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HeizerDesk Fence Calculator
Enter the total run and how far apart you are setting posts. This gives you the post count, rails, pickets for a privacy fence, and how much concrete it takes to set them. It is a free Fence Calculator for fencing work, with the formula printed below the answer.
Your numbers
Result
Posts needed
22
posts
- Pickets
- 328boards
- Rails
- 57rails
- Rail material
- 456linear ft
- Concrete bags50 lb fast-setting, 2-3 per post
- 44bags
- Sections
- 19sections
- Post length to buy
- 8ft
- Set depthOne third of fence height
- 2ft
How this is calculated
- Sections = run length ÷ post spacing, rounded up.
- Posts = sections + 1, plus two more for every gate.
- Rails = sections × rails per section.
- Pickets = (run × 12) ÷ (picket width + gap).
- Set depth = one third of the fence height, and never less than 2 ft.
- Post length to buy = fence height + set depth.
Before you order
- One third of the height buried is the rule of thumb, but frost line beats it: in a cold climate the post has to go below the frost depth or it will heave, whatever the arithmetic says.
- Check the property line and the setback before digging, and call 811 first - hitting a utility is the one mistake on this page that can kill you.
- Gate posts carry a swinging load and should be bigger than line posts, set deeper, and in more concrete.
- On a slope, a stepped fence needs more picket length than the flat run suggests. Measure along the ground, not across the map.