What it costs to take out an old fence in Toledo

Tearing out an old fence and hauling it away runs $5 to $10 per linear foot in Toledo. That is the published rate from the one local contractor who puts his prices in public, and it is charged on top of the new fence, not inside it.

Ohio contractors elsewhere publish much the same thing. One lists $5 to $12 a foot, another $4 to $12. National figures for haul-away labor alone run $3 to $10 a foot, and one national estimator puts the whole removal and disposal bill at $600 to $800 for most fences between 100 and 200 feet.

Worked examples

Removal at the Toledo band of $5 to $10 a foot.

Now the whole job, replacing a fence rather than just taking one down. Treated wood privacy at the Toledo rate of $25 to $35 a foot, with the old fence removed:

Add gates on top of that. Ohio contractors quote $200 to $600 for a walk gate.

What makes removal cost more

The old posts. Panels and pickets come off quickly. Posts set in concrete are the slow part, and there is a real difference between pulling the whole footing out of the ground and cutting the post off at grade. Ask which one you are paying for, because a footing left in the ground can sit exactly where the new post needs to go.

What the fence is made of. Chain link, wood and vinyl all come apart differently and take up different amounts of room on a trailer.

Access. A truck that can back up to the fence line is one price. Carrying everything through a narrow side gate is another.

How much there is. Disposal is charged by volume, so a tall solid fence fills a trailer faster than a short one of the same length.

Doing it yourself

If you are taking the fence down yourself, the local option is the Hoffman Road Landfill at 3962 Hoffman Rd, Toledo, on 419-936-3077.

What the city publishes about it:

• Residential disposal hours are 8am to 3pm
• The minimum charge is $16 for one cubic yard, and one to five cubic yards runs $16 to $80
• Fees are based on the capacity of your vehicle or container, not what you actually brought
• Payment is cash only, before you enter
• Wood waste is on the accepted list, and a wood fence qualifies
• Lucas County residents get three free disposal days a year, with photo identification and a utility bill, and you unload it yourself

Two honest warnings. First, the free days do not accept commercial loads, so a contractor cannot use them for your fence. Second, the city code section that governs the landfill appears to bar commercial loads generally, but that page could not be read directly during our research, so we are reporting it as unconfirmed. If you or your installer plan to tip a fence there, call 419-936-3077 first and ask.

Do not plan on the regular trash. Toledo limits bulk pickup to five items a week, each under 40 pounds. A dismantled fence is well past that.

Digging near where the old posts were

Old fence lines are not safe ground. Ohio law requires notice to 811 at least two working days before digging, and the state’s own material names fence post holes as one of the jobs that hits buried lines. That applies to pulling posts out as much as putting new ones in.

Your contractor has to call, on every job. A homeowner working alone on their own property is exempt from the notification requirement, but the exemption falls away in utility easements and public rights of way, and a buried line does not care who is holding the shovel. There is a full explanation on our 811 page.

Permits

Taking a fence down is not what needs the paperwork. Putting one back up is.

In the City of Toledo any fence needs a $50 Certificate of Zoning Compliance regardless of height. The one exception is a repair of 100 square feet or less in matching material. In Perrysburg a permit is required any time a fence changes in height, style or location, so like for like replacement is not automatically exempt there either. Check the permit page for your city before the old fence comes down, because that is when you find out the new one cannot go where the old one was.

Sales tax

Under Ohio Administrative Code 5703-9-14 the contractor is the consumer of the materials that go into your property, so he pays the sales tax on his purchases and does not charge tax on the job. Removal is labor and disposal, and it will show as part of one lump sum with no tax line on your invoice.

Ask for it as its own line

The cleanest quote separates the new fence, the gates and the removal. That way you can see what each part costs, you can decide whether to take the old fence down yourself, and there is no argument later about what was included.

See your price range

The estimator has a removal option. Put in how many feet of old fence has to come out along with your new fence runs, and you will see both in the range. If it looks right, request a quote and up to three local fence pros will come and measure.