TikTok Shows You How To Save Thousands On A Fence By DIYing Your Own
Having a privacy fence installed by a professional can cost you big bucks. The quote you receive from a contractor is based on many variables including height, material, and the size of your yard. While the national average is $4,300 according to Angi.com, it can be significantly higher if you want pressure-treated wood on a half-acre lot. A fence is an investment in your property, but if you want to save on labor, TikTok has some useful tips that can help you save thousands of dollars.
You will need some basic DIY skills and heavy-duty tools to build your own fence. If this is your first foray into DIY home improvement, try to recruit some more experienced friends to help you get started. Another option is starting small. Practice digging post holes and setting them in cement for a small garden fence or something similar. When it comes to tools, familiarize yourself with how they work before starting your project and always adhere to safety guidelines. Building your own fence won't save you much money if you end up with a massive hospital bill, and you can't put a price on your health and safety. Also, have your utility lines marked before you dig to make sure you don't accidentally cut an important line.
Building a privacy fence
The minds behind the TikTok account twotrailerparkgirls_ clearly have some experience with power tools, and they gave some excellent guidance on how to save money by installing your own privacy fence. After getting a $20,000 quote from a contractor, they decided they could do it themselves with better materials for a fraction of the price. One of the tips we love in this video is using mental foundation posts set in concrete instead of wood. When the foundation of the fence cannot rot, you can replace individual sections or boards as needed, which will also save money in the long run.
These evidently skilled women used a level and string to install straight horizontal supports connecting them to the metal poles with rust-proof brackets and screws. With the basic structure in place, they added vertical slats to complete the project. There is no doubt that a lot of sweat equity went into building this fence — digging post holes alone is a lot of work — but by doing this project themselves, the TikTokers saved them more than $13,000 according to one of their replies in the comments.
Other types of fencing
Chain link fence material lasts pretty much forever, so it's a good option if you don't want to replace or maintain your wood fence. Installing chain link yourself is possible, but it requires specialized tools and some DIY experience. You will also probably need a couple of folks to help out. If you enjoy the challenge of a project, this might be one to take on. Otherwise, it could be worth the extra cost to ensure it's done by a professional.
For those who just need to install a small fenced area — like a picket fence around a garden or play area — you can take the tips from the TikTok video above and install them on a smaller scale. This is a great way to practice your fence-building skills while creating a protected area to keep pesky animals out of your garden or help ensure your kiddos don't stray too far from home.