How to Build a Cedar Fence: Step-by-Step BC Build Guide

Search "how to build a cedar fence" and you'll get two kinds of results: contractor sales pages that skip the actual steps, or generic DIY guides that say "use a 4x4 post and 1x6 boards" without ever telling you what that costs or where the numbers came from. We're a lumber yard in Surrey, so here's the real build — every step, plus our actual shelf prices as of August 2026 built into the materials list. (Want a shopping list for your exact fence length instead of doing the math yourself? Our Fence & Deck Materials Calculator handles that.)

Before You Start: Tools, Bylaws, and Layout

You'll need a post hole digger or auger, a level, a tape measure, a string line and stakes, a circular saw, and a drill/driver. Before you buy a single board:

• Confirm your property line. A fence built even a few inches over can turn into a dispute with a neighbour.
• Check your municipality's fence height bylaw. Most Metro Vancouver municipalities cap backyard and side-yard fences around 6 feet and front-yard fences lower — confirm with your local building department, since it varies city to city.
• Call before you dig. Use BC 1 Call to get buried utility lines marked before you auger any post holes.

Once that's sorted, run a string line between your end points and mark post locations every 8 feet — that's the standard section length this guide (and our pricing) is built around. Note your gate location now so you're not short a section later.

Step 1: Set Your Posts

Posts are the single most important part of a fence — they're also where fences fail first, since they're the part sitting in wet ground. A Western Red Cedar 4x4, 8 feet long, runs $21.00 at our yard (6 feet stands above grade, 2 feet goes in the ground). Dig each hole roughly 24" deep, set the post plumb, and backfill with a fast-setting concrete mix, checking level as you go.

If you want posts that outlast the rest of the fence, Yellow Cedar 4x4 posts are $25.20 — about $4.20 more each. Yellow cedar is denser and more rot-resistant than western red cedar, and since posts are where a fence fails first, it's often the smartest place to spend a little extra.

Step 2: Attach the Rails

Rails run horizontally between posts and give the fence boards something to fasten to. A standard 6-foot privacy section uses three rails — top, middle, and bottom — cut from Western Red Cedar 2x4, 8 feet long, at $8.40 each. Toe-screw or use joist-hanger-style brackets to fasten rails flush to the posts, keeping them level and evenly spaced top to bottom.

Step 3: Install the Fence Boards

Boards go up last, fastened vertically to the rails. Western Red Cedar 1x6, 6 feet long, is $5.78 per board at our yard. Butted edge to edge, an 8-foot section takes about 18 boards. Use two exterior-rated screws per board per rail (not nails — they back out over time), and keep boards at least 1–2 inches off the ground to reduce rot from soil contact and splash-back.

If you want a fence that looks finished from both sides and won't show gaps as the wood shrinks, build board-on-board instead — boards overlap rather than butt together. It takes roughly 30% more boards per section, which adds about $31 in board cost per 8-foot run.

Step 4: Add a Gate (If You Need One)

A gate frame is built the same way as a fence section, reinforced with a diagonal brace to keep it from sagging, then hung on heavy-duty exterior hinges with a self-latching gate latch. Budget slightly more lumber than a standard section for the frame bracing, plus hardware.

What Does an 8-Foot Section Actually Cost in Materials?

Add roughly $15–20 per section for concrete, exterior screws, and a post cap, and you land around $168 per section — about $21 per lineal foot in materials. Scaled out:

• 25 feet (a typical side-yard run): ~$525–550 in materials
• 50 feet: ~$1,020–1,050
• 100 feet (a full backyard perimeter for many Surrey lots): ~$2,040–2,100

One planning note: you always need one more post than you have sections — a 50-foot fence built in 8-foot runs is 6 sections but 7 posts, so budget the extra post. We broke down the full cost math (including how our prices compare to a major BC retailer) in How Much Does a Cedar Fence Cost in BC in 2026?, if you want the deeper dive on pricing specifically.

Common Mistakes That Shorten a Fence's Life

• Skipping concrete, or not going deep enough. A post set shallow or just tamped in soil will lean within a few years, especially in BC's wet clay soils.
• Letting boards touch the ground. Constant soil contact and splash-back is the single biggest cause of premature rot at the bottom of fence boards.
• Using the wrong fasteners. Standard steel screws and nails will streak and corrode against wet cedar — use stainless steel or hot-dipped galvanized exterior fasteners.
• Using construction-grade posts below grade. If you're not upgrading to yellow cedar, at minimum make sure the post is a solid, tight-grained piece — the section in the ground is doing all the structural work.

How Long Does It Take to Build?

For a DIYer working solo, budget roughly 30–45 minutes per section once posts are set, plus a full day (or two, if you're waiting on concrete cure time) for layout and post-setting on a fence of 50–100 feet. Most of the time isn't the fence itself — it's digging straight, plumb holes and getting the layout right before you start attaching wood.

Where to Buy the Materials in This Guide

Every price above is our live, listed shelf price:

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

Once it's built, keep it looking good with our cedar fence maintenance guide — a proper clean-and-reseal cycle is what gets a cedar fence to 30+ years instead of 15.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many posts and boards do I need for a cedar fence?

Budget one post per 8-foot section, plus one extra for the end of the run, three 2x4 rails per section, and about 18 1x6 boards per section if butted edge to edge.

How deep should cedar fence posts be set?

A common rule of thumb is roughly a third of the post's total length below grade — for an 8-foot post giving 6 feet of height, that's about 2 feet in the ground, set in concrete.

Should I use Western Red Cedar or Yellow Cedar for fence posts?

Either works, but Yellow Cedar posts cost about $4 more each and are denser and more rot-resistant. Since posts fail first, it's often worth the small upgrade, especially in wetter parts of the yard.

How much does it cost to build a cedar fence yourself vs. hiring it out?

Installed cedar fencing in Metro Vancouver typically runs two to four times the material cost, depending on terrain and old-fence removal — which is why a straightforward DIY build is where most of the savings shown above actually land.

Prices current as of publication and subject to change with lumber market conditions. Confirm current pricing and stock before ordering.