Count fence sections, posts, panels and rails for a run of any length — sections from the panel width, posts at sections plus one, gates deducted from panels. Runs entirely in your browser — your numbers never leave this device.
The last section is usually partial — 13 sections for 100 ft at 8 ft spacing covers the run with one shorter section. Gate posts and hardware are extra, and the panels count assumes each gate replaces one panel.
| Run length | Sections at 8 ft | Posts |
|---|---|---|
| 40 ft | 5 | 6 |
| 80 ft | 10 | 11 |
| 120 ft | 15 | 16 |
| 160 ft | 20 | 21 |
A fence run is a counting problem. The run length divided by the panel width gives the number of sections, rounded up because a part-section at the end still needs its panel and its closing post — a 100 ft run in 8 ft panels is 13 sections, the last one part-width. Posts follow sections directly: every run has one more post than sections, since a post stands at both ends and at every join, so 13 sections stand on 14 posts.
Panels and rails then come from the section count. Panels equal sections minus gates, because a gate occupies a section's span without using a panel — the third example's 100 ft run with one gate needs 12 panels, not 13 — while its posts stay at 14, since the gate hangs between posts like any other section. Rails multiply: sections times rails per section, so the same run takes 26 rails at two per section and 39 at three. The table shows the clean cases where a run divides exactly, which are the exception rather than the rule.
Corners, slopes and ends change counts in ways a straight-run calculator states rather than hides: each separate straight run in a layout starts its own sections-plus-one post count, so an L-shaped fence is calculated as two runs and the corner post belongs to both counts once. Post depth, concrete per post and gate hardware are separate specifications — the Concrete Calculator sizes the footing volume once a post count exists.
Because posts stand at the joins and at both ends. Two sections share their middle post but each end needs its own, so any straight run has sections + 1 posts — visible in the table, where 5 sections stand on 6 posts and 20 sections on 21.
It is built as a shortened section: the panel is cut to fit the remaining length, which is why a 100 ft run at 8 ft panels still counts 13 panels. The part panel is also the natural source of a spare picket or offcut.
No. A gate replaces a panel within its section but hangs between two posts, so posts remain sections + 1. Only the panel count falls, by one panel per gate, as the third worked example shows. Gate posts may need to be heavier or set deeper — a specification question beyond the count.
By calculating each straight run separately and adding the lists. A corner post closes one run and opens the next, so it appears once in the combined total even though each run's own count includes an end post at that point — count it once when merging two runs.
No. The calculation runs entirely in the browser and nothing entered is uploaded, stored or tracked.
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