Introduction
Hypothetical case study — illustrative example, not a real project. The project, prices, and timeline below are invented to show how a cedar estimate becomes a complete budget. Every line item is computed and the totals sum exactly, so you can follow the arithmetic and apply the same method to your own project.
The scenario: a homeowner replaces 120 linear feet of aging fence with a 6-ft STK western red cedar privacy fence — 1×6 pickets with 1/4 in gaps, 4×4 posts at 8-ft centers set in concrete, two 2×4 rails per bay, stainless screws, and a penetrating stain applied two weeks after install. DIY labor over two long weekends. Run your own dimensions through the Cedar Lumber Calculator to build the equivalent estimate for your fence.
The Estimate
120 ft = 1,440 in of run. Pickets: 1,440 ÷ 5.75 in (5.5 in face + 0.25 in gap) = 250.43 → 251 pickets (6 ft each = 1,506 linear feet). Posts: 120 ÷ 8 = 15 bays → 16 posts. Rails: 15 bays × 2 = 30 rails (8 ft each = 240 linear feet). Waste: 10% on cedar lumber, applied once at the subtotal.
The Budget — Line by Line
| Item | Quantity | Unit price | Line total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickets, 1×6×6 STK cedar | 251 ea | $4.75 | $1,192.25 |
| Posts, 4×4×8 cedar | 16 ea | $28.00 | $448.00 |
| Rails, 2×4×8 cedar | 30 ea | $9.50 | $285.00 |
| Lumber subtotal | $1,925.25 | ||
| Waste allowance (10% of lumber) | $192.53 | ||
| Stainless screws, 5-lb boxes | 2 ea | $46.00 | $92.00 |
| Post concrete, 60-lb bags | 32 ea | $6.25 | $200.00 |
| Penetrating stain, gallons | 5 ea | $54.00 | $270.00 |
| Project total | $2,679.78 |
Arithmetic check: $1,925.25 × 1.10 = $2,117.78 lumber with waste; plus $92.00 + $200.00 + $270.00 = $2,679.78. Per linear foot: $2,679.78 ÷ 120 = $22.33/ft in materials — squarely inside the cost guide’s $18–$29/ft DIY range, which is how you know the estimate is sane. Had this been hired out at typical installed rates ($25–$45/ft), the same fence would have cost $3,000–$5,400 — the DIY saving is the labor, not the lumber.
The Timeline
Weekend one: set the 16 posts — dig, set in concrete, brace plumb, and let cure. A two-person crew digs and sets about 8 posts per day with a manual auger; renting a power auger roughly doubles that pace. Weekend two: hang rails, then pickets — roughly 125 pickets per day at a steady DIY pace, including measuring gaps. Stain on a dry weekend two weeks later: a 120-ft fence takes about 5 gallons and one full day with a sprayer plus back-brushing. Total calendar time: about a month, with most of it waiting on concrete cure and dry weather.
What Went Right
- Grade matched the job. STK pickets at $4.75 instead of clear at $7+ saved roughly $550 with no visible difference from the street.
- One waste factor, at the end. 10% on the lumber subtotal — not padded per item — kept the order tight.
- Fasteners and finish in the first order. Stainless screws and stain arrived with the lumber, so nothing got substituted mid-project (the pro tips guide explains why substitutions are dangerous).
- Finish on schedule. Stain went on two weeks after the last picket — before any graying started.
- Posts detailed for drainage. Post tops were beveled so water sheds instead of pooling, and concrete was crowned above grade to move water away from the post — small details that add years at the ground line.
- Kept the cut plan simple. Full-length pickets with no horizontal joints meant every offcut was usable somewhere, so the 10% waste allowance covered defects with room to spare.
What Would Change Next Time
- Hand-pick the pickets. Buying the full unit sight-unseen meant ~8% of pickets had defects that consumed most of the waste allowance. Sorting at the yard would have allowed an 8% factor.
- Confirm the lot. A mid-project second delivery for the gate section came from a different mill run with a visibly different tone — ordering 5% more up front would have avoided it.
- Pre-stain before install. Back-priming every picket before hanging would have added a day but improved long-term moisture performance.
Lessons for Your Estimate
The method transfers directly: measure the run, divide by face-plus-gap, count posts as bays + 1, apply one waste factor, and budget fasteners and finish as line items — not afterthoughts. Three habits from this project are worth adopting explicitly. First, price the whole project before buying the first board — the $22.33/ft figure either fits the budget or it doesn’t, and finding out after the pickets are stacked is too late. Second, order finish and fasteners with the lumber, so the correct materials are on site when momentum is highest. Third, verify the two biggest line items by hand — pickets and posts here — since a transposed digit in either one dwarfs every other error in the table. The estimating guide walks the same sequence on a deck, and the pre-order checklist catches the lot-matching and permit items this hypothetical project learned the hard way.
What the Numbers Taught
The biggest lesson from this estimate was how much the waste allowance mattered: dropping from 10 percent to 5 percent would have saved roughly ninety dollars, but it would also have left the project one damaged board away from a second delivery trip. On a 140-mile round trip to the cedar yard, the “wasted” ninety dollars was cheap insurance. Budget the full allowance, return what you do not use, and treat the waste line as risk management rather than inefficiency.
Related Guides
- The Complete Guide — full overview of cedar estimating with a worked fence example.
- Cost Guide — planning ranges behind the unit prices used here.
- Estimating Guide — step-by-step quantity takeoff for your own project.
- Common Mistakes — the errors this case study avoided (and found).
- Pro Tips — buying, acclimation, and finishing technique.
Get Your Number
This fence is hypothetical; yours isn’t. Enter your run length, board size, and waste factor in the Cedar Lumber Calculator, build the same line-item table with your yard’s prices, and check the total against the cost guide’s per-foot ranges before you order.
Disclaimer: Calculator results are planning estimates based on the dimensions you enter. Actual material needs vary with site conditions, product availability, and local pricing. Verify quantities with your supplier and consult a licensed professional for structural or code-related decisions.
