Skip to content Evergreen Landscape Pros builds cedar fencing Santa Fe homeowners can count on all season long. We are committed to quality and excellence, with care and design customized for the Santa Fe area: posts set below frost depth, hardware that will not stain the wood, and a finish plan that holds its color season after season.
When you want quality cedar fencing at an affordable price and backed by a reliable company, then it is time to call Evergreen Landscape Pros of Santa Fe.
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Cedar fencing is a type of wood fencing made from naturally durable cedar lumber, often Western red cedar. Homeowners choose cedar for its attractive appearance, natural resistance to moisture and insects, and ability to provide long-lasting privacy, security, and property definition without the heavily treated appearance of some other fencing materials.
For Santa Fe homeowners, cedar can be an especially attractive choice when you want a fence that combines natural beauty with dependable performance. However, the type and grade of cedar you choose can affect the fence’s appearance, durability, maintenance needs, and overall cost.
Not all cedar lumber performs exactly the same. Heartwood, the darker wood found closer to the center of the tree, contains natural elements that help cedar resist decay and insect damage. Sapwood, the lighter-colored outer portion of the tree, contains fewer of these naturally protective properties. The quality and selection of the lumber used for your fence can make a difference in both its appearance and long-term performance.
Cedar fencing also comes in different grades. Clear cedar has few or no visible knots, creating a cleaner, more refined appearance. Knotty cedar features natural knots and character variations that give the fence a more rustic, traditional look and may offer a more budget-friendly option. When planning your cedar fence design, we help you compare these options based on your home’s style, desired level of privacy, budget, and long-term goals.
A professionally designed cedar fence can create privacy, define property boundaries, screen specific areas of your yard, or enhance your overall landscape. The right combination of cedar material, fence style, and installation methods helps create a finished fence that looks natural and is built around the needs of your Santa Fe property.
Cedar fencing is a type of wood fencing made from naturally durable cedar lumber, often Western red cedar. Homeowners choose cedar for its attractive appearance, natural resistance to moisture and insects, and ability to provide long-lasting privacy, security, and property definition without the heavily treated appearance of some other fencing materials.
For Santa Fe homeowners, cedar can be an especially attractive choice when you want a fence that combines natural beauty with dependable performance. However, the type and grade of cedar you choose can affect the fence’s appearance, durability, maintenance needs, and overall cost.
Cedar fencing is well suited to Santa Fe homes because it offers natural durability, good dimensional stability, and a warm appearance that complements local architecture and high-desert landscapes. With the right materials, design, and installation, a cedar fence can provide long-lasting privacy and visual appeal.
Santa Fe’s high-desert climate can be demanding on exterior materials. Dry conditions, intense sunlight, seasonal temperature changes, and periods of moisture can all cause wood to expand, contract, and weather over time. Cedar is valued for its dimensional stability and relatively low shrinkage compared with many other wood species. While all natural wood will respond to changing environmental conditions, quality cedar and proper fence construction can help reduce excessive warping, cupping, and twisting.
One of cedar’s best-known advantages is its natural durability. Cedar heartwood contains naturally occurring compounds that help the wood resist decay and insect damage without relying solely on chemical pressure treatment. The amount of heartwood, grade of lumber, and overall construction of the fence can all influence its long-term performance.
Cedar fencing can complement a wide range of Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico architectural styles. Its natural warmth works well alongside adobe, stucco, stone, wood accents, and traditional Territorial-style details. Cedar can also be customized with stains and finishes to complement your home’s exterior and landscape design. Left unfinished, cedar will gradually weather to a soft gray over time.
Look
Privacy
Movement in dry air
Finish needed
Repairability
Relative cost
Cedar
Warm, refined, stainable
Full when boarded tight
Full when boarded tight
Low
Optional stain
Board by board
Treated Pine
Utilitarian
Full
High
Recommended
Board by board
Lowest
Latilla
Rustic Southwestern
Partial, filtered
Low, expected
Optional sealer
Rail by rail
Moderate
Latilla
Uniform, synthetic
Full
None
None
Panel sections
Highest
Compared with a synthetic fence, cedar fencing for Santa Fe properties has lower upfront costs, repairs board by board rather than in whole panels, and looks better as it ages rather than simply looking older.
If you want the rustic peeled-pole look rather than a plane of boards, that is a different build entirely. See our Latilla Fencing and Coyote Fencing pages, and for masonry walls, see Stone Fencing.
Cedar’s natural extractives corrode plain steel. Standard fasteners will bleed black streaks down a new cedar fence within a season. Stainless or hot-dipped galvanized hardware costs slightly more and prevents the staining entirely, which is why we use nothing else.
