Cedar privacy fence runs $35 to $55 per foot installed, materials and labor together.
A cedar quote inside or near that band is normal. Put your own footage in the estimator and you get the range for your yard in about a minute.
Worked examples
Cedar privacy fence at $35 to $55 a foot, no gates, no removal of an old fence.
| Length | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| 100 feet | $3,500 | $5,500 |
| 150 feet | $5,250 | $8,250 |
| 200 feet | $7,000 | $11,000 |
A fuller job. 150 feet of cedar with one walk gate, and the old fence taken away:
- Fence, 150 feet at $35 to $55: $5,250 to $8,250
- One walk gate at $200 to $600: $200 to $600
- Tear out and haul away 150 feet at $5 to $10 a foot: $750 to $1,500
- Total: about $6,200 to $10,350
Cedar against treated pine
Same 150 feet, side by side:
- Treated pine privacy: $3,750 to $5,250
- Cedar privacy: $5,250 to $8,250
So cedar costs roughly $1,500 to $3,000 more on a typical back yard. The gap starts at the lumber rack. Cedar boards run $12 to $16 a foot against $8 to $10 for treated pine, and a treated dog ear picket runs about $2.35 against $2.86 and up for cedar. Multiply a dollar a picket across a couple of hundred pickets and you can see most of the difference.
What the style does to the price
Cedar prices move with the build, not just the wood. By style, they run like this:
- Board to board, the standard side by side picket fence: $25 to $45 a foot
- Shadowbox, boards alternating on either side of the rails so both yards see the same fence: $28 to $48 a foot
- Board on board, pickets overlapping so no gap opens as the wood dries: $30 to $50 a foot
- Horizontal boards: $35 to $60 a foot, the most expensive of the four, and it needs posts closer together
If a quote comes in near the top of the cedar band, ask which of those you are buying. Board on board uses 15 to 20 percent more boards per foot than a standard privacy fence, and horizontal needs more posts, so both have a real reason to cost more.
What else moves the price
Gates. A walk gate runs $200 to $600 and a double drive gate $600 to $2,500.
Removal. Taking out and hauling away an old fence runs $5 to $10 a foot in Toledo.
Slope and heavy clay. Both slow a crew down, and the hours land in your quote.
Height. Toledo allows 6 feet along the side and rear and 3.5 feet in a front yard. Over 6 feet you are into a building permit and a plan review.
Posts. Toledo’s code says wood fence posts must be treated lumber. A cedar fence here is normally cedar rails and pickets on treated posts, and that is code rather than a corner being cut.
Finish. Pre-stained, ready-built cedar panels are hard to find locally. If you want the fence stained, treat it as a separate line and ask when it can be done.
Get more than one quote
Dozens of fence companies serve the Toledo area, and many of them run on two to six people. A two person shop with no website can hold an A plus accredited record with the Better Business Bureau, while one of the oldest names in town has one of the weaker customer ratings. Size tells you very little here.
The only way to know where your cedar quote sits is to collect two or three quotes for the same yard and the same build. Write down the footage, the height, the number of gates and the picket style before you call, so every company is pricing the same fence.
Sales tax
Ohio treats a fence set in the ground as an improvement to real property. Under Ohio Administrative Code 5703-9-14 the contractor is the consumer of the materials, so he pays sales tax on the cedar when he buys it and does not charge you tax on the job. Your invoice should be a single lump sum with no tax line on the bottom.
Before you sign
Ask three questions. Which grade and style of cedar, since the word covers a lot of different boards. What the posts are, and how deep they go. And whether the price includes the permit, which in the City of Toledo is a $50 Certificate of Zoning Compliance.
Ohio code also requires the finished side of the fence to face your neighbor and the street in Toledo, so if you want to see the smooth side yourself, that is a conversation to have before the posts go in, not after.
See your price range
Put your footage into the estimator, pick cedar, add your gates, and see the range for your own yard. If it looks right, request a quote and up to three local fence pros will come and measure.
Questions people ask
How much more is cedar than treated pine?
On 150 feet, treated pine runs about $3,750 to $5,250 installed in Toledo and cedar runs about $5,250 to $8,250 in Ohio. Call it $1,500 to $3,000 more for that length.
Can my cedar fence have cedar posts in Toledo?
The city code says wood fence posts must be treated lumber, so a cedar fence in Toledo is normally built on treated posts with cedar rails and pickets.
Do I still need a permit for cedar?
Yes. Toledo requires a $50 Certificate of Zoning Compliance for any fence regardless of material or height. The suburbs each have their own rule.
Can I get cedar panels pre-stained?
We could not verify any supplier near Toledo selling pre-stained ready-built privacy panels. Ask your installer what he can get, and expect a special order.