Picket Fences in Tallahassee, FL

Wood is the traditional picket and still the cheapest, at about $10 to $40 a foot installed in Fixr's guide. The top shape adds to the bill:

• Flat top: $10 to $15 a foot
• Dog-ear or French Gothic: $15 to $20
• Classic: $20 to $25
• Pointed: $25 to $30

Treated pine posts sit in damp, termite-prone ground here, so ask what treatment rating the posts carry (see Wood Privacy Fences for the ground-contact rating to ask for).

Plastic pickets never need paint, which is most of the reason people pick them. Cellular PVC, a plastic that can be shaped to look like wood from a distance, runs about $25 to $30 a foot installed and won't rot. Its stock color is white, and like vinyl it can grow mold, mildew and algae in shade, so plan on a wash now and then. Full vinyl styles and colors are covered on Vinyl Fences.

Metal pickets cost about $20 to $45 a foot installed and need little upkeep. Aluminum won't rust, while steel is stronger but needs its coating kept up. Picket spacing matters if the fence holds a small dog (see Dog Fences) or doubles as a pool barrier, which must meet the Florida pool barrier rule (see Pool Fences). Prices by aluminum style are on Aluminum Fences.

Instead of a level top, the pickets can follow a curve between posts. An arched line rises from short pickets at the posts to the tallest in the middle. A scalloped line does the opposite and dips in the middle. A staggered line alternates mitered picket tops. Fixr says a design like this adds about $1 to $2 per foot for the extra cutting.

A matching walk gate adds about $200 to $600 to the job. Post caps cost $3 to $10 each, and solar caps that light the walk start around $20. An arbor over the gate, curved scrollwork or a custom gate moves the fence into what Fixr calls ornamental picket, which starts at about $20 to $25 a foot. Ask for the arbor's footings to be set like fence posts, in concrete.