Cedar fencing can be designed in a wide range of styles, from traditional privacy fences to open, decorative boundary fences and modern horizontal designs. For Santa Fe homeowners, the right style can influence more than the appearance of the finished fence. It can also affect privacy, airflow, maintenance, durability, and overall project cost.
Our cedar fencing services include a variety of popular fence styles, each with its own advantages. We can also customize details such as fence height, board spacing, top profiles, gates, and finishes to create a design that fits your property and complements your home.
Overlapping vertical boards create a solid privacy fence with no direct gaps between boards, even as the wood naturally expands and contracts. This style is an excellent choice for homeowners who want maximum privacy while maintaining the appearance of a traditional cedar fence.
Boards run horizontally rather than vertically, creating clean lines and a more modern look. A horizontal board fence works especially well with contemporary homes, patios, and landscape walls, although proper post spacing and construction are important for a straight, finished appearance.
Spaced cedar fence pickets with dog-ear or flat tops create a classic, open design for front yards, gardens, small yards, and property boundaries. This style is a long-standing favourite here. This style provides definition and character without completely closing off views or making a smaller outdoor space feel enclosed.
A cedar split rail fence uses two or three horizontal rails to create an open, simple boundary with a natural and rustic appearance, which is very common in the high desert. Split rail is a good option for defining larger properties, creating a visual boundary, or maintaining an open view while adding structure to the landscape.
Alternating boards are installed on opposite sides of the rails, creating privacy while allowing some airflow through the fence. Because the finished appearance looks attractive from both sides, shadowbox fencing can be a practical choice for shared property lines and neighboring homes.
Wide vertical boards are installed with narrow battens covering the seams, creating a distinctive pattern with strong vertical lines. This style can provide full privacy while adding architectural character that complements ranch, farmhouse, and other traditional home styles.
Every cedar fence can be customized to fit the property where it will be installed. From fence height and layout to board style, gates, finishes, and decorative details, we help Santa Fe homeowners choose a cedar fence design that balances privacy, function, budget, and the overall look of their home and landscape.
The materials used to build your cedar fence can affect its appearance, durability, maintenance needs, and overall cost. Two fences may look similar from a distance, but differences in lumber grade, board thickness, posts, fasteners, and construction methods can significantly affect how the fences perform over time.
Here are some of the smaller details our fencing experts at Evergreen Landscape Pros can help you navigate.
Cedar fence boards
The vertical or horizontal boards that create the main surface of the fence. Board width, thickness, and lumber grade can all affect the finished appearance and price, so we select materials based on the fence style and project rather than using a one-size-fits-all approach.
Cedar fence pickets
Narrower boards commonly used for picket, privacy, and shadowbox fencing. Pickets can be customized with dog-ear, flat, gothic, and other top profiles to match the style of your home and landscape.
Cedar fence panels
Pre-assembled fence sections that can speed up installation on flat, straight runs. Panels can be a practical option in the right setting, while custom-built fencing provides more flexibility for slopes, changing grades, obstacles, and unusual property layouts.
Cedar fence posts
Posts provide the structural foundation for the entire fence. Depending on the design, site conditions, and wind exposure, we may use cedar posts for a consistent natural appearance or incorporate steel posts where additional strength and rigidity are needed.
Clear vs. knotty cedar
Clear cedar offers a smoother, more refined appearance with few visible knots, while knotty cedar has a more natural, rustic character and can provide a more budget-friendly option for longer fence runs.
Fasteners
Quality fasteners are an important part of long-term fence performance. We use corrosion-resistant stainless steel or hot-dipped galvanized fasteners selected for outdoor exposure and compatibility with the fencing materials.
Pre-assembled panels can work well on flat, straight, unobstructed sections where installation efficiency is a priority. Stick-built fencing is constructed on site, allowing the layout to be adjusted to follow changing grades, accommodate obstacles, vary bay widths, and create a more customized fit. For many Santa Fe properties, site conditions such as sloped terrain, uneven ground, and rock can make a custom stick-built approach the better option.
Two cedar fences can look very similar on the day they are installed but perform differently over time. Lumber selection, the amount of heartwood and sapwood, post installation, fasteners, and other construction details may not be obvious in a finished photo, but they can influence the fence’s long-term appearance and durability. That is why we look beyond the visible boards when designing a cedar fence.
Gates take more abuse than any other part of the cedar fencing on Santa Fe properties, so we overbuild them. A gate is the part of a fence that moves and gets used regularly, so it is the part that fails first. We build fences and gates as a single system, rather than as an afterthought.
