A free guide for UK fencing contractors and landscapers — and for homeowners who want to understand a quote. Below we break down a real 20-metre closeboard fence into materials, labour and markup, using the same quantities FenceQuote calculates. Prices are rough UK trade figures for 2026 — always check with your own suppliers.
For a standard 1.8m closeboard or featheredge fence, expect materials of roughly £50–£60 per metre and a total quote of around £100–£120 per metre once labour and markup are added. Panel fencing on concrete posts usually lands in a similar range. Picket fencing is cheaper per metre on materials but often takes more cutting time.
This is the exact job FenceQuote's default settings produce — every quantity is worked out from the fence length, height and post spacing:
| Item | Qty | Unit price | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Timber posts | 13 | £14.00 | £182.00 |
| Rails (3 per bay) | 36 | £7.50 | £270.00 |
| Featheredge boards (125mm) | 160 | £1.60 | £256.00 |
| Gravel boards | 12 | £9.00 | £108.00 |
| Postcrete bags (2 per post) | 26 | £7.50 | £195.00 |
| Sundries & fixings | — | — | £40.00 |
Materials come to £1,051.00, plus 5% waste allowance (£52.55) = £1,103.55. Labour at 2 workers for 2 days at £180 each adds £720.00, giving a true cost of £1,823.55. With a 20% markup, the quote for the customer is £2,188.26 — about £109 per metre.
The biggest quoting mistakes are forgetting waste, underestimating labour days, and absorbing disposal costs. FenceQuote walks through all of it — fence type, materials with your own prices, labour, extras and markup — and shows every quantity so you can check it against the job before you send the number.
FenceQuote is £5/month or £60/year and built to price a job on site in under 60 seconds.
Try the calculatorEstimate only — verify measurements, quantities and supplier prices before quoting a customer. Guide published by bb landscaping.