Is cedar worth the extra over treated pine in Idaho?

For pickets, generally yes. Cedar stays dimensionally stable through Jerome’s humidity swings where treated pine is more prone to cupping and twisting as it dries. The common compromise here is treated posts with cedar pickets — treated wood handles ground contact better, cedar handles sun and movement better, and you pay for each where it earns its keep.

How much does it cost to stain a fence in Jerome?

Roughly $2.50 to $6 per linear foot for a clean-and-stain, depending on height, condition, and coating. On a 150-foot fence that is about $375 to $900, and it needs doing every two to three years in this climate. Factor it in when comparing wood against vinyl — over twenty years it is the larger number.

Why is board-on-board more expensive?

It uses noticeably more pickets, because each one overlaps its neighbor rather than sitting beside it. In exchange you get no gaps when the wood shrinks — which matters in a climate this dry — and a fence that looks finished from both sides, which quietly settles the which-side-faces-the-neighbor question.

Cost Guide

How Much Does a Wood Fence Cost in Jerome, Idaho?

Wood fence pricing for Jerome and the Magic Valley — $20 to $45 per linear foot installed, cedar against treated pine, and what sealing costs over the life of the fence.

Wood fence runs $20 to $45 per linear foot installed in the Jerome area, depending on species and style. A 150-foot run lands between $3,000 and $6,750. Treated pine sits at the bottom of that band and cedar near the top, with board-on-board construction above standard dog-ear.

Published 2026-08-16 · Updated 2026-08-16

What wood costs here

Item	Cost
Wood fence, installed	$20 – $45 per linear foot
150-foot run	$3,000 – $6,750
Walk gate	$250 – $600 each
Removing an existing fence	$3 – $8 per linear foot
Clean and stain (later, recurring)	$2.50 – $6 per linear foot

The spread on wood is wider than any other material because “wood fence” covers a lot of ground — a four-foot treated-pine picket fence and a six-foot cedar board-on-board fence are both wood, and they are not remotely the same price.

Work out your own footage with the fence cost calculator.

Where you land in that range

Species. Treated pine is the bottom of the band. Western red cedar is near the top. The middle is where most Jerome fences actually sit, because the common build here uses pressure-treated posts with cedar pickets — treated wood handles ground contact, cedar handles sun and movement.

Construction style. Standard side-by-side (dog-ear or flat-top) is the base. Board-on-board and shadowbox use meaningfully more pickets and cost more. Board-on-board eliminates the gaps that open when wood shrinks; shadowbox alternates pickets across the rails, looks finished from both sides, and lets some wind through — which matters on exposed lots.

Height. Six feet is the Jerome maximum in rear and side yards and the basis for these figures. Four-foot runs come in roughly 15% lower.

Ground and access. Flat with truck access is the low end. Slope, tight side gates, or basalt close to the surface push it up. See how deep posts need to go here.

The number people forget

Wood has a running cost that vinyl and metal do not.

New cedar needs 30 to 60 days to dry and shed its mill glaze before it will take a coating — staining it too early gets you a finish that peels within a year. After that first coat, plan on re-sealing every two to three years, and expect the south and west faces to need it before the north and east ones do.

At $2.50 to $6 per foot, a 150-foot fence is $375 to $900 per cycle. Over twenty years that is seven or eight cycles, and it can exceed what the fence cost to build.

This is not an argument against wood. It is an argument for knowing the real number before you choose. Plenty of people look at that and still want cedar, because a well-kept cedar fence looks better than anything else at this price. Just choose it with the arithmetic in front of you. Side-by-side comparison in vinyl vs wood in this climate.

What this climate does to wood

Jerome runs from −25 °F to 110 °F on under ten inches of annual precipitation. That combination is harder on wood than the rainfall figure suggests.

Checking and cupping. Wood that dries fast in 110 °F summer heat splits along the grain and cups. Cedar resists this better than pine.

Shrinkage gaps. A side-by-side fence built tight in April can show daylight by August as the pickets dry and shrink. Board-on-board is the standard answer.

UV graying. Bare wood grays within about two seasons here. Greying is surface fiber degradation rather than rot — it washes off and the sound wood underneath takes stain fine — but it is the visible clock on an unsealed fence.

Ground-line rot. Where posts meet soil, especially near irrigation, is where wood fences actually die. It is also why post material and setting method matter more than picket choice.

Jerome’s rules favour wood

The city lists wood and vinyl as preferred fence materials, with chain link encouraged only for back yards. Six feet is the maximum in rear and side yards, and no building permit is required under seven feet. Front yards are capped by the three-foot sight rule within twenty feet of the property line.

Full detail in the Jerome permit and height guide.

What to ask before you sign

Wood fence quotes vary more than any other material, and the differences are mostly invisible once it is built:

Species, separately for posts and pickets. “Wood fence” is not a specification.
Post size and depth, plus concrete volume per post.
Fastener type. Hot-dip galvanized or stainless ring-shank. Electroplated fasteners bleed rust stains down a cedar fence within a year, and near irrigation they fail outright.
Rail count. Three rails on a six-foot fence, not two.
Whether old footings are being extracted if this is a replacement.

Getting a real number

The wood fence installation page covers what the job includes, and staining and sealing covers keeping it alive.

Estimates are free across Jerome and the Magic Valley — written, per foot, with gates and removal broken out separately.

The bottom line

If you want this priced for your own property rather than in ranges, we come out and measure at no charge across Jerome and the Magic Valley. You get a written per-foot price with gates and removal broken out separately. Call (208) 732-2816.