, installing 11 posts with concrete, installing 22 support rails, installing 190 fence pickets, cleaning up, returning rented tools, taking any debris to a landfill)

Hiring a professional

Right now I charge $23/ft for this style privacy fencing. Total $2,000 for materials, labor, clean up. This project was done in 2 days. Day 1 was plotting out property line, digging holes, setting posts in concrete. Day 2 was installing horizontal supports, installing pickets, and clean up. And the average temperature while working this job was 20 degrees.

So finally total savings:

-buying materials and tools and 16 hours of work in 20 degrees weather: $420.33 or $26.27/hr

-buying materials and renting tools and 16 hours of work in 20 degrees weather: $940.43 or $58.78/hr

Yes you can definitely save money by doing it yourself! This project gets you a few fun tools to play with and saves you over $400. If you are making less than $26.27/hr at your current job, it is worth your time to do it yourself.

If you have no need for tools in your garage and want to rent, then your savings go up to almost $1,000. If you make less than $58.78/hr, then it is worth your time to do it yourself!

And with that kind of savings you might just get a back rub from your spouse to work out those sore muscles.