Picking a Season to Install Your Fence/Deck

by Eugene Sheely

If you’re looking to have a contractor help you with a fence or deck there are many considerations that must be going in your mind, such as materials, style, price and time installation. There are some pros and cons to having your fence and/or deck installed in different seasons, I’ll list some of these and hopefully help you make a better decision that works best for you:

• Many people like the summer months for installing their fence/deck  if they have kids, since they don’t have to worry about dropping them off to school and have a little more free time to manage home improvements such as adding or upgrading a fence and/or deck. This also means that there is high demand for the contractors services, and you might have to wait a few weeks or months before the project gets started, and you won’t be able to bargain for a lower price either.
• If you’re building a wood fence you might want to start your fence as soon as possible since prices for supplies are always increasing. Only waiting a few months may see a price increase of 20% which could have been prevented by installing the fence earlier. Prices usually increase at the beginning of spring, but rates can also vary throughout the year. On the other hand prices are rather steady for non-wood fences and decks (composite materials such as Trex for both fencing and decking, Iron fencing, etc).
• An added benefit for winter installs is that the contractors want to keep their crews busy, and with the lower demand during the winter they may be willing to negotiate a better labor rate with you. If you’re looking to install a non-wood fence or deck (such as Trex, Iron, etc) and don’t mind waiting to have it installed during the summer you may get a better deal by negotiating the labor rates. This may be risky with wood however since the price for supplies may have gone up by then and you may or may not have an overall better deal financially (but like I mentioned before, the proce increase for wood typically but not always happens in early spring).
• If you have a smaller project (Example under 100 ft for fencing) you may have the contractors reject it as being too small during the summer as they focus on large projects with the high demand for their labor, but in the winter when demand is lower you might be able to have the contractor pick up a smaller project.

Ultimately the best time to install a fence or deck depends on context and what works best for the individual. Contact us at 801-374-6428 for a free estimate.