# Fence Replacement in Ontario, CA > Fence replacement in Ontario, CA: the old fence and footings torn out and hauled away, a new fence built on the line, with per-foot costs and permit rules. URL: https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/fence-replacement/ Service Tear-out, haul-away and a new fence on the line. Get an Estimate [(909) 324-5352](tel:+19093245352) Last Updated: October 31, 2026 The old fence shows where a fence stood, not where the property line is. Replacement is two jobs on one line: taking the old fence and its footings out cleanly, and building a new fence that is not limited by how the old one was set. Fence replacement in Ontario, CA means taking out an old fence, its posts and its footings, hauling it all away and building a new fence on the line, usually with a building permit, since the City of Ontario requires one for wood, chain link and iron fences over 3 feet. [Grove Ontario Fence Builders](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/) replaces worn-out wood, vinyl, chain link and iron fences across Ontario and the west Inland Empire, with the work carried out by licensed and insured fence contractors. This page covers when replacement beats repair, how the tear-out is handled, what to settle about the property line and a shared fence, and what the job costs per foot. Replacement is a different job from a first fence. The line is already set, the neighbors already have an opinion about it, and the old posts and concrete sit exactly where some of the new ones want to go. ## What happens on the first visit The visit confirms that replacement is the right scope. A fence with one broken section and sound posts elsewhere is a [fence repair](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/fence-repair/); a fence leaning, rotting or rusting along most of its length is not. The old fence is walked end to end: post condition at the ground line, how the posts were set and in what size of footing, the material and its condition, gates, and anything attached to it, such as a neighbor’s lattice, lights or irrigation. The line comes next. Its length, corners, gate openings and any change in grade go on the sketch; a new fence on a slope is measured for height from its low side under Development Code 6.02.020.C, so an old fence that stood taller on the high side may have to come down in height. Then the questions that decide the price: who owns the fence with you, whether anyone doubts the line, whether an HOA reviews fence changes, and what a new fence must step around. The permit and a DigAlert ticket follow, the ticket placed two working days or more ahead of digging as Government Code 4216.2 requires. ## When to replace instead of repair Repair fixes parts. Replacement makes sense when the problem is the whole fence. The signs are system-wide: wood posts soft at the ground line along the run, termite damage that turns up in rail after rail, boards brittle and split from years of sun, vinyl gone chalky and cracking, chain link rusted through at the posts, or a fence that leans in several places after every windy season. Ontario’s climate is hard on all of it: NOAA’s 1991-2020 normals put 19 days a year at or above 100°F at the airport, and that sun ages wood, vinyl and paint alike. Termites deserve a word. UC IPM’s pest notes describe subterranean termites reaching untreated fence posts through the soil (Publication 7415) and drywood termites, common in Southern California, nesting in wood above the ground (Publication 7440). When an old wood fence comes out, its rails and posts show how widespread the damage was, and termite-riddled wood near the house is worth a pest inspection. The [termites and fence posts guide](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/guide/termites-fence-posts/) covers the difference, the [how long fences last guide](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/guide/how-long-do-fences-last/) sets realistic lifespans, and the [repair or replace assessment](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/tools/fence-repair-or-replace-assessment/) walks through the decision. ## Tear-out, old footings and haul-away Tear-out removes the boards or panels, rails, posts and gates, and stacks them for haul-away. The posts are the slow part. Where old posts were set in concrete, each footing has to be broken out, pulled whole or left in place. A footing that sits where a new post will go has to come out completely, because a new post cannot be set properly in broken concrete. Where the new layout puts posts elsewhere, an old footing can sometimes be cut off below grade and left, which saves time and weight. In loose sand, the hole left by a pulled footing is refilled and compacted before a new post goes nearby. Old footings also explain why reusing old posts rarely pays. A wood post that looks sound above ground may be soft just below it, and old steel posts may be in the wrong place for the new panel width. The new fence is laid out for its own post spacing. Survey monuments and property pins near the line are left undisturbed. Sprinkler lines, plants and anything else along the fence are part of the scope too, and the quote should say who reroutes irrigation if a post lands on a pipe. ## The property line and the shared fence An old fence shows where a fence stood, not where the property line runs. Fences are not always built exactly on the line, and a replacement in the same place carries any error over. If