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Fence and Deck Building & Repair Experts
Ballpark ranges only, not a quote: fencing in Ontario generally runs about $40-$95/linear foot depending on material. Wood privacy fencing (Peter's own material) commonly runs $28-$60/linear foot, with high-end builds using 6x6 posts and full pressure-treated privacy boards landing $68-$75/linear foot. Chain link (Peter's other material) commonly runs $25-$38/linear foot for a 6 ft fence. A 100-linear-foot wood privacy fence often lands around $4,000-$6,500 all-in. These are wide, self-serving 2026 marketing-content ranges, not a fixed price. Your actual cost depends on length, height, terrain, gates, and material. Book a real estimate for a number you can rely on.
Fences are generally governed by municipal fence by-laws (mostly height limits), not by an Ontario Building Code permit the way a deck or shed can be. So the question to ask is usually "does my fence comply with the local by-law," not "do I need an OBC permit." Confirm the specific process with your own municipality before building. There is one exception where a fence DOES need a building permit, not just a by-law check: a fence that encloses a swimming pool, or that replaces an existing pool enclosure. The City of Niagara Falls states this directly on its own Fences page: "You do not need a building permit to construct a fence unless you install a swimming pool or replace an existing pool enclosure." In St. Catharines, By-law No. 2014-068's own Section 9, "Swimming Pool Enclosure," s.9.1, requires a permit from the Chief Building Official for any "Outdoor Swimming Pool" -- a by-law-defined term (Definitions section) meaning a pool holding 0.6 m or more of water; s.9.1 itself sets the permit requirement, and the 0.6 m depth threshold comes from that Definitions clause, not s.9.1. In Niagara-on-the-Lake, By-law No. 5155-19 requires a permit for a fence enclosing a pool OR a hot tub, applied for through the Town's Cloudpermit portal. Confirm the pool-enclosure requirement with your own municipality before building a fence around a pool or hot tub. In Niagara Falls, the confirmed by-law maximum is 2.5 m (about 8'2") in the rear yard and 1 m (about 3.28 ft) along the front-yard side. In St. Catharines, By-law No. 2014-068 (as amended by By-laws 2014-214, 2024-122, 2025-040, and 2025-055), s.8.2, sets a confirmed maximum of 1 metre in a required front yard and 2 metres in any other yard. In Niagara-on-the-Lake, By-law No. 4778-14 sets the same two figures, 1 metre in a front yard and 2 metres above adjoining ground level in a side or rear yard, under its own separate by-law. Check your own municipality's fence by-law, or ask us to confirm it as part of your project. Corner lots carry their own lower limits near the intersection so drivers and pedestrians can see, and each town sets them differently. In Niagara Falls, Fence By-law 2005-70, s.5, caps any fence within 9 m of a highway intersection at 75 cm above the grade of the adjacent road, and the City's own Fences page says "The height is lower in front yards and corner lots so that vehicles and pedestrians can be seen." St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake run their own sight-triangle caps. Niagara-on-the-Lake also has a SECOND, independent corner-lot rule: By-law No. 4778-14, s.5(c), separately caps a side yard that abuts a street at 1.0 metre, not the flat 2 m side/rear figure above -- and on a corner lot, the street-abutting side yard is exactly the yard in question, so the lower cap applies there (the by-law's own AMPS set-fine schedule, By-law No. 4778A-21, prices a s.5(c) contravention at $125). See /fence-bylaw-guide/ for the full per-municipality figures. Before any fence post hole gets dug -- by us or by a homeowner working alone -- Ontario law requires a locate request first. The Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012 defines an "excavator" as any individual who digs or intends to dig (s.1), with no private-property exception, so Peter's crew carries the same duty on every post hole as a homeowner would on their own property. An excavator may not commence a dig without first submitting a locate request (s.10(1)); the request is free by law (s.5.1(4)), and skipping it carries a fine of up to $10,000 (s.18). Ontario Dig Authority, the locate service called Ontario One Call until October 1, 2026, names building a fence directly among the jobs the request covers. The City of Welland's own building page, which still uses the old name, puts it plainly: "Before you dig, call 1-800-400-2255 or visit Ontario One Call to request utility locates." The phone number is unchanged, but Ontario Dig Authority asks for locate requests through its web portal and tells homeowners to contact it at least 5 business days before a single-address project. Build that lead time into your schedule before post holes go in. Separately, and often the more consequential question for a shared boundary fence: under Ontario's Line Fences Act, a neighbour can be compelled to share the cost of a boundary fence, but only through the Act's own formal process: notice to the municipal clerk on the Act's prescribed form, then, if the two owners cannot agree, an award from the municipality's fence-viewers, by default splitting the cost one-half each. A private written agreement between neighbours is a separate, different mechanism. Skip the formal notice and build first, and you generally cannot go back and force your neighbour to pay afterward. Two towns we serve are different: St. Catharines (By-law No. 2014-068, s.12.11) and Thorold (Fence By-law 28-2008, s.4.1.1) have both turned the Act off, so this process does not apply there. Thorold has its own cost-share rule instead (see /fence-building-thorold/). See ontario.ca/page/line-fences-act for the full process.
