DIY vs Hire Fence Repair: Is It Cheaper to Do It Yourself?

What does DIY winning by $375.00 mean?

On the defaults — $210 of materials, $120 of tools and $45 of supplies, 10 hours at $35 an hour — the DIY cost is $725.00 and the pro quote is $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $375.00, about a third of the pro quote. The win is the money you keep by doing it yourself, after valuing your own time at $35 an hour. If your time is worth more, the win shrinks: at $73 an hour the DIY cost is $1,105.00 and hiring wins by $5.00. If the pro quote falls, the win shrinks too: at a $700 quote hiring wins by $25.00.

Three things about the model are worth stating plainly.

First, the arithmetic is $210 + $120 + $45 + 10 × $35 = $725.00 against a $1,100.00 pro quote — the DIY cost, the pro cost and the win are three outputs, never the same number. Second, the meaning is $375.00 kept — the saving after your time is counted at $35 an hour, not the saving before your time is counted. And third, the win is displayed to two decimals, half-up, and a figure that displays as a tie can sit a hair from it: $585 of materials gives a DIY cost of $1,100.00 — an exact tie — and $586 gives $1,101.00 — hiring wins by $1.00 — all listed in Accuracy & limitations.

The worked example, line by line

Setup: materials $210, tools $120, supplies $45, hours 10, hourly value $35, pro quote $1,100.

Line 1 — the parts. $210 + $120 + $45 = $375.00.

Line 2 — the time. 10 hours × $35 = $350.00.

Line 3 — the DIY cost. $375.00 + $350.00 = $725.00.

Line 4 — the pro cost. The pro quote is $1,100.00.

Line 5 — the win. $1,100.00 − $725.00 = $375.00 — DIY wins.

Line 6 — the check. At a $73 hourly value the DIY cost is $1,105.00 — hiring wins by $5.00; and at $72 it is $1,095.00 — DIY wins by $5.00.

Every branch, checked

Hours 6: DIY $585.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $515.00 — Fewer hours of your time, so a lower DIY cost and a bigger win.

Hours 14: DIY $865.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $235.00 — More hours of your time, so a higher DIY cost and a smaller win.

Hours 18: DIY $1,005.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $95.00 — Many more hours of your time, so a much higher DIY cost and a small win.

Materials $150: DIY $665.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $435.00 — Cheaper materials, so a lower DIY cost and a bigger win.

Materials $300: DIY $815.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $285.00 — Dearrer materials, so a higher DIY cost and a smaller win.

Hourly $25: DIY $625.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $475.00 — Your time is worth less, so a lower DIY cost and a bigger win.

Hourly $45: DIY $825.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $275.00 — Your time is worth more, so a higher DIY cost and a smaller win.

Pro $900: DIY $725.00; pro $900.00 — DIY wins by $175.00 — A cheaper pro quote, so a smaller win — but DIY still wins.

Pro $700: DIY $725.00; pro $700.00 — Hiring wins by $25.00 — A pro quote below the DIY cost, so hiring wins — the only branch where it does.

Tools $0: DIY $605.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $495.00 — No tool cost at all, so a lower DIY cost and a bigger win.

The reverses, worked backwards

Smallest hourly value where hiring WINS: At the displayed $73 the figures are DIY $1,105.00; pro $1,100.00 — Hiring wins by $5.00. At the lower neighbor the figures are DIY $1,095.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $5.00 — DIY still wins by $5.00 — so $73 is the smallest hourly value where hiring WINS.

Largest hourly value where DIY still wins by at least $100: At the displayed $62 the figures are DIY $995.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $105.00. At the upper neighbor the figures are DIY $1,005.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $95.00 — DIY wins by only $95.00 — so $62 is the largest hourly value where DIY still wins by at least $100.

Smallest materials where hiring WINS: At the displayed $586 the figures are DIY $1,101.00; pro $1,100.00 — Hiring wins by $1.00. At the lower neighbor the figures are DIY $1,100.00; pro $1,100.00 — exact tie — a dead heat, a TIE — so $586 is the smallest materials where hiring WINS.

Smallest pro price where DIY WINS at all: At the displayed $726 the figures are DIY $725.00; pro $726.00 — DIY wins by $1.00. At the lower neighbor the figures are DIY $725.00; pro $725.00 — exact tie — a dead heat, a TIE — so $726 is the smallest pro price where DIY WINS at all.

Smallest supplies where hiring WINS: At the displayed $421 the figures are DIY $1,101.00; pro $1,100.00 — Hiring wins by $1.00. At the lower neighbor the figures are DIY $1,100.00; pro $1,100.00 — exact tie — a dead heat, a TIE — so $421 is the smallest supplies where hiring WINS.

Smallest hours where hiring WINS: At the displayed 21 hours the figures are DIY $1,110.00; pro $1,100.00 — Hiring wins by $10.00. At the lower neighbor the figures are DIY $1,075.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $25.00 — DIY wins by $25.00 — so 21 hours is the smallest hours where hiring WINS.

