National 2026 figures say most fence repairs cost between $300 and $900. The count of posts that have to be replaced is the main thing that moves a job up or down.
Every dollar range on this page is a national figure that HomeGuide published for 2026. None of them is a quote from Fence Company San Jose. Wages in the South Bay, the cost of lumber and metal, and what we find on your lot all move the real price. Figures last checked October 2026.
- Small, $100 to $300: a couple of boards, a hinge, a latch, a gate adjustment.
- Medium, $300 to $900: one panel or bay, one or two posts, a set of gate hinges.
- Large, $900 to $2,500: several posts in a row, a section lying on the ground, a broken frame.
What is the cost to fix a leaning fence?
It tracks the posts. Each failed post has to be dug out with its concrete, replaced and re-attached, and that is where the labor goes. A lean that traces to one or two posts is a medium job on the list above. If a whole side has loosened, which is common on 30-year-old tract fences, one visit to rebuild that side is cheaper than several visits to prop it up.
Why is my fence leaning? Can it be straightened?
Often it can. In the Santa Clara Valley the cause is nearly always one of these:
- The post has decayed where wood meets damp soil.
- The footing is shallow, and shrinking and swelling clay has worked it loose.
- A sprinkler has been soaking the same posts for years.
- Wind has been pushing on a tall solid fence in softened winter ground.
If boards and rails are sound, we set new posts and re-hang what you have.
What does it cost to replace a rotted fence post?
For one or two posts, expect the $300 to $900 medium band from the national figures. The work is the same each time: detach the rails, extract the post and its concrete, dig deeper, set the new post and crown the concrete so water runs off. August clay is the slow part. It is hard enough that a hole can take several times longer than it would in spring.
The gate sags and misses the latch. Fix it or replace it?
Fix it in most cases. A gate sags for three reasons: the hinge post has leaned, the hinges have worn or pulled their screws, or the frame has dropped out of square as the wood dried. We deal with the post first, then brace the frame corner to corner and reset the latch. A new gate is only needed when the frame itself is rotten or split.
What do contractors charge for a broken gate latch?
It belongs in the small band, $100 to $300 nationally. A good share of that is the cost of sending a truck, since most companies have a minimum visit charge. Make a list of every loose board and squeaky hinge and have it all done at once.
Over winter the posts moved and now the gate will not close. Can that be fixed?
Yes. People who have lived in cold states call this frost heave, but San Jose soil does not freeze. Here the posts moved because adobe clay dried and cracked away from the footings in summer, then took on water and swelled when the rain came. Tamping soil back in buys a season at most. Resetting the posts in deeper footings is the repair that lasts.
Why does my fence go wavy every winter?
Because the posts are not all moving the same amount. Expansive clay lifts and tilts whatever is anchored only in its top layer, and a fence with shallow or uneven footings shows it as a wave along the top. The soil is a given in this valley. Depth is the part an installer controls, so a rebuild should go deeper than the fence it replaces.
A branch bent my aluminum fence. Is it the rails or the full panel?
It depends on the product. Aluminum fence that was assembled on site from loose pickets and rails can have single parts changed. Fence that came as welded or factory-assembled sections is repaired by swapping the section. Text us one photo of the damage and one of where a rail meets a post, and we can usually tell which you have.
For a price on your own fence line, book the free site visit. We measure, then send the quote in writing. Call (408) 539-3039.