By national 2026 figures, most fence repairs cost somewhere between $300 and $900. Where your job falls depends mostly on how many posts are involved.
The dollar figures here are national ranges that HomeGuide published for 2026. They are not quotes from The Fence Company of Boston. Local labor, material prices and the conditions on your lot move the real number up or down. Figures last checked October 2026.
- Small job, $100 to $300: a picket or two, a loose hinge, a latch that needs adjusting.
- Mid-size job, $300 to $900: a damaged panel, a post or two, new gate hinges.
- Big job, $900 to $2,500: a row of failed posts, a section on the ground, damage to the frame.
What is the cost to fix a leaning fence?
Count the posts that move. Each bad post means digging, a new footing and re-hanging rails, so the bill rises with the count. A lean caused by a single post sits in the mid-size band above. When the whole run has gone soft, it is cheaper to rebuild that run in one visit than to return post after post.
Why is my fence leaning? Does it need replacing?
Not always. Three causes are common in this climate:
- Rot where the post meets the soil.
- A footing that stops short of the frost line, so winter moves it.
- Wind pushing on a tall solid fence year after year.
When the pickets and rails are still good, new posts can carry the old fence.
What is the price to replace a rotted fence post?
A job of one or two posts normally lands in the $300 to $900 band of the national figures. The old post and its concrete plug come out, a fresh post goes in deep enough to sit under the frost, and the rails are fastened back on. Expect more time, and so more cost, where the hole hits rock or a large root.
The gate sags and misses the latch. Can it be saved?
Usually, yes. Look at the hinge post first. If it has tipped, the gate drops with it. Other causes are tired hinges and a gate frame that has gone out of square. The repair is a reset or new hinge post, a diagonal brace on the frame and a latch moved to line up again. Only a frame that has rotted through calls for a new gate.
What do contractors charge for a broken gate latch?
Expect the small-job band, $100 to $300 on the national 2026 numbers. Much of that is the trip, since many contractors set a minimum for a visit. Save up the other little repairs on your list and get them handled in that single trip.
After winter my posts lifted and the gate will not shut. Is that fixable?
Yes. This is frost heave. Frozen ground grips a shallow footing and raises it, and it never settles back to where it was. Hammering the post down only lasts until the next freeze. A lasting repair means taking the post and footing out and setting them again at about four feet, which is the frost depth used in Massachusetts.
Why does my fence go wavy every winter?
Because some posts are moving and others are not. Soil plays a part: heavy clay that stays wet swells more when it freezes. Installation plays the bigger part. Deep posts with straight-sided footings hold still even in poor soil. If you rebuild, the new line stays straight only when the holes go deeper than the old ones did.
A fallen branch bent my aluminum fence. Rails only, or the full panel?
That comes down to how your fence was made. With some brands, single pickets and rails come apart and can be changed. Others arrive as one welded section, and then the section is swapped whole. A clear photo of the bent area and of a post connection is normally enough to tell the two apart.
Want a price for your own yard? The estimate is free, done on site, and the quote comes in writing. Call (508) 690-4738.