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Quikrete Fence Installation: The Los Angeles Owner’s Guide
Quikrete fence installation in Los Angeles typically runs $4,130 to $10,620 for a standard backyard perimeter, and that price covers concrete footings, post setting, panel installation, and cleanup. Most homeowners discover their Quikrete-based fence project has gone sideways when posts start leaning within the first year, or when the concrete at the base cracks and spalls after a wet winter. We stock Quikrete fast-setting concrete mixes and fence post products on our trucks, so we can usually start a fence repair or replacement within a few days of your call.
Here’s the thing about Quikrete and fences: the product itself rarely fails. What fails is the installation. In Los Angeles, we see two recurring problems. First, posts set in concrete that wasn’t mixed to the right consistency or poured into holes that were too shallow. Second, concrete poured against wood posts without proper drainage, which traps moisture and rots the post at ground level. We’re an independent service provider, not affiliated with Quikrete, but we’ve installed enough of their products across LA to know exactly where installations go wrong and how to fix them so they stay fixed.
Which Quikrete Models This Applies To
Quikrete makes several concrete products that apply to fence work, and the one you need depends on your post type and how fast you need it to set. The main lines are Fast-Setting Concrete Mix (sets in 20 to 40 minutes, no mixing required, just pour dry into the hole and add water), Quikrete 5000 (a 5,000 PSI mix for heavy gates and tall privacy fences), and standard Concrete Mix for general post setting. For vinyl and aluminum fence posts, Quikrete’s Fast-Setting is usually the right call because it expands slightly as it cures, which locks the post in place.
The compatibility gotcha most people miss: Fast-Setting Concrete Mix should not be used for posts that will carry significant lateral load, like a gate post or a corner post on a long fence run. Those need a wet-mixed concrete with higher compressive strength. If your fence post is rotted at the base, the concrete is probably fine and you only need a new post and fresh concrete around it. If the concrete itself is cracked and crumbling, that’s a footing failure and the whole section needs to be redone. We carry all three Quikrete mixes on the truck and can match whatever your existing installation used.
Styles & brands we work with
Signs Your Quikrete Fence Installation Is Failing
- Posts leaning more than a few degrees. This usually means the footing was poured too shallow or the concrete didn’t cure properly before the fence panels went up. In LA’s clay-heavy soil, which expands and contracts with moisture, a shallow footing gets pushed around within a season or two.
- Concrete cracked at the base of the post. Water got into the concrete and froze during a cold snap, or the post was set in concrete that was mixed too wet. Once cracking starts, water keeps getting in and the damage accelerates.
- Wood posts soft or spongy at ground level. Concrete was poured flush with the soil line, trapping water against the wood. This is the most common fence failure in Los Angeles, especially in coastal neighborhoods like Mar Vista and Playa del Rey where morning fog keeps things damp.
- Fence panels sagging between posts. The posts themselves may be fine, but the rails or brackets are pulling loose. This often happens when the original installer used fasteners that weren’t rated for outdoor exposure.
- Gate dragging or won’t latch. The gate post has shifted in its footing. Gate posts take far more stress than line posts, and if they weren’t set with a high-strength mix and a deeper hole, they’ll move within the first year.
See the difference
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AfterReplacement Cost & What’s Included
For Los Angeles, expect to pay between $4,130 and $10,620 for a full Quikrete fence installation, depending on linear footage, fence height, post material, and whether we’re removing an old fence first. A single post replacement with new concrete usually runs $295 to $590. A 50-foot section with new posts and panels typically falls between $2,950 and $5,310. We give you a written, line-item price before any work starts, and that’s the number on the invoice, period. No change orders, no surprise add-ons.
Every Quikrete fence installation we do includes removal and haul-away of the old fence if needed, digging and setting new footings at the correct depth for LA soil, post placement with proper drainage, panel installation, and a full cleanup. The work is covered by our 365-Day Done Right Promise: if it’s not done right, we come back and make it right, backed in writing. Luca Romano personally checks every fence job before we call it done.
DIY or Call Us?
You can absolutely reset a single fence post yourself if you’re comfortable digging a hole and mixing concrete. The key measurements: the hole should be three times the post width and at least one-third the post length deep, so a 6-foot post needs a 2-foot hole. In Los Angeles, you generally don’t have to worry about frost depth, but you do have to worry about clay soil and drainage. Slope the concrete away from the post so water runs off instead of pooling.
Where DIY goes wrong is with fence runs longer than about 20 feet, gates, corners, and anything on a slope. Those require layout skills, proper bracing, and the right concrete mix for the load. We’ve fixed plenty of DIY fence jobs in Eagle Rock and Silver Lake where the posts were plumb but the line was off, or the gate post moved within six months. If you’d rather have it done right the first time, call (254) 272-5876 and we’ll get you a written estimate.
FAQs
A properly installed Quikrete fence with pressure-treated posts or steel posts should last 15 to 25 years in LA’s climate, though wood fencing may need panel replacement sooner due to sun exposure and termite pressure. The concrete footings themselves will outlast the fence. If your posts are failing within five years, the installation was the problem, not the Quikrete. Call (254) 272-5876 and we’ll tell you exactly what went wrong and what a fix costs.
In most cases, yes. If the concrete is intact and only the wood post has rotted, we can remove the old post, clean out the footing, and set a new post in fresh Quikrete without disturbing the surrounding fence line. If the concrete itself is cracked or the post is leaning because the footing shifted, that section needs to be dug out and repoured. Either way, the repair is usually less than a full fence replacement.
Most residential fence installations in Los Angeles take two to four days from start to finish, depending on the linear footage and whether we’re removing an old fence. Quikrete Fast-Setting Concrete Mix means we can set posts and hang panels in the same day for shorter runs. We’ll give you a firm schedule before we start, and we hit it. Call (254) 272-5876 for a precise timeline on your project.
Yes, we keep Quikrete Fast-Setting Concrete Mix, Quikrete 5000, and standard Concrete Mix stocked on our trucks, so there’s no run to the supply yard mid-job. If your project needs a specific Quikrete product we don’t happen to have on board, we’ll have it picked up before we arrive, not after. We also stock fence post brackets, fasteners, and other hardware so a typical fence repair is a single visit.
Written by Luca Romano, Owner, Sawyer Remodeling at Sawyer Remodeling, serving Los Angeles and nearby areas. Good work doesn’t need a sales pitch, it just needs to be done right.