Our approach to cedar fence and gate design means we frame gates on braced corners with heavy-duty hinges rated well above the leaf weight, and hang them with room to swing as the wood moves through the seasons.
Options we regularly get requests for: matched gates in the same style as existing fences, wider driveway and RV gates, self-closing hardware for pool and safety enclosures, keyed or keypad latches, and cap rails or decorative post tops that carry the detail through.
Homeowners searching for cedar gates in Santa Fe often need only the gate replaced, not the whole fence. If the posts flanking the opening are sound, a new braced gate on proper hardware is a fraction of the cost of a rebuild, and we are happy to quote it that way.
From the first site visit to the final walkthrough, our crew handles every phase of your cedar fence installation in Santa Fe.
Before anything is dug, we locate utilities, confirm the property line, check the grade along the run, and lay out post positions so that bay spacing stays even rather than ending in an awkward short section at the gate.
We walk the line with you, measure, assess soil and slope, discuss height and style, and talk through how much privacy you actually want, at no cost and no obligation.
We set height, style, post spacing, gate positions, and how the fence steps or rakes across sloped ground, then confirm grade and hardware choices.
You receive a detailed proposal that includes linear footage, cedar grade, post type, gate counts, finish plan, and timeline, all completed before any work begins.
We dig below frost depth, set posts in concrete with drainage at the base, and let them cure before framing. Rocky ground and caliche slow this stage, and we price that honestly up front.
Rails go on square to the posts, boards go up with consistent reveal, and cuts stay clean at caps and transitions.
We clean up, walk the finished fence with you, and cover the staining schedule so your new cedar fence keeps the color you picked.
Note: New cedar arrives with a high moisture content and needs to dry before it will accept a penetrating finish. We typically recommend waiting several weeks after installation before the first coat, and we tell you when the fence is ready rather than rushing it.
A cedar fence can look as beautiful years down the road as it did on the day it is installed. What determines how well it performs season after season is often what you can no longer see once the job is finished. Under the ground and behind the poles or boards are a myriad of components that work day in and day out to keep your cedar fence looking its best.
That is why we focus on the structural and material details behind every fence. Properly installed posts, drainage beneath the post, appropriate footing depth for site conditions, quality cedar materials where they matter most, and corrosion-resistant hardware all play a role in the long-term performance of the finished fence.
Wind is another factor we take seriously. A solid privacy fence can create significant wind load, particularly along long, exposed runs. We consider fence height, layout, post spacing, site exposure, and overall design when planning the structure. Where conditions call for it, we can adjust the construction approach or recommend fence styles that allow more airflow.
Building a lasting fence is not simply about using better-looking boards. It is about building the structure behind them to suit the property, the design, and the conditions it will face. That attention to the details homeowners may never see is part of what goes into every cedar fence we design and install for Santa Fe properties.
The cedar fencing Santa Fe properties use can do much more than define a property line. From creating backyard privacy to enclosing gardens and screening unattractive equipment, the right cedar fence can add privacy, structure, and visual appeal to different areas of your Santa Fe property.
Backyard Privacy
Create a more private and comfortable outdoor space with a cedar privacy fence designed around your yard, preferred level of screening, and property layout. Board-on-board, shadowbox, and other privacy-focused styles can help turn an exposed yard into a more defined outdoor retreat.
Gardens and Raised Beds
A lower cedar garden fence can help define planting areas and create separation without completely blocking views or sunlight. A cedar garden fence is one of the most requested smaller projects we take on. Picket and spaced styles are especially well suited for gardens, pathways, raised beds, and other landscaped areas.
Utility and Equipment Screening
Custom cedar screens can help conceal air-conditioning equipment, trash and recycling areas, utility equipment, and other functional features that do not need to become the focal point of your landscape.
Dog Runs and Pet Areas
Cedar fencing can be used to create defined areas for dogs while complementing the rest of the property’s fencing and landscape. Fence height, gate placement, spacing, and layout can all be customized around how the space will be used.
Pool and Outdoor Living Areas
Cedar fencing and privacy screens can help create separation around patios, pool areas, and outdoor living spaces. Depending on the application, the design can provide privacy, screening, or a more defined sense of enclosure.
Multi-Family and Commercial Properties
Cedar fencing can also be used for courtyard dividers, patio screening, dumpster surrounds, and other areas where privacy and visual screening are important. A custom design can provide a more attractive alternative to purely utilitarian enclosures.
