DIY vs Professional Fence Installation: Pros and Cons

Stuck deciding whether to tackle your fence installation yourself or call in the pros? Most homeowners find themselves weighing up the options at some point. The fence chat isn’t the most exciting pub conversation starter, but get it wrong and you could be looking at a wonky eyesore for years to come. Let’s break down the real deal about DIY versus calling in the professionals.

What Is DIY Fence Installation?

Rolling up your sleeves and putting up your own fence means exactly that – you’re doing the lot yourself. No blokes in vans turning up with all the gear. It’s just you, a pile of timber and panels, and probably a weekend (or three) of graft ahead.

When you’re going the DIY route, you’ll be popping down to the timber merchant yourself, figuring out how many panels you need, and hoping your car boot’s big enough. Then it’s you against the elements – digging holes that’ll make your back scream, mixing concrete that’ll ruin your trainers, and praying the British weather plays nice for once.

Materials Preparation

First job – buying the stuff. Expect to spend Saturday morning wandering around looking lost in a timber yard, trying to spot the difference between pressure-treated and regular posts.

Ground Work

Next up – the sweaty bit. Marking out where everything goes with string that keeps blowing away, digging holes deeper than you thought possible, and finding every rock your garden has been hiding for decades.

Assembly and Construction

Finally – making it stand up straight. Somehow getting those massive panels attached while holding a spirit level, hammer, and screws simultaneously. Then realising you need three hands.

Pros and Cons of DIY Fence Installation

Let’s get real about doing it yourself – there’s good and bad, and your mates probably won’t tell you the bad until you’re knee-deep in mud.

Cost Savings

The obvious winner – you’ll save a packet. Labour typically eats up half the cost of a professional job. That’s money for beer and barbecues once the fence is up.

Flexible Timeline

Started digging and realised the football’s on? No worries. DIY means working when you fancy it. Leave that post half-concreted in if you need to (though the neighbours might talk).

Personal Satisfaction

That smug feeling when someone compliments your fence and you get to casually drop “Oh, I put that up myself.” Worth every blister.

Potential Quality Issues

Let’s be honest – your first fence probably won’t be perfectly straight. Professional fencers have put up hundreds. You’ve put up… well, none.

Time-Intensive

What the pros do in a day might take you an entire bank holiday weekend. And that’s if it doesn’t rain, you don’t hit unexpected pipes, and your drill battery doesn’t die.

Tool Requirements

Unless you’re secretly hoarding post hole diggers and cement mixers, you’ll need to buy or borrow tools. That “cheap” DIY job suddenly got pricier.

Had enough of traditional fences already? You might want to see our garden fence alternatives that won’t have you digging holes till sunset.

What Is Professional Fence Installation?

This is where you pay people who actually know what they’re doing to sort your fence. The blokes who turn up with a van full of proper tools (not just the rusty hammer you found in the shed) and get the job done while you watch through the window with a cuppa.

When we install fences, we don’t just bang in a few posts and scarper. We check everything’s square, level, and properly anchored so your fence isn’t blown into the next postcode during the first autumn gale.

Professional Assessment

We’ll have a proper nose around your garden first. Spotting that subtle slope you didn’t notice, checking for underground cables, and making sure we’re actually putting the fence on your land, not your neighbour’s.

Technical Knowledge

We know which concrete mix works best in your soil, how deep those posts need to go, and whether your council might kick up a fuss about the height. Boring stuff, but it matters.

Efficiency and Speed

We’ve done this thousands of times. What takes you all weekend takes us a few hours – and we don’t spend half the day looking for the right screwdriver.

Pros and Cons of Professional Fence Installation

Calling in the pros has its perks, but your wallet might not thank you.

Quality Assurance

When we fit a fence, we guarantee it’ll stay upright. If it doesn’t, we’ll come back and fix it. Try getting that guarantee from yourself.

Speed and Efficiency

We’ll have your fence up faster than you can learn how to use a post hole digger. Usually wrapped up in a day, maybe two for bigger jobs.

Technical Expertise

Got a garden that slopes like a ski run? Clay soil that turns to concrete in summer? We’ve seen it all before and have the tricks to handle it.

Higher Cost

No sugar-coating this one – professionals aren’t cheap. You’re looking at paying several hundred quid more than DIY. Sometimes well over a grand for larger gardens.

Scheduling Constraints

Want your fence up this weekend? Good luck. Popular contractors often book out weeks in advance, especially in spring and summer.

Less Personal Involvement

You won’t get those DIY bragging rights. No one’s impressed when you say “I paid someone to do that.” Mind you, no one sees the blisters you didn’t get either.

Time and Effort Considerations

Let’s talk time – your most precious resource that DIY fencing gobbles up like nobody’s business.

DIY Timeline

For your average garden boundary, you’re looking at:

• A day wasted measuring incorrectly, then re-measuring, then panic-buying extra bits
• A weekend of digging that leaves you walking like you’ve ridden a horse for the first time
• Another weekend attaching panels while your spouse holds them and complains about their arms hurting

Professional Timeline

Meanwhile, with the pros:

• A quick chat over a brew while they measure up
• A bit of waiting while they fit you into their schedule
• One day of watching them work while you pretend to be busy inside

Skill Level and Tools Needed

Before you start acting like you’re on Ground Force, let’s check if you’ve got what it takes.

Basic Required Skills

Ever mixed concrete before? Know how to use a spirit level properly? Can you drill a straight hole? If you answered “no” to any of these, you might be in for some YouTube tutorials before starting.

Essential Tools

Your sad little toolbox probably isn’t up to this job. You’ll need proper kit: post hole diggers (not just a garden spade), a decent power drill, circular saw, and more measuring devices than a science lab.

Physical Demands

Hope you’ve been to the gym lately. You’ll be lifting 25kg bags of concrete, manhandling heavy timber posts, and doing more squats than your PT would ever recommend.

If you’re not up for that level of graft, you might want to consider types of fences that are low maintenance instead of traditional timber options, such as composite fencing.

Final Thoughts

So what’s it to be – DIY hero or professional call-out?

Truth is, it depends on your wallet, your calendar, and how honest you are about your DIY skills. That YouTube tutorial makes it look easy, but so does baking on Bake Off until you try it yourself.

If you’ve got a straightforward job, some willing helpers, and don’t mind your fence taking twice as long as expected, DIY can save you serious cash. If your garden’s complicated, you need it done yesterday, or you want something that’ll still be standing after the next storm, professionals earn their money.

Either way, don’t rush into it. Proper planning prevents poor performance, as they say. And remember – that fence will be staring at you every day for the next decade. Choose wisely.