It’s the first thing everyone wants to know, and most fence companies won’t give a number over the phone. That’s not a sales tactic — in the mountains, it’s the honest answer. A privacy fence on a flat lot in Enka is a different project than the same footage running down a sloped, rocky backyard in West Asheville. Still, “it depends” doesn’t help you budget, so here’s what the national data says, what makes Western North Carolina different, and how to get a number you can actually trust.
What the national numbers say
Privacy fences are priced by the linear foot, installed — one rate that covers materials, posts, concrete, hardware, and labor. Nationally, Angi’s 2026 cost data puts the average privacy fence around $35 per linear foot installed, with most full projects landing somewhere between $1,500 and $8,000. For a typical 150-foot run, their figures work out to roughly $2,700 for wood and $3,700 for vinyl, before extras like gates or tearing out an old fence.
Treat those as orientation, not a quote. Pine is the budget option, cedar is the step up in looks and longevity, and vinyl costs more up front but asks almost nothing of you afterward — no staining, no sealing, just an occasional rinse with the hose. Gates add real money depending on width and hardware, and hauling off an existing fence is its own line item.
Why we’d rather look than guess
Any per-foot price quoted before someone has seen your yard is one of two things: padded to be safe, or trimmed to win the phone call. The same 150 feet of fence can come back thousands of dollars apart depending on the slope, what’s under the grass, how many gates you want, whether there’s an old fence to remove, and how close a truck can get to the work. That’s why we’d rather walk the property before talking numbers — and why the estimate is free.
Why Asheville yards break the national calculators
If you’ve Googled fence prices, you’ve seen national cost estimators. Take them with a grain of salt here, for three reasons.
Slope. Very few yards in WNC are flat. On a grade, fence panels either step down the hill in level sections or “rack” to follow the slope — and either way it means more layout work, more cutting, and sometimes building sections stick-by-stick instead of hanging pre-made panels. A steep backyard adds real labor to a quote, and it’s the number one thing a contractor can’t price sight unseen.
Rock. Every post needs a hole, and in the mountains you don’t always know what’s under the grass until the auger finds it. Hitting solid rock a foot down can mean core drilling or rethinking the post layout. It’s one of the most common reasons two quotes for the same yard come back different — one company planned for it and the other didn’t.
Weather. Between the rain and the freeze-thaw winters, WNC is hard on wood fences. Posts set shallow, or set in holes that hold water, will heave and lean within a few seasons. This is where a cheap quote gets expensive — the difference is buried underground, in post depth and concrete, where you can’t see it on installation day.
Permits and HOAs
Fence rules depend on where you live. Inside Asheville city limits, the city’s fence ordinance caps fences at six feet in the front setback and eight feet in side and rear setbacks, and corner lots can’t have anything solid over three and a half feet in the sight triangle near streets and driveways. Buncombe County, Woodfin, Fletcher, and Hendersonville each handle fences their own way, so check the rules for your address before anyone digs — or work with a fence company that deals with them every week. And if your neighborhood has an HOA, get written approval first. Most HOAs regulate height and material, some even stain color, and they can make you tear out a fence that doesn’t conform.
Why quotes vary so much
Get more than one quote. When they come back far apart — and they often do — the difference usually hides in things the drawing doesn’t show. Ask each company how deep the posts are set and whether every post gets concrete. Ask what grade of lumber they’re using; two fences can both say “pressure-treated pine” and not be the same product. Ask whether they’re insured, who actually shows up to build it, and what happens if a gate sags or a post leans two years from now. A low bid that’s vague on those answers usually isn’t the bargain it looks like.
Getting a real number
The only accurate price is one where someone has walked your property, seen the slope, and knows what you want the fence to do — privacy from the road, keeping the dog in, blocking a neighbor’s floodlight. Asheville Fence has been building fences in Western North Carolina since 1966, from our shop on Smokey Park Highway in Candler, and estimates are free. Call (828) 665-8900 or request a free estimate, and we’ll come take a look.