Most fence repairs are priced per post or per panel. Expect $140 to $260 per timber post replaced and around $200 per Colorbond post, with a minimum call out of $150 inc GST so a tradie is not travelling for one paling.
Typical repair cost: $150 minimum call out, then $140 to $260 per post
Minimum call out: $150. Applies to all repair jobs
Replace one timber post: $140 to $260. Dig out old footing, concrete new post
Replace one Colorbond post: from $200. Panel removed and refitted
Replace loose or broken palings: $15 to $30 each. Cheaper when done with other work
Re-fix or replace a rail: $90 to $180. Per rail, per bay
Straighten a leaning section: $250 to $600. Depends on how many posts move
Replace one Colorbond panel: $180 to $320. Colour match may vary on older fences
Fence repair cost in Melbourne
Most Melbourne fence repair calls come after a big wind, or after a wet winter finally finishes off posts that have been rotting at ground level for years. Either way, the job is priced the same way: a $150 minimum call out inc GST, then per post, per rail or per panel for the actual work.
A typical single leaning post repair lands between $290 and $410 all up. Three posts and a couple of rails in one visit is usually $700 to $1,100, because the call out and setup only get charged once.
Clay-heavy suburbs through the west and north see more post failures than sandy bayside blocks, mostly because clay holds water against the timber right where the post meets the soil.
Why the minimum call out exists
Travel, tools, and setting up cost the same whether the job is one paling or ten. The $150 minimum covers that, and it is put towards the work rather than charged on top of it.
The practical takeaway: batch your repairs. If there is a wobbly post at one end and three loose palings at the other, book them together. You pay one call out instead of two.
When repairing stops making sense
As a rough rule, once more than about a third of the posts are failing, staged repairs cost more over two or three years than a single replacement, and you still end up with an old fence.
Other signs it is time to replace: palings splitting or cupping along most of the run, rails sagging between every post, or a Colorbond fence where the bottom of the sheets has rusted through from soil contact.
If you are unsure, price both. A replacement quote and a repair quote side by side usually makes the decision obvious in about a minute.
What to check before you book
Walk the fence and push firmly on each post. Count how many move at the base, note any rails that have pulled away, and count broken palings. Those three numbers are all that is needed for an accurate price.
Take a photo of the worst section. Colour, height and post type are all visible in one shot and it saves a back-and-forth.
If the fence is on a shared boundary, give your neighbour a heads up. Repairs to a boundary fence are often a shared cost.
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