Fencing · Service

Fence repair, decided at the post

Most fences fail at the post and get repaired at the panel. We match you with local fence crews and show you how to tell which one you actually have — and whether new material will match what is already up.

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In short

What is fence repair?

Fence repair covers resetting or replacing failed posts, swapping damaged boards, panels or mesh, and rehanging gates that have dropped. The diagnosis that matters is simple: push the fence at the top of a post. If the post moves in the ground, you have a post failure and patching panels will not fix it. If the post is solid and only the boards are gone, the repair is genuinely cheap and worth doing.

Triggers

Signs you need fence repair

A section leans while the sections either side of it stand straight
You can rock a post at the top and feel movement at ground level
Boards have gone soft, dark and spongy in the bottom few inches where they meet the soil
The gate drags on the ground, or the latch no longer lines up with the keeper
A storm or a fallen limb has taken out one run and left the rest intact
Vinyl panels have cracked or popped out of their rails after a cold snap or an impact

Seeing something not on this list? Browse fencing problems by symptom →

The job

How fence repair actually works

Walk the whole fence, not just the broken part

A crew should test every post along the run before quoting, because the section you noticed is usually the first of several to reach the same age. Wood posts almost always fail at grade, where wet soil meets air.

Watch for: A quote written from a photograph. If nobody has pushed the posts, the quote is a guess and the second visit is a change order.
Decide post reset versus post replacement

A post that is sound but has loosened in the ground can sometimes be reset. A post that has rotted through at grade cannot — and a post snapped inside a concrete collar has to come out with the collar, which is most of the work.

Watch for: Bracing a rotten post rather than replacing it. Sistering a splint onto a failed post is a common quick fix that looks like a repair and buys a season at most.
Source the replacement material and check the match

This is where fence repairs get decided. Weathered cedar, sun-faded vinyl and older powder-coat colours do not match current stock, and profiles get discontinued. Vinyl and composite manufacturers change tooling; a nominally identical panel can be a different rail height.

Watch for: Nobody raising the match question. The standard trade workaround is to harvest matching material from a hidden elevation — behind the garage, under a deck, along a run nobody sees — and put the new stock there instead. If the crew does not suggest it, ask.
Do the repair and re-tension the run

Posts are reset or replaced, panels rehung, mesh re-stretched and tied, hardware swapped. On chain link, the fabric is re-tensioned along the run rather than just fixed at the break.

Watch for: A repaired section that is now noticeably tighter or looser than its neighbours. On wood, check that the new boards are gapped the same as the old ones — new lumber shrinks and boards butted tight will open up.
Ask why it failed

Repeated failure in one spot is usually a cause, not a coincidence: a downspout discharging at a post, a sprinkler soaking one section nightly, a grade that ponds, or a gate pulling its post over.

Watch for: A crew that fixes the same section twice without mentioning the sprinkler. Fixing the cause is often cheaper than the second repair.

Money

What does fence repair cost?

Fence repair is usually priced per post, per panel or per gate, plus a call-out that covers the crew showing up at all. That call-out means one panel and four panels often cost far less than four times apart. Bundle everything you know about into a single visit.

See the full fence repair cost guide — by material, size and region →

Repair or replace? → Work the post count and the run length before you decide which conversation you are having.

Straight answer

When fence repair is the wrong call

Everyone else ranking for this is paid when you say yes. Here's when you shouldn't.

More than a handful of posts move when you push them. Posts age together because they were set together. Repairing them one at a time means paying the mobilisation charge repeatedly for the same fence, and the total overtakes replacement quickly.
Nothing available will match, and the fence is highly visible. A patched front-yard fence in three shades reads worse than an old fence in one. If the repair will be obvious on the fence people see, weigh it against replacing that run outright.
The fence is on the wrong side of the property line. Repairing an encroaching fence extends it, and puts money into a structure you may be required to move. Establish the boundary first — this is the one situation where a repair actively makes things worse.
It is a pool barrier and the failure is in the gate or the gaps. A pool fence has a safety function, and a repair that leaves it non-compliant leaves the risk in place. That is not a handyman fix.
The damage is storm damage and you have not filed yet. Repairing before your insurer has seen it can complicate the claim. Photograph it, report it, then repair — in that order.
You are replacing the fence within a year anyway. Spending on posts you are about to pull is pure loss. Brace the unsafe section and put the money toward the replacement.