both owners accept the line, that is usually how it stays. If the line is doubtful, the fence is visibly crooked or the corner pins are missing, a licensed land surveyor can mark the boundary before the old fence comes out; the [property line and survey guide](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/guide/fence-property-line-survey/) covers what a survey settles. Chino Hills formalizes this for permitted walls and fences: its Common Property Line Wall/Fence Agreement has all adjoining owners sign that the footing location matches the commonly recognized boundary, or else requires a stamped survey at footing inspection. A side or rear fence between two lots is a dividing fence. California Civil Code 841, in force since January 1, 2014, presumes that adjoining owners benefit equally from a dividing fence and share the reasonable cost of necessary replacement unless they agree otherwise in writing. An owner who wants the neighbor to share the cost gives 30 days’ written notice first, describing the problem, the proposed solution, the estimated cost, the proposed split and the timeline; the replacement quote can serve as the estimate. The presumption can be rebutted, for example where the cost is unreasonable or driven by one owner’s taste. What that notice should contain is set out in the [good neighbor fence law guide](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/guide/good-neighbor-fence-law-california/). This is general information, not legal advice. ## Permits, rules and changing materials Because Ontario’s Building Permit FAQ lists wood, chain link and wrought iron fences over 3 feet, replacing a backyard privacy fence is almost always a permitted job. The new fence also has to meet today’s height limits, 3 feet in a front yard and 6 feet along side and rear lines, even where the old one exceeded them. The [Ontario fence permit guide](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/guide/fence-permits-height-rules-ontario-ca/) covers the details. Replacement is also the natural time to change material. A wood fence can give way to [vinyl](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/vinyl-fence-installation/), or an old chain link line to [wood](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/wood-fence-installation/) or steel. HOA rules can narrow the choice: some Ontario Ranch specific plans, Edenglen among them, do not allow wood on thematic perimeter fencing, and the [Ontario Ranch page](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/service-areas/ontario-ranch/) covers those tracts. The [vinyl vs wood fence guide](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/guide/vinyl-vs-wood-fence/) compares the two most common choices, and the [block wall vs fence guide](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/guide/block-wall-vs-fence/) covers the masonry alternative. ## What a fence replacement costs A replacement is priced as two parts: removing the old fence and building the new one. Removal and haul-away runs about $3 to $8 a linear foot as a typical Southern California range, landing high where posts sit in big concrete footings or debris has a long carry to the street. The new fence is priced like any installation; the table below this article lists the typical ranges, from $18 to $38 a foot for 4 to 6 foot chain link up to $35 to $100 for wrought iron, tubular steel or aluminum. As an illustration, replacing 120 feet of old wood fence with a 6-foot vinyl privacy fence at $35 to $75 and up per foot comes to about $4,200 to $9,000 or more for the fence, plus roughly $360 to $960 to remove and haul away the old one. Gates and the permit come on top, and the result is for budgeting, not a quote. Ontario charges permit fees on the valuation the city assigns. Its [published fee table](https://www.ontarioca.gov/government/community-development/building/building-department-fees) works out, for example, to $125.25 on a $6,000 valuation, or roughly $226 once plan check (80 percent of the permit fee) and a small state fee are added. Local labor costs a little more too. Bureau of Labor Statistics data puts the mean fence erector wage in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro at $26.95 an hour, roughly 11 percent over the $24.29 national mean. That wage is not what a job is billed at: the price also has to carry materials, insurance, licensing, trucks, dump fees and overhead. The [fence cost estimator](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/tools/fence-cost-estimator/) and the [Ontario fence cost guide](https://groveontariofencebuilders.com/guide/fence-cost-ontario-ca/) go further. ## What's included - Walking the old fence to confirm that replacement, not repair, is the right scope - Raising property-line and shared-fence questions before the price is final - The permit, an HOA submittal where required, and a DigAlert ticket - Tear-out of boards, panels, rails, posts and gates - Removing old concrete footings, or cutting them below grade where a new post will not land on them - Haul-away of the old fence and footings - Leaving any survey monuments or property pins undisturbed - A new fence set out on the agreed line, with posts sized for the height, soil and wind - A final walk of the line, gates and latches, and cleanup ## What a replacement fence costs per linear foot, installed | | Typical Southern California range | What pushes it up | | --- | --- | --- | | Old fence removal and haul-away | $3 to $8 | Posts in large concrete footings, bulky panels, long carries to the street | | Chain link, 4 to 6 ft | $18 to $38 | Taller fabric, heavier framework, black vinyl coating, gates | | Wood privacy, 6 ft, redwood or cedar | $30 to $70 | Heart grades, board-on-board, cap and trim, steel posts | | Vinyl privacy, 6 ft | $35 to $75 and up | Heavier tongue-and-groove systems, premium colors, decorative tops | | Wrought iron, tubular steel or aluminum | $35 to $100 | Custom fabrication, taller panels, powder coating, gates | ## Related resources Learn What does California's good neighbor fence law require? How Civil Code 841 splits the cost of a dividing fence, what a written notice has to contain, how a neighbor can push back, and where the spite fence rule fits. Learn Can you put a fence on the property line? Where Ontario lets a fence sit, how the true line is found, what a licensed land surveyor does, and the easements and buried utilities that decide where a post can go. Cost Guide How much does fence installation cost per linear foot in Ontario, CA? Typical installed ranges by material, the site conditions that push a job up or down, and the public figures that sit inside an Ontario fence price. Learn Which fence lasts the longest in Ontario, CA? No material comes with a guaranteed number of years. What decides how long a fence stands here is how it meets the ground, the sun and the wind. Decision Guide Vinyl or wood fence: which is the better choice in Ontario, CA? Both make a solid 6-foot privacy screen. They differ in price, in how they age under inland sun, in what fails in a windstorm and in how much work they ask of you afterward. Decision Guide Should you build a vinyl fence or a block wall, and how do the costs compare? A vinyl fence and a block wall both close off a yard, but one is a set of posts and panels and the other is a reinforced masonry structure. That difference runs through every line of the comparison. Learn Do you need a permit for a fence in Ontario, CA? Heights, rules and approvals What the City of Ontario permits and reviews, how tall each part of a fence can be, and the state, HOA and neighbor rules that sit on top of the city code. ## From first call to final gate 1. First call Address, fence length, height and material in a few minutes, plus photos if you have them. 2. Site walk and layout The line is walked and measured, gates and slopes marked, and survey questions raised where the property line is unclear. 3. Permits, HOA and DigAlert The permit and any HOA approval are lined up, and DigAlert marks utilities before digging. 4. Posts, then panels Posts are set and cured before rails, boards or panels go on, and gates are hung last so they close square. 5. Walk-through The finished line, gate swing and latches are checked with you, and debris is hauled away. ## What this work looks like Old concrete fence footings dug out and lined up beside their holes along a fence line Old fence boards and posts stacked neatly in a dump trailer at the curb in front of a stucco house New redwood privacy fence along a property line where a gray weathered fence stood Neighbor's side of a new shared good-neighbor fence, finished boards facing the neighbor and rails hidden ## Fence replacement questions ### Can a new fence go on the same line as the old one? Usually, if both neighbors accept that line and nothing suggests it is wrong. An old fence is not proof of the property line, though, and replacing it is the cheapest moment to check. If the line is disputed, the old fence is badly crooked or pins cannot be found, a licensed land surveyor can mark the boundary before the new posts go in. ### Do the old concrete footings have to come out? Where a new post will land on or next to one, yes, because a new post cannot be set properly in a broken old footing. Elsewhere, an old footing can sometimes be cut off below grade and left. Removing large footings adds time and haul-away weight, so the quote should say which approach it assumes. ### Can I switch from wood to vinyl or steel when I replace my fence? Yes. Replacement is the natural time to change material, height within the limits, or style. Check any HOA rules first, since some Ontario Ranch specific plans restrict materials on certain lines, and confirm the permit question for the new material. Post spacing and footings are planned for the new fence, not copied from the old one. ### What happens to sprinklers and plants along the old fence line? They are worked around, but they are part of the scope. Irrigation lines often run close to fence posts, and roots and shrubs can sit right on the line. Mark sprinkler heads and lines you know about, decide which plants need protecting or moving, and confirm who reroutes irrigation if a new post lands on a pipe. ### Is it cheaper to replace a fence one side at a time? Per foot, usually not, since each visit carries its own setup, permit and haul-away. It can still make sense if one side has failed and the others are sound, or if a neighbor is sharing the cost on one line. Matching the first section's material and style when the next side is done is easier if the choice is made up front. ## Related services ### Fence repair → Leaning posts, broken panels, rot, termite damage and wind damage. ### Vinyl fences → Vinyl privacy and semi-privacy fences with reinforced rails and posts set for wind. ### Wood fences → Redwood, cedar and fir privacy fences, dog-ear and board-on-board, on wood or steel posts.