About FencingCalcs
FencingCalcs is an independent project with one goal: to gather the everyday calculations homeowners, DIYers and small contractors reach for when a fence is going in — material & quantity, cost estimators, vinyl/PVC, wood & privacy, chain-link & metal, and specialty & repair — in one focused, free, no-signup hub with transparent formulas, so you can budget a fence project and sanity-check a contractor’s quote.
Who is behind it
Author and curator
To be clear about credentials: I am the author and curator of this site — not a licensed fencing contractor, a structural or civil engineer, or any trade professional, and I claim no trade credential. What I bring is relevant and real: building deterministic online calculators (open-source Python projects) and electronic-engineering training, i.e. rigor on the quantity and cost arithmetic. That is what it takes to curate a hub of calculators: transparent method, correct formulas, cited conventions and worked examples.
Our principle: transparent & durably correct
Every calculator shows its formula, a worked example and a reference table. The tools rest only on timeless fence math (posts = ceil(line ÷ spacing) + 1; pickets = ceil(line × 12 ÷ (width + gap)); panels = ceil(line ÷ panel width); concrete bags per post = ceil(hole volume ÷ bag yield); stain = face area ÷ coverage × coats; cost = quantity × your $/unit + labor + add-ons, ×(1 + contingency)) and stable conventions (1 acre = 43,560 ft²; 1 rod = 16.5 ft; post spacing 6–8 ft; panel widths; picket widths; bag yields; post depth). There are deliberately no material or labor prices, no regional cost indexes, no product catalog and no contractor directory — cost tools use the prices you enter — so the results stay valid over time.
Correctness is checked against known reference values (see the methodology and the numeric self-check). The formulas and their basis are documented under Sources & formulas. All results are planning estimates and material-quantity guides: get itemized written quotes from licensed, insured fencing contractors, confirm panel/picket dimensions and bag yield against your product, and order a little extra (~10%) for waste, corners and terrain. Structural, geotechnical and load-bearing post design is out of scope and is for a licensed engineer, and boundary questions are for a surveyor and local ordinance. Questions? Use the contact page.