Side-by-Side Pickets
Pickets butt edge to edge on one side of the rails. It's the simplest build and the lowest price per foot. The catch is shrinkage: pressure-treated pine is wet when it's new, and small gaps open between boards as it dries.
Murfreesboro, Tennessee · Rutherford County
Wood Privacy Fence Murfreesboro TN - Board-on-Board
A wood privacy fence is still the fence most Murfreesboro backyards get, and for good reason. It blocks the view from the next lot over, it keeps a dog from seeing every squirrel, and it costs less per foot than vinyl or aluminum privacy panels. HomeGuide's national guide puts a 6-foot wood privacy fence at $25 to $50 per linear foot installed, against $40 to $85 for vinyl privacy and $75 to $130 for aluminum privacy.
- We walk your property line before we quote
- Posts, panels, gates and hardware priced line by line
- Residential, commercial and farm fencing
- City permit or County affidavit handled up front
Three Ways to Build a Wood Privacy Fence
Shadowbox
Pickets alternate on both sides of the rails, so the fence looks finished from your yard and from your neighbor's. Wind passes through the offsets, which helps on a long, exposed run. You get privacy from straight on and a little filtered light at an angle.
Board-on-Board
Pickets overlap by an inch or so in two layers. When the wood shrinks, the overlap keeps a gap from opening. This is the one we'd pick when total privacy is the whole point, such as along a busy road, beside a two-story neighbor or around a hot tub.
Posts, Rails and the Ground Under Them
A wood fence almost always fails at the post first. The American Wood Protection Association puts fence posts in Use Category UC4A for ground contact. We step up to UC4B, its heavy-duty ground-contact rating, at gate posts and wherever the clay stays wet. Posts sit on a gravel base and are set in concrete crowned above grade so water runs off. Rutherford County's ordinance requires every post to go at least 2 feet into the ground in unincorporated areas, and we treat that as a floor, not a target.
Rails go on the inside. In the County, the ordinance requires posts, rails and cross members to face away from the street, and most HOA covenants ask for the same toward neighbors.
Pine, Cedar and What Each Costs
- Pressure-treated pine is what most local privacy fences are built from. HomeGuide prices a pine privacy fence at $20 to $45 per linear foot installed for basic boards and up to $45 to $90 for high-grade treated pine, and says pine needs resealing every 1 to 2 years.
- Cedar resists rot and insects better and weathers to silver if you leave it alone. HomeGuide lists a cedar privacy fence at $35 to $40 per linear foot installed, with clear-grade Western red cedar at $45 to $90.
- 8-foot privacy costs more because of longer posts and more boards: HomeGuide's range is $50 to $75 per linear foot. In unincorporated Rutherford County, 8 feet is the residential maximum in side and rear yards.
Before We Set the First Post
Inside city limits, a new fence needs a City of Murfreesboro building permit, and the City says applications can take up to two weeks to process. Outside the city, the County asks for a notarized fence affidavit instead. Either way, we request Tennessee 811 locates before digging. If you're thinking about stain, new treated pine needs time to dry first. Our fence staining and sealing page explains the timing. Want privacy without the upkeep? Compare vinyl privacy fence. Fencing for a dog that digs or jumps? Start with dog fence options.
Get a Wood Privacy Fence Quote
Tell us the rough footage, the height you want and whether a dog, pool or HOA is involved. We'll walk the line and send a written quote with posts, pickets, rails, gates and tear-out each on their own line. Call (629) 334-2020 anytime or send the quote form.
Rather talk it through? Call (629) 334-2020 anytime.
Back to Murfreesboro Fencing Company for every fence and gate we build in Rutherford County.