What fence repair costs in Tallinn: typical prices
The Abimeister team · Updated · 4 min read
A leaning post, a few rotten boards, a gate that no longer latches — these are repair jobs, not new fences, and they are priced differently. Where a new fence is usually quoted per metre, a repair is nearly always billed by the hour, because the work varies more than the materials do. This guide sets out what drives the price, roughly how long the common repairs take, and at what point a repair stops being a small job and becomes one that needs a fixed quote.
Why repairs are priced by the hour, not the metre
A new fence is a repeating job: the same post spacing, the same board width, the same steps done many times over, which is why it suits a per-metre price. A repair is the opposite. One broken board might take fifteen minutes to replace; the post next to it might be rotten below ground and take two hours to dig out and reset.
Because the scope is uneven, we charge hourly work from 39 € per hour for general repairs, or from 45 € per hour where the job is specifically fence repair and installation work needing the right posts, brackets and levelling tools. The call-out fee is 25 € within Tallinn and is deducted from the bill if the work goes ahead.
If you already know the fence needs rebuilding along its whole length rather than patching, that is a different job and a different guide — see our per-metre new fence pricing instead of this one.
What affects the price of a typical repair job
Access matters more than most people expect. A fence along a quiet garden path is quick to reach; one buried behind shrubs, next to a neighbour's boundary, or on sloped ground takes longer before any repair work even starts.
The material decides how the job goes. Wooden panel and picket fences are the most common repair in Tallinn's older districts and are usually straightforward. Chain-link and welded mesh need different fixings. Metal gates with rusted hinges sometimes need cutting and welding rather than a simple swap.
Whether we supply materials or you do changes the bill too. Posts, boards, concrete and hardware bought by us carry a 10 % handling fee on top of the material cost; buying them yourself avoids that fee but means agreeing sizes and quantities in advance.
Time and price for the repairs we see most often
Most repair calls fall into a handful of categories, and most of them are finished within one to three hours of on-site work, plus materials.
A straightforward job — a couple of boards, a gate catch, tightening loose fixings — is often the shortest billable visit we do, sometimes not much more than the one-hour minimum plus the call-out.
- Replacing 2–4 broken or rotten boards: around 1–2 hours
- Re-hanging or adjusting a sagging gate: around 1–1.5 hours
- Straightening a single leaning post without full replacement: around 1.5–2 hours
- Resetting a post in fresh concrete: around 2–3 hours including concrete curing time on-site
- Repairing a section of chain-link or mesh after storm damage: around 1.5–3 hours depending on length
- General tightening, hinge and latch adjustment across a whole fence: often billed as odd jobs from 39 € per hour
When a small repair turns into a fixed-quote job
A repair stays hourly work as long as its scope is easy to see from the start: a fixed number of boards, one or two posts, a gate. Once several posts along a run are rotten, or the fence has been leaning for so long that the whole line has shifted, the job starts to resemble a rebuild rather than a patch.
If your problem is specifically a leaning post and you are not sure whether it is a quick straighten or a full reset, our leaning-post guide covers that decision in more detail than we can here.
As a rule, if more than a third of a fence run needs new posts or boards, or if we cannot tell the extent of rot and damage without opening up the ground, we will offer a fixed quote instead of an hourly estimate. That quote is based on a description or photos and stands for 30 days.
What is included on the invoice and what is charged separately
The invoice itemises hours worked and any materials supplied, and is sent by email, payable within seven days. The call-out fee appears only once and only if it was not already folded into the first hour of work.
Materials we supply are listed with the 10 % handling fee shown separately, so you can see what the parts cost against the labour. If you supply your own materials, only labour and the call-out appear.
Not included: work on gas lines, and anything involving a load-bearing wall, though these rarely come up with a garden fence. Our own repair work carries a 24-month guarantee, which covers the repair itself, not wear from weather afterwards or materials you supplied yourself.
Fence repairs are billed by the hour from 39–45 €, most small jobs take one to three hours, and anything affecting more than a third of the fence usually gets a fixed quote instead.