Fence area & paint / stain calculator
Turn your fence length and height into face area and the gallons of stain or paint you need, for one or both sides and any number of coats.
Calculator
200 ft × 6 ft over 2 sides is 2,400 sq ft — about 27.4 gal (buy 28) at 2 coats. Rough/new wood drinks more — confirm coverage on the can.
Coverage is an area problem, not a length one. The face area of a fence is its length times its height, times the number of sides you are coating. Divide that area by the coverage rate of your stain or paint, multiply by the number of coats, and round up to whole gallons.
Coverage varies a lot with the surface. A smooth, previously sealed fence might get 200 sq ft from a gallon; rough-sawn, new or thirsty cedar can drop below 150, and the first coat always drinks more than the second. The can prints a coverage figure — use it as your input, and treat 175 sq ft/gal as a middle-of-the-road planning default.
For a full painting or staining budget that adds labor, use the fence staining cost tool or the wood-specific wood fence stain calculator, which also multiplies gallons by your price.
Formula
face_area = line_length_ft × height_ft × sides\ngallons = face_area ÷ coverage_sqft_per_gal × coats\nto_buy = ceil(gallons)
Worked example
200 ft fence, 6 ft high, both sides, 175 sq ft/gal, 2 coats:
- face area = 200 × 6 × 2 = 2,400 sq ft
- gallons = 2,400 ÷ 175 × 2 = 27.4 → buy 28 gallons
Reference table
Gallons to buy at 175 sq ft/gal × 2 coats, 6 ft high, both sides:
| Length | Face area | Gallons |
|---|---|---|
| 50 ft | 600 sq ft | 7 gal |
| 100 ft | 1,200 sq ft | 14 gal |
| 150 ft | 1,800 sq ft | 21 gal |
| 200 ft | 2,400 sq ft | 28 gal |
| 300 ft | 3,600 sq ft | 42 gal |
Coverage varies by product and wood porosity — confirm the figure on the can.