Whether you need a single backyard privacy fence or cedar fencing throughout multiple areas of your property, we can help design a solution around how the space is used, the level of privacy you need, and the overall look of your Santa Fe home or business.
Every property is different. A short, straight run of knotty cedar across level ground is a very different project from a tall cedar privacy fence on a slope with two gates. During your cedar fencing consultation, we explain which choices carry long-term value and which are simply preference.
The single biggest driver. Longer runs mean more posts, rails, boards, and labor.
Taller fences need more material per foot and often deeper, wider footings to stay stiff.
A solid privacy fence in board-on-board or shadowbox uses noticeably more lumber than a spaced picket or split rail of the same length.
Clear cedar costs more than knotty. Both work; they simply read differently.
Steel posts and premium hinges cost more up front and reduce what you spend later.
Slope, caliche, and rock slow digging. Stepping a fence down grade adds cut and layout time.
Each gate adds framing, bracing, and hardware, and wide driveway gates add the most.
Removing and hauling away an existing fence is a separate line item.
Staining and sealing at installation is an add-on worth pricing during design.
Because cedar is repairable board by board and does not require wholesale replacement when one section fails, most homeowners find the cost pays back over a longer horizon than a cheaper fence that gets rebuilt twice. We walk you through every line of the estimate so there are no surprises, and the budgets we quote are itemized rather than quoted as a lump sum.
One of the advantages of cedar fencing is that you have a choice in how you want it to age. You can protect and maintain its natural warm color with the right finish, or allow the wood to weather naturally into a soft silver-gray. Neither approach is automatically better: the right choice depends on the look you want and how much ongoing maintenance you are comfortable with.
Unfinished cedar gradually changes color as sunlight and weather affect the wood’s surface, eventually developing a weathered gray appearance. Many Santa Fe homeowners prefer this natural look because it can complement the muted tones of adobe, stone, and high-desert landscapes. Choosing to leave cedar unfinished does not mean ignoring the fence altogether. Periodic inspections, proper drainage, and keeping excessive moisture and vegetation away from the wood can still help protect its long-term condition.
A high-quality penetrating or semi-transparent exterior stain can help preserve and enhance cedar’s natural color while slowing weathering. Unlike film-forming finishes that can create a surface layer, penetrating products are designed to absorb into the wood and can be easier to maintain when it is time for another application. The right finish and maintenance schedule can vary based on the amount of direct sun, weather exposure, and the specific product used.
Not every section of a cedar fence will weather at the same rate. In Santa Fe, areas with prolonged sun exposure can fade and weather differently than shaded or protected sections. South- and west-facing fence runs may need attention sooner than other areas. When we design and install a cedar fence, we can help you understand what to expect based on the fence’s location, exposure, design, and finish. That way, you have a more realistic maintenance plan for your property, rather than relying on a generic maintenance schedule.
From privacy runs in Eldorado to courtyard enclosures in Tesuque and split rail along driveways in Galisteo, we have built cedar fencing Santa Fe-wide and throughout Northern New Mexico. Every cedar fence installation our Santa Fe crews run starts the same way: with a site walk and a written scope. Whether the project is a single gate or a full cedar fence around your property, we build at the scale that fits your property and budget. Ask to see recent work in your area.
A few things set our crews apart from other cedar fencing options in Santa Fe. We work exclusively in Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico, so we know how local soils dig, where the wind actually comes from on an exposed lot, and how fast unfinished cedar turns at this elevation.
We work exclusively in Santa Fe and Northern New Mexico. We know how the soils dig, where the wind comes from on an exposed lot, and how fast unfinished cedar turns at this elevation.
Posts are where fences fail. We dig to depth, set in concrete, and put drainage under the post so water leaves rather than wicking into end grain.
Stainless or hot-dipped galvanized only. Plain steel reacts with cedar’s extractives and streaks a new fence black within a season.
A solid privacy fence creates real wind load on long exposed runs. We size post spacing to the site and can recommend styles that let more air through.
Evergreen Landscape Pros is fully licensed and insured for residential and commercial work in New Mexico. Every estimate is detailed, written, and free.
Our reputation comes from results. Read our Google reviews from Santa Fe homeowners.
We put the budget where it does the work: footings, heartwood at grade, and hardware that will not stain the boards. We will tell you honestly when a repair makes more sense than a replacement. That is the reputation behind a 4.8-star rating across 18 verified Google reviews, honest written estimates, and clean job sites. Evergreen Landscape Pros is fully licensed and insured for residential and commercial work in New Mexico.
