Case Study: How a Toronto Homeowner Saved Over $16,000 by Repairing Her Fence Instead of Replacing It

Casey's first instinct was to call fence contractors. She received 3 quotes to tear down the existing fence and build a brand-new board-on-board fence in the same style.

Contractor 1 quoted removal at $8 per foot, new build at $102 per foot, plus $850 for a new gate, with a 3-year warranty. Total: $25,600.

Contractor 2 quoted removal at $6 per foot, new build at $90 per foot, plus $700 for a new gate, with no warranty. Total: $22,300.

Contractor 3 quoted removal at $5 per foot, new build at $75 per foot, plus $600 for a new gate, with no warranty. Total: $18,600.

All three contractors recommended tearing down the entire 225-foot fence — even though the boards, rails, and overall structure were still in good condition. The rot was isolated to the base of 10 posts where wood meets soil. The remaining 18 posts, all the boards, and the horizontal rails showed no signs of structural failure.

What full replacement would actually involve

A full fence replacement of this size would typically take 5 to 10 business days, during which:

• The entire 225-foot fence would be torn down, leaving Casey's backyard completely exposed to neighbours with zero privacy for the duration of the project
• Garden beds, landscaping, and anything along the fence line would be disturbed or damaged by heavy equipment and debris
• Approximately 1,500 to 2,000 pounds of lumber would be hauled to a landfill — even though the vast majority of the wood was still structurally sound
• Casey would need to coordinate access, manage contractor traffic, and deal with construction noise for over a week

Casey wanted to explore all of her options before committing to that kind of expense and disruption.

Option 2: Build It Themselves

After getting the contractor quotes, Casey went to Home Depot to see if her husband could build the fence himself. She crunched the numbers carefully.

Material cost per 8-foot section

Based on Home Depot Canada pricing as of June 2026:

• 1 pressure-treated 4x4x10 post: $20.75
• 4 pressure-treated 2x4x8 boards for rails: $27.80
• 22 pressure-treated 1x6x6 fence boards (11 per side, board-on-board): $87.56
• Screws (1.5-inch deck screws): $10.00
• 4 metal 2x4 brackets for post: $0.96
• Decorative post cap: $5.00
• 2 bags of concrete: $13.96
• Total per 8-foot section: $166.03

Scaling to 225 feet

$166.03 divided by 8 feet equals $20.75 per linear foot. 225 feet multiplied by $20.75 equals $4,669.59 in materials alone.

Additional project costs

• New gate (wood, hinges, latch): $285
• Gas-powered auger rental: $135
• Trailer rental for hauling old fence: $130
• Disposal and tipping fees: $500
• Husband's lost income (1 week off work): $1,100
• Nephew's help (40 hours over 5 days): $1,400
• Total additional costs: $3,550

The 5-day work plan

• Day 1 and Day 2: Remove and dispose of the entire old fence
• Day 3: Dig post holes with the rented auger, set all new posts, remove excavated dirt
• Day 4: Measure, cut, and install all horizontal 2x4 rails, build the gate
• Day 5: Screw all boards onto the fence, cut post tops to uniform height, install caps

Total DIY cost: $4,669.59 in materials plus $3,550 in additional costs equals $8,219.59, or approximately $36.53 per linear foot.

That does not include any unexpected problems, extra trips to the store, damaged materials, mistakes, tool issues, weather delays, or the stress of spending an entire week doing hard physical labour. Casey's husband would also have no warranty to fall back on if any of the new posts began to rot within a few years.

What Casey Discovered

Before committing to any of these options, Casey stepped back and researched the actual problem. She learned three important things.

First, fence post rot is normal and predictable. All wood fence posts will eventually rot at the base where they contact soil and moisture. This does not mean the rest of the fence is failing — it means the posts have reached the end of their ground-level lifespan.

Second, the rest of her fence was still in great condition. The boards were solid, the rails were secure, and the structure above ground was intact. The problem was 10 posts rotting at the soil line — not a 225-foot fence that needed to be demolished.

Third, her older wood may actually be stronger than what is sold today. Fence posts manufactured before 2004 were treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA), a preservative that was significantly more effective at resisting rot than the compounds used in modern pressure-treated lumber. Casey's 25-year-old fence was built with wood that, above the ground line, may actually be more durable than a brand-new fence built with today's lumber.

That made Casey question whether tearing down a fundamentally sound fence — or spending a full week rebuilding it with potentially inferior materials — was the right decision.

Option 3: Replace Only the 10 Rotten Posts

Since the problem was limited to the posts, Casey called 2 companies that offered individual post replacement — digging out the old post and concrete footing and installing a new pressure-treated post in its place.

Post Replacement Company 1 quoted $375 per post with a 3-year warranty. 10 posts multiplied by $375 equals $3,750 total.

Post Replacement Company 2 quoted $320 per post with a 3-year warranty. 10 posts multiplied by $320 equals $3,200 total.

When Casey asked why the warranty was only 3 years, both companies explained that with the way lumber is currently pressure-treated, there is no guarantee that the new wood posts will not begin to rot again after 3 years. The same cycle could repeat.