Wood privacy fencing costs less per foot upfront and gives full, natural-looking privacy, but like any exterior wood in Ontario's climate it needs periodic re-staining or sealing to hold up over the years. Chain link costs less again per foot, needs essentially no annual finishing, and is a durable, low-maintenance boundary option, but it does not provide privacy the way a solid wood fence does. Peter builds both wood privacy and chain-link fencing; vinyl and ornamental/metal fencing are not part of his current lane, so if you are set on one of those materials, ask directly and we will tell you honestly whether that is a fit. The right choice usually comes down to whether privacy or budget-plus-low-maintenance matters more for your property.
Ballpark, fencing in Ontario runs about $40-$95/linear foot depending on material. Wood privacy typically runs $28-$60/linear foot (up to $68-$75/linear foot for a high-end 6x6-post full-privacy build), and chain link typically runs $25-$38/linear foot. A 100-foot wood privacy fence often lands around $4,000-$6,500 all-in. These are wide ranges, not a quote. Book an estimate for a number specific to your property.
Under Ontario's Line Fences Act, a neighbour CAN be compelled to share the cost of a boundary fence, but only through the Act's own formal process: notice to the municipal clerk on the Act's prescribed form, then, if the two owners cannot agree, an award from the municipality's fence-viewers, by default splitting the cost one-half each. A private written agreement between neighbours is a separate, different mechanism. Skip the formal notice and build first, and you generally cannot go back and force your neighbour to pay afterward. This does not apply in St. Catharines or Thorold, which have both turned the Act off (By-law No. 2014-068, s.12.11; Fence By-law 28-2008, s.4.1.1). If you start the process in late fall, ask the clerk about timing: a council may pass a by-law that holds fence-viewers off between November 1 and March 31 (Line Fences Act s.5(2) and (3)), and the clerk can postpone a view for weather or ground conditions (s.5(1)). See ontario.ca/page/line-fences-act for the full process.
In Niagara Falls, the confirmed maximum is 2.5 m (about 8'2") in the rear yard and 1 m (about 3.28 ft) along the front-yard side. In St. Catharines, By-law No. 2014-068 (as amended by By-laws 2014-214, 2024-122, 2025-040, and 2025-055), s.8.2, sets a confirmed maximum of 1 metre in a required front yard and 2 metres in any other yard. In Niagara-on-the-Lake, By-law No. 4778-14 sets the same two figures, 1 metre in a front yard and 2 metres above adjoining ground level in a side or rear yard, under its own separate by-law -- except that a side yard abutting a street (the corner-lot case) is separately capped at 1.0 metre under s.5(c), not 2 metres. Corner lots carry their own lower limits near the intersection. In Niagara Falls, any fence within 9 m of a road intersection is capped at 75 cm above the grade of the adjacent road (s.5). See /fence-bylaw-guide/ for the full per-municipality sight-triangle and corner-lot figures.
Generally fences are governed by municipal fence by-laws (mostly height limits), not by an Ontario Building Code permit the way a deck or shed can be. One exception: if the fence encloses a swimming pool or hot tub, or replaces an existing pool enclosure, a building permit generally IS required -- Niagara Falls, St. Catharines (By-law No. 2014-068, s.9.1), and Niagara-on-the-Lake (By-law No. 5155-19, which also covers hot tubs) each require one. Outside the pool case, the practical question is usually "does my fence comply with the local by-law," and that's worth confirming with your own municipality before building.
Yes -- and this applies to homeowners and contractors alike. The Ontario Underground Infrastructure Notification System Act, 2012 defines an "excavator" as any individual who digs or intends to dig (s.1), with no private-property exception, and an excavator may not commence a dig without first submitting a locate request (s.10(1)). The request is free by law (s.5.1(4)); skipping it carries a fine of up to $10,000 (s.18). Ontario Dig Authority (formerly Ontario One Call) names building a fence directly among the jobs the request covers. The City of Welland's own building page, which still uses the old name, states it directly: "Before you dig, call 1-800-400-2255 or visit Ontario One Call to request utility locates." Requests go through Ontario Dig Authority's web portal, and it asks homeowners to contact it at least 5 business days before a single-address project. Build that lead time into your schedule before post holes go in.
Wood privacy fencing costs more per foot but gives full, natural privacy and needs periodic re-staining. Chain link costs less, needs almost no upkeep, and is very durable, but does not provide privacy. Peter builds both: the right call usually comes down to whether privacy or budget-plus-low-maintenance matters more for your property.
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