Multi-material fence planning
Fence Project Material Planner: Posts, Pickets, Rails & Concrete
Measure one fence line, subtract gate openings, then coordinate posts, pickets, rails, fasteners and concrete from the same run. Every spacing, hole size and product dimension stays editable because the project layout and local conditions must control the real installation.
Fence run + material assumptions
Use the actual project layout and product dimensions. Spacing and hole dimensions are entered assumptions, not recommendations from this tool.
Coordinated result
One fence model, five material decisions
Method
How the coordinated fence plan works
Solid fence run
Total gate-opening width is subtracted from the full fence line. The remaining solid run feeds pickets, rails and post-bay planning so the same geometry is reused instead of re-entered across several calculators.
Posts and bays
The planner divides the solid run by the entered maximum post spacing, rounds bays up, then adds one terminal position plus one additional terminal position for each gate break. Extra posts are explicit for corners, separate runs or other project-specific conditions.
Pickets
Picket face width plus installed gap forms one repeat module. The planner rounds the base count up and then applies the spare allowance to whole pickets.
Rails and fasteners
Horizontal rail footage is based on solid run × rails per bay. Rail stock is rounded from total linear material and therefore remains a planning minimum; actual cut layout can require extra pieces. Picket fasteners use picket count × rail count × entered fasteners per intersection, plus the spare allowance.
Concrete
Every planned post receives one cylindrical hole using the entered diameter and depth. The total volume is divided by the entered bag yield and rounded up to whole bags. If your installation does not concrete every post, use the dedicated post-hole calculator for the exact subset.
Worked example
Example: a 100 ft fence with one 4 ft gate
With 96 ft of solid fence and an entered 8 ft maximum post spacing, the planner resolves 12 solid-fence bays. One gate splits the line, so the base planning model uses 14 posts before any extra corner or special posts. With 5.5 in pickets, a 0.5 in gap and 5% spare, the same 96 ft solid run needs about 203 pickets. Two horizontal rails per bay create 192 linear ft of base rail material before cut allowance.
The concrete output then applies the entered 10 in hole diameter, 2.5 ft depth and 0.6 cu ft bag yield to those planned posts. Those hole dimensions are examples only; actual site and code requirements must control the installation.
Before you buy
What to verify outside this planner
- Property line, easement and utility-locate requirements.
- Approved post spacing, post size, embedment and hole dimensions for the fence type and site.
- Actual picket width/gap and whether a privacy or decorative pattern changes the repeating module.
- Rail stock lengths and whether bay-by-bay cuts create more waste than the linear-foot estimate.
- Gate frame, hardware, latch, hinge and bracing quantities, which are intentionally outside this planner.