Pricing guide
What fence privacy panels really cost, from the shop that cuts and installs them
We cut the panels on our own equipment in Montreal and install them ourselves, so there is no middleman to explain away. Here is exactly what moves a privacy panel quote up or down, and what to send us so the number you get is real.
What moves the price
1.How many bays you fill
This is the biggest lever, and it is entirely yours. A privacy panel job is priced by the bay, the space between two posts, so filling the one section that faces the neighbour's window is a fraction of doing the whole perimeter. Most people do not need the whole perimeter: they need the two or three sightlines that actually bother them. Walk the fence and notice where you feel watched, and that is your real scope.
2.Bay size, and whether it is straight or arched
A panel is cut from a sheet, so a taller or wider bay is simply more material. Shape matters separately: a straight rectangular section is a fast cut, while an arched gate top has to be measured as a curve and cut to that curve. The arch is the reason to cut rather than use slats, and it is also real machine time, so an arched gate costs more than a straight section of the same width.
3.Plain or printed
A plain charcoal or black panel is the base, and for most fences it is the right answer: it reads as shadow behind the pickets and disappears. Printing a wood grain, a foliage pattern, or your own artwork adds a press pass before the panel is cut. It is a real upgrade with a real cost, so a common approach is plain on the runs nobody looks at and printed on the one section you see from the patio.
4.Panel thickness and wind exposure
An open fence lets wind through. A filled one does not, and that load has to go somewhere: into your panel, your pickets, and your posts. A long unbroken run on an exposed corner lot needs more panel and more fixing points than a short protected section between a house and a hedge. We spec the thinnest panel that stays flat in your actual spans rather than defaulting to the heaviest sheet and charging you for it.
5.Access and site conditions
Installation is on-site labour, and the site decides how long it takes. A fence you can walk along with clear ground on both sides goes quickly. A run tight against a cedar hedge, over a slope, behind a pool deck, or reachable only through a narrow gate takes longer, and long panels have to physically get there. None of this is exotic, it is just why we look before we quote.
6.Buying from the shop that cuts it
A landscaper or fence company who sells you privacy panels is buying the panel from someone like us and adding a margin, then subcontracting the install. We cut the panel on our own equipment and install it ourselves, so there is no layer in between. It is the one cost factor that has nothing to do with your fence, and it is the easiest to remove.
How to pay less, honestly
Fill the sightlines, not the perimeter
The cheapest privacy job is the one that only covers what actually exposes you. Stand where you sit, or where you swim, and look. Usually two or three bays are doing all the damage, and the rest of the fence faces a hedge, a garage wall, or your own driveway. Fill those and stop.
Do it in one trip
Measuring and installing are visits, and visits do not get cheaper when you split them across three summers. If you know you eventually want the pool side and the driveway side, doing them in the same install is meaningfully less than two separate jobs a year apart. Price the full scope now even if it surprises you; you can still cut it back before you approve.
Print only where it shows
Printing is per panel, so it does not have to be all or nothing. Put the wood grain or the pattern on the section framing your patio, where you look at it every evening, and leave the run along the driveway plain charcoal. Nobody has ever noticed the difference from the street, and it is a straightforward way to get the look for less.
Go in with the neighbour
A fence between two yards is a sightline both of you dislike, and it is the same run of fence, the same measure visit, the same install trip. If your neighbour has been meaning to do the same thing, booking together is less work for us and less cost for both of you. Mention it when you book.
The bottom line
Fence privacy panels are priced by the bay, so the honest answer to what they cost is: it depends on how many sightlines you actually need to block, whether any of them are arched gates, and whether you want the panel printed. Filling two or three bays that expose you is a fraction of doing a whole perimeter, and either way it is far less than replacing a fence that already passes code. We measure, cut, and install ourselves in Montreal, so the quote comes from the people doing the work, within one business day of seeing your fence.
For an accurate quote in one business day
Include these in your request and we'll come back with a real number, not a vague range.
- A few photos of the fence: the whole run from a step back, plus a close-up of one bay and of the gate.
- Roughly how many sections you want filled, or just which views bother you. We confirm the count at the measure.
- Whether the fence encloses a pool, since that is the most common version of this job and it has its own rules.
- Whether you want plain charcoal or a printed panel, and on which sections.
- Your postal code, so we can confirm we cover you and book the measure.
- Anything awkward we should know about: a slope, a hedge tight to the fence, a narrow gate, a pool deck in the way.
Frequently asked questions
- How much do fence privacy panels cost?
- It depends on how many bays you fill, their size and shape, plain or printed, and site access. We do not publish a per-panel price because a number quoted before anyone measures your fence is a guess, and guesses on this job are wrong in both directions. Send photos and your postal code and we book a measure, then you get a real price.
- Can I just buy the panels and install them myself?
- No. Bays are never a standard size, gates are arched, and a panel cut to a number measured in a hurry is scrap rather than a saving. Someone has to measure it properly for it to fit, and once we are there measuring, installing is the short part. It is quoted as one job.
- Is this cheaper than replacing the fence?
- Substantially, and that is the point. You keep the posts, the pickets, the gate, and the hardware you already paid for, and around a pool you keep an enclosure that already passed inspection. You are buying a panel and an afternoon of labour, not a new fence.
- Do arched gates cost more?
- Yes, a little. The curve has to be measured and cut as a curve rather than a straight line. It is also the part that makes the job look finished instead of obviously patched, and it is what no snap-in slat product can do at all.
- How fast can you do it?
- You get a price within one business day of the measure. After you approve, the panels are cut and finished in the shop before we come back, so the install itself is usually a single visit.
Start your project
Send your specs and get a manufacturer-direct price, itemized line by line, within one business day.