Choosing a local Santa Fe fencing company, rather than a regional company from out of the area or even out of the state, matters more than it sounds. A crew that works here every week knows which stone yards and lumber suppliers carry heartwood-graded stock, how deep the frost line runs on your side of town, and which HOAs will ask questions. The cedar fencing services Santa Fe properties get from us come with one local point of contact from estimate through walkthrough.
Because soils, slope, and wind exposure vary across Northern New Mexico, we design each fence for its specific site rather than applying a single standard detail everywhere.
We are based at 105 Cienega St in downtown Santa Fe and install cedar fencing throughout Santa Fe, as well as the region, including Eldorado, Tesuque, White Rock, Española, Galisteo, Pecos, Pojoaque, Seton Village, Lamy, Los Cerrillos, and more than eighteen Northern New Mexico communities. If you are nearby and do not see your town listed, call us anyway: we very likely serve your area.
If you do not see your town on our map, reach out. As we often serve many individuals from outside this area!
Cedar is one option among several, and the right answer depends on the look you want and how much privacy the site needs.
Peeled Southwestern poles set close for filtered privacy and a rustic, regional look.
Moss rock and sandstone boundary walls, entry columns, and gates on footings below frost depth.
Traditional vertical stakes bound tight, the most recognizably Northern New Mexico fence there is.
Mixed-material and one-off designs where none of the standard builds quite fit the property.
Many homeowners pair new cedar fences and gates with Xeriscaping & Desert Landscaping or Hardscaping & Stonework while the yard is already open and equipment is on site.
Common questions about building, pricing, finishing, and maintaining cedar fencing in Santa Fe, NM.
Cedar fencing is constructed from cedar lumber, usually western red cedar. A western red cedar fence resists rot and insects naturally, without pressure treatment, which is why cedar lasts in soil-adjacent, sun-exposed conditions where untreated pine fails quickly.
Properly built cedar fencing lasts decades. What fails first is rarely the boards. It is the posts, so footing depth, drainage at the post base, and heartwood at grade are the parts of the job worth paying for.
Cedar is more dimensionally stable, naturally durable without chemicals, and better looking. Treated pine costs less. If budget is the deciding factor, treated pine is the honest recommendation. For a privacy fence you will look at every day from inside the house, cedar is usually worth the difference.
Cedar fencing is milled lumber that forms a solid or spaced plane of boards. Latilla fences use peeled poles set vertically for a rustic Southwestern look with filtered rather than full privacy. See our latilla page for that build.
Height can be limited by city rules, subdivision covenants, and historic district guidelines, and the limits often differ for front and rear yards. Confirm your requirements before ordering material, and we will build to the approved plan.
Stainless steel or hot-dipped galvanized only. Cedar’s natural extractives corrode plain steel, producing black streaking along the boards. This is one of the most common defects we are called to look at on fences built by others.
Yes, and it is a popular request for contemporary homes. It needs tighter post spacing and careful board selection to stay flat, since long horizontal runs show any bow more obviously than vertical boards do.
Both, depending on the site. Panels install faster on flat, straight runs. Stick-building costs more in labor but follows grade exactly and lets us set bay widths so the run does not end in a short section. Most lots here have enough slope or rock that stick-building is the better call.
Yes. A cedar garden fence around raised beds or a planted area keeps animals out while staying low enough to preserve sightlines. Picket and spaced styles suit this best.
Often, yes. Homeowners looking for cedar gates in Santa Fe frequently need only the gate rebuilt. If the flanking posts are sound, a new braced gate on proper hardware costs a fraction of a full rebuild.
Often, yes. If the posts are sound, replacing damaged boards and rails costs far less than a rebuild. If the posts are failing, a repair usually just delays the real work, and we will say so.
Yes. Cedar’s low shrinkage makes it better suited to our dry air than pine, and its heartwood resists rot without chemical treatment. That combination is why cedar fencing is so consistently specified by Santa Fe builders at this elevation.
Free consultation and a clear, itemized estimate, no obligation.
Give your property a fence that suits the architecture, handles the sun and wind, and stays straight through the seasons. Whether you are replacing a failing fence, adding a cedar privacy fence for the first time, or hanging a gate, we are here to help. Take the first step and schedule your free on-site consultation for a detailed, no-obligation written estimate.
Call Evergreen Landscape Pros at (505) 375-6901 or request your free estimate online. As a cedar fence company Santa Fe homeowners already recommend, we will design and build the cedar fencing Santa Fe conditions call for, and we will stand behind it. Our cedar fencing services, which homeowners rely on, start with a free walk-through of your property.
