CalcFence

Fence Styles

What each fence style looks like, how it is built, and the board count behind it.

Count posts, rails and boards with the material calculators, price a style with the cost calculators, or check heights and permits in the fence guides.

6-ft bamboo screen fence on a dark wood frame along a backyard gravel bed with a small pine

Bamboo Fence

A 56-ft, 6-ft bamboo screen with a 4-ft gate takes 10 posts, 21 rails and 13 rolls of 36 × 96 in screening.

6-ft cedar board-and-batten fence with narrow battens over board joints along a backyard

Board and Batten Fence

A 6-ft board and batten fence of 1×6s takes 15 boards and 14 battens in each 8-ft section, one batten over every gap.

6-ft cedar board on board privacy fence with a cap board along a backyard lawn and mulch bed

Board on Board Fence

Two layers of 1×6 boards lapped 1 in per edge: 21 boards per 8-ft section against 17 for a butted privacy fence.

6-ft grey composite privacy fence of horizontal boards between slim grey posts along a backyard

Composite Fence

A budget or mid-tier 6-ft composite fence costs within 3% of dog-ear wood; premium systems start at 1.4 times the mid-range rate.

6-ft galvanized corrugated metal fence framed in cedar posts and rails along a backyard

Corrugated Metal Fence

On 8-ft posts, three 8-ft sheets stacked across each bay cover a 6-ft fence; upright sheets need 36 for 72 ft of fence.

6-ft cedar privacy fence with tight dog-ear boards along a backyard lawn and mulch bed

Dog Ear Fence

1×6 boards with both top corners clipped: 17 per 8-ft section, and the same count as a flat top fence.

White 3-board farmhouse fence along a lawn in front of a white farmhouse with a wraparound porch

Farmhouse Fence

Three boards per 8-ft section: a 300-ft frontage with a 12-ft drive gate comes to 36 sections on 39 posts.

4-ft cedar-framed hog wire fence with welded wire panels along a backyard with lavender

Hog Wire Fence

One 16-ft hog panel fills two 8-ft bays, so a 4-ft garden fence of 14 bays uses 7 panels on 16 posts.

6-ft horizontal cedar fence with narrow gaps along a modern backyard with grasses and a Japanese maple

Horizontal Fence

Twelve 1×6 boards with 1/2-in gaps fill one section of a 6-ft horizontal fence, whatever the length of the run.

6-ft cedar lattice-top privacy fence with a framed lattice band above solid boards

Lattice Top Fence

Solid 1×6 boards under a framed lattice band: 17 boards and 3 rails per 8-ft section, plus lattice strips the list leaves out.

4-ft fence of weathered wood pallets stood on end between 4x4 posts around a vegetable garden

Pallet Fence

On a straight run a pallet fence needs one more post than pallets: 8 pallets at 43.5 in take 9 posts.

6-ft cedar picture-frame fence: board sections framed by a cap, trim and post trim

Picture Frame Fence

17 boards and 3 rails per 8-ft section, then a cap plus a top trim, a bottom board and 2 post trims on each framed face.

6-ft cedar semi-privacy fence of 1x6 boards with even gaps and a cap board along a backyard

Semi-Privacy Fence

Spaced 1×6 boards, 15 per 8-ft section at a 1-in gap setting; hung evenly they leave 0.63-in gaps and about 11% open.

6-ft cedar shadow box fence along a backyard lawn, boards alternating on both sides of the rails

Shadow Box Fence

24 boards per 8-ft section, 12 on each face of the rails, so the fence shows the same side to both yards.

Cedar vertical slat fence with narrow even gaps in front of a white modern house and gravel bed

Slat Fence

A 6-ft slat fence of 1×4s at 1/2-in gaps takes 18 slats per 8-ft section; at a 1/4-in gap the count of 20 stacks past 72 in.

6-ft stockade fence of narrow tight boards with pointed tops along a backyard with hostas and a maple

Stockade Fence

Narrow pointed boards set tight: 27 1×4 boards per 8-ft section, 10 more than a 1×6 privacy fence.

Bar chart of boards per 8-ft section: horizontal 12, privacy 17, board on board 21, shadow box 24
Boards per 8-ft section of a 6-ft wood fence with 1×6 boards, by style. CC BY 4.0