A warning about the neighbours: every neighbour above sits one dollar or one hour from the star, and every neighbour figure is a hair below or above the target even though it displays as the target — a one-dollar move in the materials moves the DIY cost by one dollar, so the displayed two-decimal figure cannot tell the star from its neighbour. The page prints the unrounded four-decimal cost in full so the rounding does not mislead you: R3 $585 is a dead heat, a TIE; R4 $725 is a dead heat, a TIE; R5 $420 is a dead heat, a TIE. The R1 neighbour sits at $72 with a $5.00 DIY win, and the R6 neighbour sits at 20 hours with a $25.00 DIY win.

What the defaults assume

The defaults are $210 of materials, $120 of tools, $45 of supplies, 10 hours, $35 an hour and a $1,100 pro quote — DIY $725.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $375.00. With Hours 6, DIY $585.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $515.00. With Hours 14, DIY $865.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $235.00. With Hours 18, DIY $1,005.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $95.00. With Materials $150, DIY $665.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $435.00. With Materials $300, DIY $815.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $285.00. With Hourly $25, DIY $625.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $475.00. With Hourly $45, DIY $825.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $275.00. With Pro $900, DIY $725.00; pro $900.00 — DIY wins by $175.00. With Pro $700, DIY $725.00; pro $700.00 — Hiring wins by $25.00. With Tools $0, DIY $605.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $495.00. With Hours 0, DIY $375.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $725.00 — no hours of your time — materials, tools and supplies only. With Materials $149.95, tools $89.50, supplies $32.75, 7.5 hours, $38.25 an hour, pro $899.60 (DIY unrounded 559.075, win unrounded 340.525), DIY $559.08 (unrounded 559.0750); pro $899.60 — DIY wins by $340.53 (unrounded 340.5250) — the unrounded DIY cost and win round to the displayed figures. With Materials $45, tools $0, supplies $12, 2 hours, $25 an hour, pro $150, DIY $107.00; pro $150.00 — DIY wins by $43.00 — a small job — two hours and a handful of parts. With Materials $1,200, tools $300, supplies $180, 32 hours, $45 an hour, pro $4,200, DIY $3,120.00; pro $4,200.00 — DIY wins by $1,080.00 — a big job — a whole fence section, a full weekend and a crew-sized pro quote. With Pro $600, DIY $725.00; pro $600.00 — Hiring wins by $125.00 — a pro quote below the DIY cost, so hiring wins by $125.00. With Materials $0, DIY $515.00; pro $1,100.00 — DIY wins by $585.00 — no materials at all — tools, supplies and your time only.

A note on the rounding: the DIY cost is displayed to two decimals, half-up. With the fractional inputs the unrounded DIY cost is 559.075 — it displays as $559.08 — and the unrounded win is 340.525 — it displays as $340.53. With zero hours the DIY cost is $375.00 and the win is $725.00. With the small job the DIY cost is $107.00 and the win is $43.00. With the big job the DIY cost is $3,120.00 and the win is $1,080.00. The page prints the unrounded values so the rounding does not mislead you.

Output · formula · meaning

Who uses this

• The homeowner with a leaning fence section: they learn the repair costs $725.00 DIY against a $1,100.00 pro quote — and they check the $73 reverse to see the hourly value where hiring wins.
• The landlord pricing a rental repair: they learn DIY wins by $375.00 — and they check the $586 reverse to see the materials cost where hiring wins.
• The weekend DIYer counting their time: they learn 10 hours at $35 an hour is $350.00 of their time — and they check the 21-hour reverse to see the hours where hiring wins.
• The first-time fence fixer: they learn the parts are $375.00 and the time is $350.00 — and they check the $726 reverse to see the pro quote where DIY wins at all.

Accuracy & limitations

The math is first-principles: the DIY cost is materials plus tools plus supplies plus hours times your hourly value, and the win is the pro cost minus the DIY cost — all in dollars and hours, the DIY cost displayed to two decimals half-up. There IS no division in this calculator — the DIY cost is a sum, so there is nothing undefined: at $0 of materials the DIY cost is $515.00 and the win is $585.00, and at 0 hours the DIY cost is $375.00 and the win is $725.00. When the costs are exactly equal the calculator says so plainly: at $585 of materials the DIY cost is $1,100.00 — an exact tie — and at $726 of pro quote the win is $1.00 — DIY wins by a dollar. With the fractional inputs the unrounded DIY cost is 559.075 — it displays as $559.08 — and the unrounded win is 340.525 — it displays as $340.53. The smallest hourly value where hiring wins is $73 — the page shows the displayed $73 input only, and the forward at that input is a $1,105.00 DIY cost and a $5.00 hiring win. The smallest materials where hiring wins is $586 — the page shows the displayed $586 input only, and the forward at that input is a $1,101.00 DIY cost and a $1.00 hiring win. What the model cannot do is say whether $35 an hour is what your time is worth: it says nothing about the quality — whether your repair lasts as long as a pro’s — and it says nothing about the risk — a post set wrong leans within a season and costs twice. Use it to see the money — then check the fence cost calculator and the wood fence vs vinyl fence page before you decide the repair is right.

Frequently asked questions