Casey also learned that post replacement requires removing the fence panels from each post, digging out the old concrete footing, setting a new post, waiting for the concrete to cure, and then reattaching the panels — a process that is more invasive and time-consuming than she expected.

Option 4: Repair the Posts with Lean On Me

Casey then contacted Lean On Me Fence Post Repair, a company that designed a patented repair system specifically made to address rotted and leaning fence posts without removing them.

Lean On Me quoted Casey $199 per post and provided her with a 10-year warranty. 10 posts multiplied by $199 equals $1,990 total.

How the repair works

Instead of digging out the old post and replacing it with new wood that will eventually rot again, Lean On Me uses a patented steel fixture — a 1/8-inch cold-pressed, powder-coated steel brace engineered with wind-resistant gussets for long-term structural stability.

The process for each post:

1. The technician uses a handheld auger (not heavy machinery) to drill a hole beside the damaged post, going below the frost line — critical in Toronto, where the frost line sits at approximately 4 feet
2. The patented steel fixture is bolted to the existing post above the rot point, creating a new structural anchor
3. Concrete is poured into the augered hole to permanently secure the fixture below grade
4. The post is straightened and stabilized

Each post takes approximately 15 minutes to repair. No fence panels are removed. No boards are taken down. The fence stays standing throughout the entire process.

For Casey's 10 posts, the entire job was completed in a single day — roughly 2.5 hours of on-site work — with minimal mess in the backyard.

Because the steel fixture is powder-coated to resist rust and the concrete anchor extends below the frost line, Lean On Me provides a 10-year warranty on every repaired post — more than triple the warranty offered by any of the other options Casey received.

The gate post was included in the repair and was treated with the same process. Casey did not need to pay for a new gate.

The Full Comparison

Full replacement with Contractor 1: $25,600 with a 3-year warranty, 5 to 10 days on site, entire fence torn down.

Full replacement with Contractor 2: $22,300 with no warranty, 5 to 10 days on site, entire fence torn down.

Full replacement with Contractor 3: $18,600 with no warranty, 5 to 10 days on site, entire fence torn down.

DIY rebuild with husband and nephew: $8,219.59 with no warranty, 5 days plus lost income, entire fence torn down.

Post replacement with Company 1: $3,750 with a 3-year warranty, 2 to 3 days, panels removed per post.

Post replacement with Company 2: $3,200 with a 3-year warranty, 2 to 3 days, panels removed per post.

Lean On Me repair: $1,990 with a 10-year warranty, 1 day (approximately 2.5 hours), fence stays up.

How Much Casey Saved

Compared to the highest full replacement quote of $25,600, Casey saved $23,610. Compared to the lowest full replacement quote of $18,600, Casey saved $16,610. Compared to building it themselves at $8,219.59, Casey saved $6,229.59. And Casey's husband kept his week of income, her nephew kept his weekend free, and nobody had to rent an auger, haul lumber, or spend 5 days doing hard physical labour in the summer heat.

Even compared to just replacing the 10 rotten posts, Casey still saved money. Compared to the $3,750 post replacement quote, she saved $1,760. Compared to the $3,200 post replacement quote, she saved $1,210.

Casey also avoided 5 to 10 days of construction in her backyard, complete loss of privacy while the old fence was down and the new one was being built, sending approximately 1,500 to 2,000 pounds of usable lumber to a landfill, the risk of replacing strong CCA-treated wood with modern lumber that may not last as long, and the stress and physical toll of a week-long DIY fence build with no warranty.

The Outcome

Casey's fence is standing straight. All 10 posts were repaired in a single visit — approximately 2.5 hours of on-site work. The boards, rails, and decorative post caps that were never damaged remain exactly where they were. No panels were removed, no sections were torn down, and the backyard was left clean.

Her total cost was $1,990, backed by a 10-year warranty.

The fence that three contractors told Casey to tear down is still standing — straightened, stabilized, and warrantied for a decade.

What This Means for Most Homeowners

Casey's situation — 10 out of 28 posts needing repair — is an extreme case caused by years of deferred maintenance. Most Canadian homeowners dealing with leaning or rotted fence posts have far fewer posts affected. A more typical repair involves 3 to 5 posts.

For 3 posts, the Lean On Me cost would be $597 compared to $960 for post replacement — a savings of $363. For 5 posts, the Lean On Me cost would be $995 compared to $1,600 for post replacement — a savings of $605. For 10 posts like Casey, the Lean On Me cost was $1,990 compared to $3,200 for post replacement — a savings of $1,210.

In every scenario, the cost of repairing the posts is a fraction of the cost of replacing them — and the Lean On Me warranty is more than triple what post replacement companies offer.

If your fence posts are leaning but the rest of your fence is still in good shape, the fence probably does not need to be torn down. The posts can be repaired.

Lean On Me Fence Post Repair is Canada's only national fence restoration company, serving 300+ cities coast to coast. To check if we service your area and get a free estimate, visit wefixfences.ca or call 1-877-456-9535.