Should the payments be staged on a job this size?

Usually. A deposit at signing, a payment part way, and the balance on completion is the common shape. What matters is that each payment is tied to something visible being done rather than to a date, and that the final payment is large enough to still matter when the snagging list appears.

How long does 200 ft take to build?

A professional crew is generally into a second or third day, and there is usually a pause between setting the posts and hanging the rails while the concrete cures. Doing it yourself, plan in weekends rather than days.

Is it worth getting more than three quotes?

At this size, yes. The spread between quotes tends to widen with the job, and a fourth quote costs you an hour while potentially revealing that the first three all excluded the same thing.

Fence Ledger

How much does a 200 ft fence cost?

Two hundred feet is a large residential job: several days of work, a pallet of concrete, and a number big enough that the terms of the contract start to matter as much as the price.

Installed

$5,000–11,000

Based on a verified national range of $25–55 per linear foot for installed 6 ft wood privacy fence. A planning figure, not a quote.

What the usual answer misses

On a job this size the risk clauses are worth more attention than the headline figure. Two hundred feet of boundary is enough ground to contain rock, tree roots, a buried line or a change in level, and whether those are the contractor problem or your problem is decided by a sentence in the quote rather than by the per-foot rate. A slightly higher fixed price with the risk allocated clearly is often the cheaper contract.

Work out your own

Every assumption above is editable. Change the length, the spacing, the hole size — the numbers and the working update as you go.

Units

Shape

Fence length

Height

Gates

Advanced options

These are typical values, not requirements. Post depth in particular is governed by your local frost line and building code — check before you dig.

Post spacing

Gate width

Picket gap

Hole diameter

Hole depth

Gravel base

Bag yield

Waste allowance

Posts

Sections

Pickets

451

Concrete

45 bags

Estimated cost

Materials only (DIY)

$1,800 – $4,600

Professionally installed

$5,200 – $11,600

National planning ranges compiled from published US construction cost guides, last checked September 2026 (confidence: medium-low). Prices vary sharply by region, season and contractor. These are estimates for planning, not quotes.

Sources: homeguide.com, calcsummit.com, angi.com, ergeon.com, homewyse.com

Shopping list

Bill of materials for this fence
Material	Size	Quantity
Posts	4x4	27
Rails incl. waste	2x4	83
Pickets incl. waste	1x6	451
Concrete mix		45bags
Gravel		10bags
Exterior screws		≈3,000
Walk gate kit		1

Why these numbers

How we got the section count

Run 1: 196 ft ÷ 8 ft = 24.5, rounded up to 25 sections

How we got the post count

3 posts are fixed by the shape itself
2 at the open ends
1 carrying a gate
24 line posts spaced between them
27 posts in total

How we got the picket count

Each picket covers 5.5 in plus a 0.25 in gap, so they repeat every 5.75 in
196 ft of fence needs 410 pickets
Plus 10% for offcuts, rounded up to 451

How we got the concrete

Each 10 in hole is 30 in deep, less 4 in of gravel base, leaving 26 in of concrete
The 4x4 post itself takes up part of that, so each hole needs the remainder
Across 27 posts
Divided by the 0.6 cu ft a bag yields: 44.88, so buy 45 bags

Common questions

Should the payments be staged on a job this size?: Usually. A deposit at signing, a payment part way, and the balance on completion is the common shape. What matters is that each payment is tied to something visible being done rather than to a date, and that the final payment is large enough to still matter when the snagging list appears.
How long does 200 ft take to build?: A professional crew is generally into a second or third day, and there is usually a pause between setting the posts and hanging the rails while the concrete cures. Doing it yourself, plan in weekends rather than days.
Is it worth getting more than three quotes?: At this size, yes. The spread between quotes tends to widen with the job, and a fourth quote costs you an hour while potentially revealing that the first three all excluded the same thing.