How Much Does a Cedar Fence Cost in BC in 2026? (Real Prices, Board by Board)

If you've been pricing out a cedar fence in the Lower Mainland, you've probably noticed something frustrating: almost nobody will give you a straight number. Contractors quote by the project, big box stores price by the board but bury the per-foot math, and most online guides use American prices that don't reflect what wood actually costs here in BC.

We're a lumber yard in Surrey, so we're going to do something different: walk you through exactly what the materials for a cedar fence cost, using our actual shelf prices as of July 2026 — and show you, board for board, how they compare to a major BC home improvement retailer. (Prefer to skip the math? Our Fence & Deck Materials Calculator does all of this for your exact dimensions.)

The anatomy of a privacy fence

A standard 6-foot-high privacy fence is built in 8-foot sections. Each section needs:

• One post — a 4x4, 8 feet long (6 feet above grade, 2 feet in the ground)
• Three rails — 2x4s running horizontally between posts
• Fence boards — 1x6 boards, 6 feet long, fastened vertically to the rails

That's it. Everything else (concrete, screws, post caps) is hardware-store territory, and we'll account for it at the end.

What each piece costs (our actual prices)

Posts. A Western Red Cedar 4x4 at 8 feet runs $20 at our yard. If you want posts that outlast the rest of the fence, Alaskan Yellow Cedar 4x4s are $24 — yellow cedar is denser and even more rot-resistant, and posts are where fences fail first, so it's the smartest place to spend an extra $4.

Rails. A Western Red Cedar 2x4 at 8 feet is $8. Three per section: $24.

Fence boards. Western Red Cedar 1x6 at 6 feet is $5.50 per board. With boards butted edge to edge, an 8-foot section takes about 18 boards: $99. (Japanese Cedar 1x6s are the same price at our yard right now, so for fencing, red cedar is the default pick.)

The per-section and per-foot math

Add roughly $15–20 per section for a bag of concrete, exterior screws, and a post cap, and you're at about $160 per section — roughly $20 per lineal foot in materials.

How that compares to big-box pricing

Because our prices are all published online, you can compare us to anyone. Here's the same materials list priced against a major BC home improvement retailer's listed prices for comparable Western Red Cedar lumber:

That's not a typo: the wood for each fence section costs about half at our yard. On a 50-foot fence, that's roughly $900 saved on the lumber alone — on a 100-foot perimeter, around $1,800. Enough to cover your concrete, hardware, a gate, and a very good summer barbecue.

What a full fence costs

• 25 feet (a typical side-yard run): ~$500–550 in materials
• 50 feet: ~$1,000–1,100
• 100 feet (full backyard perimeter for many Surrey lots): ~$2,000–2,200

One note on longer runs: you need one more post than you have sections (a 50-foot fence is 6+ sections but 7 posts), so budget one extra post per run. Or let the calculator count for you — enter your length and it produces the full shopping list, GST included.

Style upgrades and what they add

Board-on-board (good neighbour) fencing overlaps boards so the fence looks finished from both sides and leaves no gaps as boards shrink. Expect roughly 30% more boards per section — about $30 extra per section.

Yellow cedar posts add $4 per post, as mentioned. On a 100-foot fence that's about $50 total for meaningfully longer post life.

Lattice or trellis toppers vary by design — if you're adding one, our pergola and trellis stock covers the framing.

What about installation?

If you're hiring out the labour, installed cedar fencing in Metro Vancouver typically lands in the range of two to four times the material cost, depending on terrain, old-fence removal, and access. That's exactly why so many of our customers DIY it: a fence is mostly digging, levelling, and screwing boards to rails. If you can set a post plumb, you can build a fence — and at ~$20/foot in materials, a 50-foot DIY fence costs less than most contractors charge for 15 feet installed.

Getting your materials list right

Start with our Fence & Deck Materials Calculator, or bring your fence length and height to us and we'll pull the order together. All our fencing stock is listed with per-board prices on our site — no "call for pricing":

• Western Red Cedar 4x4 posts
• Yellow Cedar 4x4 and 5x5 posts
• Western Red Cedar 2x4 rails
• Western Red Cedar 1x6 fence boards
• Full fencing collection

We also offer volume discounts on larger orders — worth asking about if you're fencing a full perimeter.

Pricing out more than a fence this summer? We ran the exact same board-by-board math for decks in What a Cedar Deck Actually Costs in BC (2026): The Full Materials Math.

*Comparison prices are the regular listed prices for comparable Western Red Cedar dimensional lumber on the website of a major BC home improvement retailer, verified July 13, 2026. Grades, finishes, and actual dimensions may vary between retailers, and competitor prices are subject to change. Our prices are current as of July 2026 and subject to change; GST not included. Visit us at 4748 152 St, Surrey, or shop online at williamscedar.ca.