Fence Calculator: Posts, Rails and Pickets

Six to eight feet is standard for wood fences. Eight feet uses fewer posts and is common, while six feet adds rigidity for tall or heavy panels and windy sites. The calculator defaults to eight.

Sections are the run divided by the post spacing, rounded up, so a 100 ft run at 8 ft spacing is 13 sections. Posts are the sections plus one for the far end, plus one more for each gate. A 13 section fence with one gate needs 15 posts.

A straight run needs a post at both ends, so a fence with N sections uses N plus 1 line and end posts. Each gate adds one more post for the hinge or latch side, which the calculator includes.

Two rails suit fences up to about four feet, while taller privacy fences usually use three. The default is three rails per section, which keeps pickets flat over time. Total rails are the sections times this number.

It converts the run to inches, divides by the picket face width and rounds up, assuming boards butt together with no gaps. At 5.5 inch pickets a 100 ft run is 1200 inches divided by 5.5, which rounds up to 219 pickets.

Yes. Set the Picket width to 0 and the picket tile shows n/a while sections, posts and rails are still calculated. That is handy for split rail fences or when you only need the framing count.

No. Pickets depend only on the total length and picket width, not post spacing. Post spacing only changes how many sections, posts and rails you need along the same run.

No. The count assumes a single straight run with pickets touching. For corners add a post per turn, and for a spaced or shadowbox look you will use fewer boards, so widen the picket width to approximate the layout. Everything runs locally in your browser and nothing is uploaded.