Free fence picket calculator: enter fence length, picket width, gap and waste allowance to get pickets, posts, rails and fasteners for your fence run.
Your results will appear here.
Enter your values and press Calculate.
Measure the total fence length in feet, including runs around corners but excluding gate openings you will frame separately, then enter your picket width (a 1x6 picket is actually 5.5 inches wide), the gap between pickets (0 for a privacy fence, about 3.5 inches for the classic spaced look), and a waste allowance for knots and cuts. The calculator returns pickets needed, the order quantity with waste, posts at 8 foot spacing, rails at 3 per section, and fasteners at 6 per picket, so one trip to the lumber yard covers the run.
Each picket plus its gap covers one unit of run length. A 5.5 inch picket with a 3.5 inch gap covers 9 inches, so a 100 foot run needs 100 × 12 / 9 = 133.3, rounded up to 134 pickets. With no gap, the same run needs 1200 / 5.5 = 218.2, rounded up to 219 pickets, which is why a privacy fence nearly doubles the picket count of a spaced fence. Posts are counted separately: one post per 8 foot section plus the closing post, rails are 3 per section on a 6 foot fence, and fasteners are 2 screws or nails per rail per picket, which is 6 per picket.
Measure the fence line along the ground, following every bend, and subtract gate openings, since gates get their own posts and hardware. Enter the actual picket width, not the nominal size: a 1x4 is really 3.5 inches and a 1x6 is really 5.5 inches. Set the gap to 0 for privacy, 0.5 to 1 inch for a classic picket look, or about 3.5 inches for the open dog-eared style. Keep the waste allowance at 10 percent unless you are cutting many short sections, where 15 percent is safer.
A privacy fence butts pickets tight with no gap and gives full screening at about 2.2 pickets per foot. A spaced picket fence uses a 2 to 3 inch gap and reads as a friendly boundary at about 1.7 pickets per foot. Board-on-board overlaps each picket by about 1 inch, uses roughly 30 percent more pickets, and blocks sight lines even as boards shrink. Shadow box alternates pickets front and back of the rails, which looks finished from both sides and uses about 3 pickets per foot. This calculator handles the first two directly: enter a negative-style overlap as a smaller effective width only if you are sure of your board math, otherwise use the privacy count and add 30 percent for board-on-board.
A 100 foot run with 5.5 inch pickets and a 3.5 inch gap needs 134 pickets, 148 to order with 10 percent waste, 14 posts, 39 rails and 804 fasteners. A 50 foot privacy run with 5.5 inch pickets and no gap needs 110 pickets, 8 posts, 21 rails and 660 fasteners. A 150 foot privacy fence needs 150 × 2.2 = 330 pickets before waste, which matches the shortcut most fence guides publish, plus 10 percent waste brings the order to 363 pickets.
Posts sit on 8 foot centers for most wood fences, 6 foot centers for tall or windy runs, and gate and corner posts go 6 inches deeper than line posts. Bury at least one third of the post length, and at least 24 inches for a 6 foot fence, below the local frost line where one applies. A standard 10 inch diameter, 30 inch deep hole takes 2 to 3 bags of 50 lb fast-setting concrete per post. As a budget guide, a wood privacy fence costs about 15 to 35 dollars per linear foot installed, and a 150 foot privacy fence typically lands between 2,500 and 5,000 dollars for materials and labour.
The classic errors are using nominal instead of actual picket width, forgetting the end picket, and skipping waste. A 1x6 is 5.5 inches, not 6, and that half inch changes a 100 foot count by about 12 pickets. Always round up, because a fractional picket still has to be bought whole. And order the waste quantity: boards with knots, splits or bad edges are common in a lumber pile, and a second delivery costs more than the spare pickets do.
With 5.5 inch pickets and a 3.5 inch gap, 134 pickets (100 × 12 / 9 = 133.3, rounded up). For a privacy fence with no gap, 219 pickets. Enter your exact width and gap above.
An 8 foot section (96 inches) with 5.5 inch pickets and a 3.5 inch gap takes 11 pickets (96 / 9 = 10.7, rounded up). With tight-butted privacy pickets it takes 18 pickets.
1x4 and 1x6 are the standards. A 1x6 is actually 5.5 inches wide and gives the classic dog-eared fence look; a 1x4 is actually 3.5 inches and looks lighter and more open. Cedar and pressure-treated pine last longest outdoors.
Bury at least one third of the total post length, and at least 24 inches for a 6 foot fence. In frost-prone areas dig below the frost line, typically 36 to 48 inches. Gate and corner posts go about 6 inches deeper.
8 feet on center is the standard for wood fences, 6 feet for heavier privacy boards or windy sites, and 10 feet for ranch or split rail fences. Post spacing does not change the picket count, but it does change rails and concrete.
For a standard 10 inch diameter, 30 inch deep hole, 2 to 3 bags of 50 lb fast-setting concrete per post. For a 12 inch hole 36 inches deep, allow 3 to 4 bags. Let concrete cure 24 to 48 hours before attaching rails.
No. Leave 1 to 2 inches below the bottom rail, or 2 to 4 inches over bare dirt, so moisture does not wick up the wood and rot the ends. For a pet-proof fence, keep the bottom gap small enough that pets cannot slip under.
Cedar lasts 15 to 20 years and pressure-treated pine 10 to 15 years with staining or sealing every 2 to 3 years. Redwood reaches 20 to 25 years. Posts fail first, so use rot-resistant species or steel post brackets.