Straight answer

Can I do this myself?

Reasonable to DIY

Testing every post along the run and mapping which ones move — this is the whole diagnosis and it takes ten minutes
Replacing individual fence boards or pickets on a fence with sound posts
Swapping gate hardware — hinges, latches, a drop rod
Tightening chain link ties and refitting a top rail that has come loose at a coupling
Redirecting a downspout or moving a sprinkler head away from a post that keeps rotting

Call a licensed pro

Removing a snapped post that is still set in a concrete collar
Any run where several posts have failed at once
Pool barrier repairs, where the fence has a safety function
Re-stretching chain link fabric, which needs a come-along and a stretcher bar to do properly
Repairs where a boundary or a neighbour agreement is in question

Before you sign

What to check when hiring for fence repair

Did you test every post, or only the section I called about?

A repair quote written without walking the full run is a partial quote. You want to know now if three more posts are close behind.
Are you resetting this post or replacing it, and why?

Resetting a rotten post is not a repair. You want to hear a reason grounded in the condition of the wood at grade.
Will the new material match, and what happens if it does not?

The question most likely to change the outcome. Ask specifically about harvesting matching material from a low-visibility run.
Is the old concrete coming out, or are you setting beside it?

Setting a new post next to the old collar shifts the fence line and puts the post in disturbed ground. Sometimes acceptable, always worth knowing.
What do you think caused this, and will it happen again?

A sprinkler, a downspout or a grade problem will bring the crew back. A good one will tell you unprompted.
Is there a minimum charge, and does it change if I add work now?

Repair pricing is dominated by the call-out. Bundling is usually the single biggest saving available on this job.

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Local pros

Fence Repair near you

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Related work

Often done at the same time

Fence Installation

When repair stops being worth it

Fence Gate Installation

The most-repaired part of any fence

Fence Removal

Taking out what is past saving

Commercial Fence Installation

Site fencing and perimeters

All fencing services →

FAQ

Fence Repair — questions people ask

Still have a question? Talk to our team →

How do I tell if I need a repair or a whole new fence?

Count the moving posts. Walk the fence and push firmly at the top of every post — if one or two move and the rest are solid, you have a repair. If most of them move, or you can push a screwdriver into the wood at ground level on several, the fence is at the end of its service life and section repairs will chase the failure along the run. Panels rotting while posts stay solid is the good case; posts going while panels look fine is the expensive one.

Can you replace just one fence post?

Yes, and it is routine work. The complication is what is in the ground. A post set in dirt or gravel pulls with a bit of digging. A post set in a concrete collar that has snapped off at grade means excavating the collar, and that is most of the labour on the job — which is why single-post pricing varies so much between fences that look identical above ground.

Will the new boards match my old fence?

Not immediately, and sometimes not ever. New wood is lighter and will weather toward the old colour over a season or two, though rarely to an exact match. Vinyl and aluminium are harder — colours are reformulated, profiles are discontinued, and a replacement panel from the same brand can differ in rail height. The practical answer used across the trade is to take matching material from a run nobody looks at and put the new stock there instead.

My gate has dropped and drags on the ground. Is that a gate problem?

Usually it is a post problem. A gate hangs its entire weight off one post, permanently, and that post is being levered out of the ground every time the gate swings. Rehanging the gate or shimming the hinges treats the symptom; if the hinge post is leaning, the fix is the post. Diagonal bracing on the gate frame itself is the other common cause — a gate that has racked out of square has usually lost its brace or had it fitted the wrong way round.

Who pays when the fence is on the property line?

It depends on where the fence sits and on your state, and it is worth checking before the work rather than after. Several states have statutes covering cost-sharing between adjoining owners on a boundary fence, and they differ considerably in what a neighbour can be required to contribute. Whatever you agree, put it in writing and sign it before the crew books in.