Fence Material Calculator
Enter your fence run and style to get the complete shopping list: posts, rails, pickets, and concrete, in the quantities the yard actually sells.
8 ft is standard; 6 ft for tall or windy sites.
Standard dog-ear pickets are 5.5 in.
0 for privacy, 1.5 to 2.5 for picket style.
2 x 80 lb bags suits a 10 in x 24 in hole. Use the post hole calculator for exact counts.
Posts
15
Rails
39
Pickets
210
Concrete
30 bags
13 sections at 8 ft, plus one extra post per gate. Rails are 8 ft 2x4s. Picket count excludes 1 gate opening at 4 ft, and gates typically reuse 6 to 8 pickets each from the total you buy anyway as spares.
How the math works
Sections are the run divided by post spacing, rounded up, and posts are sections plus one, plus an extra post for each gate since gates hang between their own pair. Rails multiply sections by two or three depending on height.
Pickets divide the run (minus roughly 4 feet per gate opening) by picket width plus gap, in inches. Concrete multiplies posts by bags per hole; the default of two 80 lb bags matches a typical 10 by 24 inch hole, and the post hole calculator dials it exactly.
FAQ
- How many fence posts for 100 feet?
- At 8 foot spacing, 100 feet of fence needs 13 sections, which is 14 posts, plus one additional post per gate. At 6 foot spacing it is 17 sections and 18 posts.
- How many pickets do I need per foot of fence?
- Standard 5.5 inch pickets installed tight for privacy run about 2.2 pickets per linear foot, or roughly 22 pickets per 8 foot section. Spaced picket styles need fewer; divide the run by picket width plus gap.
- Should fence posts be 6 or 8 feet apart?
- 8 feet is standard and matches stock rail lengths. Go 6 feet for fences over 6 feet tall, heavy solid-board designs, or windy exposed sites, where shorter spans stiffen the fence considerably.
- How many rails does a fence need?
- Two rails for fences up to about 5 feet tall, three for 6 foot privacy fences. The third rail keeps tall pickets from cupping and gives the bottom a fastening line.