Fence Picket and Post Calculator: Pickets, Posts, Rails and Concrete
Plan a fence run by run: posts, pickets, rails cut from stock lengths, concrete bags and a drawing of every run with gates. Feet or metres. Runs in your browser, nothing is uploaded.
When to use this
- You are building or pricing a wood picket fence with corners and a gate.
- You want a buy list that shares corner posts between runs instead of double counting them.
- You need to know how many rail boards to buy when rails are cut to the length of each bay.
How to use
- Choose feet or metres. Add one row for each straight run between corners or ends.
- If a run has a gate, enter the gate width and where it sits in the run.
- Set fence height, picket width and gap, rails per bay, post spacing and hole size, or keep the defaults.
- Tick the rail lengths your supplier sells, then press Calculate buy list.
- Check the drawing and the run table, then copy the buy list or the link to this plan.
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Report a problem or suggest an improvement
Nothing is sent until you press Send. Your measurements are included only if you tick the box, and you can see the full report below first.
Examples
- 120 ft open fence with one gate: Three runs of 50, 40 and 30 ft, a 4 ft gate in the middle of the 40 ft run, 6 ft tall, 5.5 in pickets, 8 ft post spacing and 3 rails per bay.
- Closed backyard loop: Four runs set to Closed loop: each corner post is shared by two runs, so four runs need four corner posts, not eight.
Understanding the result
Posts are split into end or corner posts, line posts between them and gate posts. Pickets are counted from the fenced length, and the gate leaf if you count it. Rails are cut to the length of each bay and then packed into the rail lengths you can buy, so the buy list shows boards, not just total feet. Concrete is the hole volume minus the post, divided by the yield of one bag.
Limitations
- This estimates materials only. It does not check local height limits, permits, utility lines, property lines or soil conditions.
- Slopes are not modelled. On a slope, measure along the ground and allow extra for stepping or racking the fence.
- Gate frames, hinges, latches, post caps, stain and tools are not counted.
- The drawing is a front view; it does not show the angle of corners.
FAQ
How many fence posts do I need?
Count one post at each end and corner, plus line posts so that no bay is longer than your maximum spacing. A gate adds one or two more posts. The tool also shares corner posts between runs.
How many pickets do I need per foot?
Divide one foot (12 in) by the picket width plus the gap. For 5.5 in pickets with a 1/4 in gap that is about 2.1 pickets per foot. The tool rounds up for each stretch and adds spares.
How many rails per bay?
Two rails are common up to about 4 ft tall and three rails for taller fences. You can set any number from 1 to 6.
How deep should the fence post holes be?
A common rule is one third of the post length buried, and below the frost line where it applies. Local rules and soil matter, so treat the default as a starting point.
How many bags of concrete per post?
It depends on hole size, depth and the bag yield. The tool computes hole volume minus the post volume for every post and divides by the yield of one bag, plus 5 percent.
Does this tool store my measurements?
No. It runs in your browser. The share link keeps your numbers after the # sign, which is never sent to a server.
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