About FenceCalculate.com

Who built this, why, and how the math works.

The story behind it

FenceCalculate.com was built by a homeowner who spent three weekends planning a backyard fence — and most of that time fighting with spreadsheets and incomplete online calculators. Every tool either required a contractor lead form, a signup, or was buried so deep in a lumber company's website that you'd give up before you got a number.

After finally building the fence and getting pretty good at the material math, I turned those calculations into this free, no-friction tool. The goal is simple: you give it your fence length and style, and it gives you a shopping list you can hand to the lumber yard counter.

This is a one-person project. I maintain it, update the pricing tables periodically, and add new fence styles based on what readers ask about. There's no team, no VC funding, and no contractor referral commission — just a calculator that works.

What the calculator covers

Enter your fence length, style, height, and post spacing — and instantly get quantities for:

4×4 posts and post hole concrete bags
2×4 horizontal rails
Pickets or boards (with 10% waste buffer already included)
Gates — single (4 ft) and double (8 ft)
Optional cost estimate using your local prices

Supported styles: wood picket, privacy board-on-board, solid privacy, split rail (2-rail and 3-rail), chain link. Imperial and metric units. CSV export and print layout included.

How accurate is it?

The calculator is based on standard North American residential fencing formulas used by framing contractors and lumber yards. All formulas are shown transparently in the "How We Calculated This" section — you can verify every number yourself.

For most flat yards with standard lumber, the estimates are accurate within 5–10%. Terrain (slopes, curves), non-standard board widths from your specific supplier, and corner configurations can affect the final count. The picket and board totals include a 10% waste allowance for mis-cuts and damaged boards.

This is a planning tool, not a replacement for an on-site contractor measurement. For large commercial projects or complex terrain, get a professional estimate.

The formulas

Posts: ceil(length ÷ post_spacing) + 1 + gate_posts
Rails: bays × rails_per_style (2 or 3)
Pickets: ceil((length × 12) ÷ (picket_width + gap)) × 1.10 waste
Concrete (80 lb bags): (π × r² × depth_in) ÷ 1,728 cu in per bag

Standard assumptions: 4×4 posts, 8 ft post spacing (wood), 10 ft (chain link), 1×4 pickets at 3.5 in actual width with 1/4 in gap, post hole depth = fence height ÷ 2, hole diameter = 10 in for 4×4 posts. See the full Methodology page → for detailed formula documentation.

Privacy & Editorial Standards

This tool runs entirely in your browser. The measurements you enter are never sent to any server. The site uses Google Analytics (anonymized) and Google AdSense. See the privacy policy and editorial policy for how we research formulas, update cost data, and keep advertising separate from content.

Have a question, found a bug, or want a fence style added? Email hello@fencecalculate.com — I read every message.