Material takeoff

Plan your fence materials before you shop.

Enter disconnected straight fence runs, a spacing assumption, gates, and either picket or panel coverage. See the posts, rails, infill, allowance, and whole-unit purchasing quantities separately.

Measurements

Fence run worksheet

Each run is counted as a disconnected straight segment. Choose your own spacing and material dimensions; this worksheet does not prescribe construction requirements.

Measurement unit

Use one unit for run lengths and spacing. Picket dimensions can use inches or centimetres.

Fence runs

First run lengthSecond run length

Include a third run

Do not combine runs that share a corner unless you intentionally want that corner counted twice.

Post spacing assumption

Post spacing is your project assumption, not a structural or code requirement.

Gate openings Include a gate opening

Each separately entered gate adds two posts. Its width is shown in project line length but is not added to fence-run infill.

Fence style

Picket widthPicket gap

Rails and allowance

Rails per sectionExtra material allowance

Allowance applies to rails and pickets or panels, not calculated post positions or gate count.

Optional unit costs (USD)

Per postPer railPer picket or panelPer gate

Starting estimate is ready.

Project takeoff

Engine result

Materials to purchase

13 posts · 159 pickets

Rails and infill include the selected allowance and whole-unit round-up.

Based on 72 ft of fence runs at 8 ft spacing, plus one gate.

Total measured fence length: 72 ft
Sections / run-end posts: 9 sections · 11 posts
Gate posts: +2 posts
Posts to purchase: 13 posts
Rails to purchase: 20 rails
Infill to purchase: 159 pickets

Show your work

Sum the entered straight fence-run lengths. Gate openings are kept separate.
14.630400000000002 m + 7.315200000000001 m = 21.945600000000002 m= 21.95 m
Each disconnected run has one post at each end, with sections rounded upward so none exceeds the selected spacing.
ceil(14.630400000000002 m ÷ 2.4384 m) + 1 = 7; ceil(7.315200000000001 m ÷ 2.4384 m) + 1 = 4= 11 posts
Add two gate posts for every separately entered gate opening.
11 run posts + 1 gates × 2 posts = 13 posts= 13 posts
Count pickets from the entered picket width plus gap for each run.
144 pickets; 9 sections × 2 rails = 18 rails= 144 pickets
Apply the selected allowance to rails and infill, not to calculated post positions or gate count.
144 pickets + 10% = 158.4 pickets; 18 rails + 10% = 19.8 rails= 158.4 pickets
Round allowance-adjusted material quantities upward to whole purchasable units.
round up 158.4 pickets = 159; round up 19.8 rails = 20= 159 pickets

Assumptions & warnings

Post spacing: 8 ft
Allowance: 10%
info: Runs are counted as disconnected straight segments. Enter each planned run separately; shared corners, returns, or layout-specific post sharing are not inferred.
info: Post spacing is your project assumption, not a universal structural, product, or code requirement.
info: This material takeoff does not size footings, estimate post-hole concrete, assess wind loads, locate utilities, or determine code compliance.
info: Purchasing quantities are rounded upward to whole material units.

Technical details, sources & version

SI and customary length unit definitionsexact definition
The engine normalizes all lengths to metres and can display the total run length in feet.
User-entered disconnected straight fence runsuser configurable assumption
Corners, returns, and shared posts are not inferred from only length inputs.
User-configured post spacinguser configurable assumption
Spacing is a project assumption, not a universal structural, product, or code requirement.
Straight-run endpoint post countingmathematical relationship
Each run has a post at both endpoints after its section count is rounded upward.
User-entered gate openingsuser configurable assumption
Each separately entered gate adds two gate posts; gate construction is not estimated.
User-configured rails per sectionuser configurable assumption
User-entered picket width and gapuser configurable assumption
User-entered panel widthuser configurable assumption
User-configured extra material allowanceuser configurable assumption
Whole-unit purchasing round-upmathematical relationship
Allowance-adjusted rails and infill are rounded upward to avoid under-ordering.
User-entered fence material costsuser configurable assumption
No live supplier pricing is used.

Normalized fence-run length: 21.95 m

Selected post spacing: 2.44 m

fence-material · v1.0.0 · released 2026-08-13

Owner: SolverOrg maintainers · Reviewed 2026-08-13

Method

The engine treats each entered length as a disconnected straight fence run, rounds sections upward to the selected maximum post spacing, adds two posts per separately entered gate, then applies the selected allowance and whole-unit purchasing rounding to rails and infill.

Worked example

The starting worksheet has 72 ft of disconnected fence runs. At 8 ft spacing, it uses 9 sections and 13 posts after adding the gate posts. The chosen picket coverage and 10% allowance produce 159 pickets to purchase.

What this takeoff includes

This worksheet estimates posts, optional rails, pickets or panels, gate count, allowance, and optional material cost. No post-hole or compliance advice is provided: it does not estimate gate hardware, fasteners, concrete, post holes, footing dimensions, engineering, utility locations, or code compliance.

Measure carefully

Measure each straight segment that will receive fence material. Record gate openings separately and confirm spacing, panel size, rail count, and product dimensions with your project plan and selected materials.