A wood fence in Kansas City lives or dies underground. RKC installs Western Red Cedar and pressure-treated pine in every style the metro wants — board-on-board, shadowbox, horizontal, dog-ear, and picture-frame — with every 4x4 post set 36 inches deep in poured concrete below the KC frost line, fastened with galvanized ring-shank nails, and stained in-house on a schedule we track. The same company installs, stains, and repairs the fence for its whole life.
The short answer
Cedar is the Kansas City wood-fence default, and how deep the posts go decides how long it lasts. RKC builds cedar and pressure-treated pine — board-on-board, shadowbox, horizontal, picket — with every post set 36 inches in poured concrete, below the 30–36 inch frost line the clay and freeze-thaw would otherwise heave. Then the same company stains it in-house and repairs it when it needs it.
RKC installs and repairs every type of fence — wood, vinyl, chain link, ornamental iron, aluminum, and commercial security — plus in-house staining. Cedar needs a finish plan (staining and sealing), and a broken board is a repair, not a replacement.
The part you can’t see
A wood fence fails from the footing, not the pickets — so the number that matters most is the one underground. Here is the 36-inch standard translated from the question you actually ask into the build detail and the KC reason behind it.
| What you ask | In plain English | The RKC build detail | Why it matters in KC |
|---|---|---|---|
| How deep should the posts go? | Deep enough that a KC winter can’t lift them | 36 inches, in poured concrete, with a bell-bottom footing | The KC frost line runs 30–36 inches; a post above it heaves 2–3 inches every freeze-thaw cycle, and the metro logs 80+ a winter |
| In concrete, or just tamped dirt? | Wet-poured concrete, not a dry bag | 40+ lbs of wet-set concrete per post, flared at the base | Dense KC clay holds water against the post and a privacy run takes real wind — a dry-set or half-bag footing walks within a few seasons |
| Will it survive the wind? | That’s a post-and-spacing question | 4x4 cedar or PT posts on 6–8 ft centers; hidden steel where the run is exposed | A 6-foot privacy panel is a 48-square-foot sail, and KC sees 25+ mph wind days routinely |
| What actually holds the boards on? | The right fasteners | Galvanized ring-shank nails or structural screws, joist hangers at the rails | Smooth-shank nails loosen in a few years as cedar cycles wet and dry; ring-shank and screws hold for the life of the fence |
| How long will it last? | Depends on depth and stain | 15–25 years for cedar on 36-inch posts, kept on a stain cycle | A shallow-set fence roughly halves that — it heaves and the posts rot early no matter how good the boards are |
Josh walks every install, and the 36-inch footing is documented with jobsite depth photos — because it is the one part of the fence a homeowner can never verify after the concrete is poured. It is also why our replacements outlast the fences they replace. New cedar then goes on a stain schedule, and a damaged board is a repair down the road, never a teardown.
The material choice
Both perform in Kansas City. The choice is longevity and looks versus up-front cost. We quote both side by side rather than steering you to the pricier option — here is how they actually differ.
Natural oils resist rot and insects with no chemical treatment. Dimensionally stable, so it stays flat on a picket. Takes semi-transparent stain beautifully and shows its grain. Runs 15–25 years here. The reason it is the "JoCo look" and the metro standard.
Chemically protected against rot, meaningfully cheaper per foot, and durable when set deep. Runs 10–15 years. It arrives wet, so it waits longer before its first stain. An honest choice on a long run where budget leads — not a lesser one.
Treated 4x4 posts below grade with cedar boards above is a common, deliberate combination — the treated timber handles the soil-contact rot zone while the visible fence is cedar. It saves money in the one place where saving money is defensible.
Tight-grain, small-knot cedar stays straight and finishes evenly; knotty construction-grade cedar cups and bleeds resin around the knots. When a covenant reaches down to "wood grade," this is the distinction it means. We build to the grade that lasts.
The style choice
"Privacy fence" describes an outcome, not a build — and the builds behave differently. Wind, cost, how it ages, and how the neighbour feels about it all change with the profile.
Overlapping pickets, so the run stays solid even after cedar shrinks in its first dry summer. Finished from both sides, more lumber than a plain privacy fence, and the profile we recommend where a run faces a street or a shared line.
Alternating pickets on either side of the rail — about 90% private, both faces finished, and wind passes through instead of loading the panel. The "good-neighbor" build many HOAs mandate, and the diplomatic answer on a shared line.
Boards run sideways for a clean, modern line — the contemporary look that is exploding in the newer master-planned areas. It wants straight, well-graded lumber and careful spacing, and it reads high-end on the right house.
Dog-ear is the straightforward solid privacy workhorse; spaced picket is the low, open, front-yard classic. Picket also satisfies front-yard height and openness rules where a solid privacy fence is not allowed.
A trim board framing the panel and a horizontal cap over the top — it protects the picket end grain and is what a covenant means by "looks finished from the street." Worth the upgrade on a street-facing run.
Stockade is a tight, economical solid-board run; split rail is the open, rural boundary look for a larger lot. Both are cedar or PT, both set to the same 36-inch standard — the style is open, the footing is not negotiable.
Wood fence catalog
Cedar and pressure-treated pine in every major profile — all built to the same 36-inch-post standard. Browse the catalog to compare styles, colors, and specs before your estimate.
Select a style above to see colors and details
How the install runs
Posts first, concrete cures, panels go up — with a stain plan written before we leave. Most residential wood fences run 1–3 days of on-site work once permits clear.
We measure the property, walk cedar versus pine and the style options on your actual lot, and send a written, itemized estimate — posts, concrete, hardware, permit, and cleanup on separate lines.
We pull the city permit and schedule the 811 utility locate before breaking ground. Where an HOA applies, the architectural submission goes in too, and we do not dig until it is approved.
Every post is set 36 inches in wet-poured concrete and left to cure before the panels are hung. Galvanized ring-shank nails, joist hangers at the rails, kickboard where the ground runs wet.
We walk every foot of the fence with you before the balance is due, and the first stain coat is booked for about 30 days out — logged on our calendar, handled by the same crew.
What wood fences cost
A 150-to-200-foot cedar backyard runs about $3,750–$7,000 installed. Material, style, gates, grade, and old-fence removal move the number — here is how the pieces price.
About $25–$35 per linear foot installed, board-on-board around $28–$38. The metro default and the best long-term value on curb appeal and lifespan.
About $18–$28 per linear foot installed. The budget-conscious privacy choice, durable when set to depth, with a longer wait before the first stain.
A step above standard privacy per foot — they use straighter, higher-grade lumber and more careful layout. The modern and finished-from-the-street looks.
Gate count, grade change on a sloped lot, old-fence tear-out, steel-post reinforcement on an exposed run, and premium stain. All itemized before you sign.
Every estimate is free, written, and itemized. Factor the stain cycle into the real cost of ownership — see fence staining and sealing — and know that a broken board later is a repair, not a replacement.
Recent wood installs
Every photo is a real RKC wood fence. Privacy, dog-ear, and stained cedar, on flat lots and sloped ones across the metro.
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Read all 85 reviews on GoogleKansas City wood fence questions
The questions that come up most on cedar and pine estimates across the metro. If yours isn’t here, call (913) 286-1091 — Josh usually picks up.
A wood fence is a lifecycle: build it here, keep it on a stain plan, and repair a board or a post rather than replacing the run.
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