Cedar privacy fences
We build cedar privacy fences for backyards in Austin and the towns around it, with side-by-side or board-on-board pickets, a kickboard, and a cap and trim. We set galvanized steel or cedar posts in concrete, with the posts and rails on your side.
Side-by-side or board-on-board
Side-by-side fences use one layer of pickets butted edge to edge. Board-on-board fences have two staggered layers, with the front boards overlapping the back ones so you can’t see through the fence from an angle. Both are full privacy fences, and we turn the finished face out toward the street or the neighbors.
Tops, trim, and the kickboard
Dog-ear pickets make the plainest top because the two top corners of each picket are cut off at an angle. A framed top has a flat cap board laid across the top of the pickets and posts, with a narrow trim board under it on the finished side. A kickboard runs along the bottom and keeps the pickets up off the soil.
Posts and rails
We set every post in concrete and build on galvanized steel posts or cedar posts. Rails run between the posts on the inside face, and the pickets fasten to them. Our guide explains how cedar, pine, and steel posts compare.
Picket fences
We build shorter cedar picket fences for front yards, with spaced pickets. The City of Austin says a fence built since July 31, 2023 can’t have spiked pickets above the top rail, or pickets above the top rail spaced more than 2 and less than 9 inches apart (Austin City Code § 25-2-899). Our guide covers Austin’s safe-fencing rules.
Height, permits, and HOAs
The City of Austin limits a solid fence on a property line to 6 feet in most cases and requires a permit for a fence over 7 feet, or over 6 feet along a public street. Your HOA can set the style and material of the fence, and our guide to fence height and permit rules covers the City’s rules.
What it costs
Angi’s Austin fence installation page, updated August 4, 2026, puts wood fences at $10 to $48 per linear foot. The rest of the published figures are in our guide to what a fence costs in Austin.
Questions about wood privacy fences
Which side of the fence faces the neighbors?
The finished face of the pickets faces out toward the street or the neighbors. The posts and rails sit on your side, inside the yard.
How tall can a wood privacy fence be in Austin?
In the City of Austin, Austin City Code § 25-2-899 limits a solid fence on a property line to 6 feet from natural grade. The City of Austin allows 7 feet where the grade changes at least 1 foot along the run, and 8 feet only with each neighbor’s written consent and one of the conditions the code lists. Those limits are covered in the full height rules.
What fence works for a dog?
A solid cedar privacy fence blocks the view through the fence, and a kickboard closes the gap along the ground. The gate needs a latch that lines up.