What is a lattice top fence?
A lattice top fence is a solid board fence with a framed band of lattice along the top, for example 1 ft of lattice over 5 ft of boards. For an 84-ft line, 6 ft tall overall with one 4-ft gate and posts 8 ft apart, the calculator counts 13 posts, 32 rails, 179 boards with waste and 26 bags of concrete. The lattice itself is extra.
Updated
Advanced: Picket Width & Gap
11 line + 2 gate, 4x4
With 5% waste: 32 rails, 179 pickets/boards.
Hole: 10 in diameter x 2 ft deep, 0.92 cu ft per post.
Total: 26 bags (80 lb) / 39 bags (60 lb) / 39 bags (50 lb) for 13 posts, 11.97 cu ft.
The calculator above is set to a wood privacy fence and opens on an 84-ft back line, 6 ft tall, with one 4-ft walk gate. It counts posts, rails, boards and concrete for the solid part, and does not count the lattice panels or the lattice frame. The rest of the wood styles are on the fence styles hub.
A solid fence with an open band on top
From the yard the fence reads as two parts. The lower part is a row of tight boards. The upper part is a strip of crisscrossed lattice set in a frame between the top rail and a cap board, which lets light through and keeps the top of the fence from looking like a wall. With a 1-ft band on a 6-ft fence the boards stop at 5 ft, so for most adults standing close, the lattice sits at or just below eye height.
That makes the grid size the setting that decides how much the band hides. Walpole Outdoors, a fence manufacturer, lists cedar lattice openings of 1½, 2½, 3¼ and 5 in for its lattice topper fence. From across a yard a 1½-in grid reads as nearly solid, and a 5-in grid shows sky.
How tall can the lattice band be?
The local cap on fence height sets it, and towns treat the lattice differently.
| Source | Where it applies | Lattice band | Fence height limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southfield, Michigan zoning ordinance, 2012 | residential side and rear yards | up to 1 ft, at most 50% coverage | 72 in |
| Morgan Hill, California fences page | side and rear property lines | 1 ft, required above 6 ft | 7 ft |
| Walpole Outdoors topper fence | a manufacturer's product line | 18 or 24 in | set by the buyer's town |
Southfield's ordinance (Section 5.37-1, amended December 2012) caps side and rear-yard fences at 72 in and says "Board-on-board, shadow-box and semi-privacy fence styles may include a one foot high lattice top." Lattice sections, it adds, "may not exceed one foot in height and shall not exceed 50 % (percent) coverage of open viewing." Morgan Hill goes the other way. Its fences and walls page says fences along side and rear property lines "are required to have 1 foot of lattice, which allows for the passage of light and air, when the fence exceeds 6 feet," up to a 7-ft total. There the lattice is what makes the seventh foot legal.
Those are two cities, not a rule, and other towns word their codes their own way, so read yours before you decide on 6 or 7 ft; the fence height rules and permits guide covers where to look.
How the frame goes together
At 6 ft overall the section in the drawing has 5 ft of tight 1×6 boards on three rails, with the lattice band in the top foot. The band is held by frame strips on both faces and covered by a cap board across the post tops, and none of those are on the calculator's list.
Between 4×4 posts 8 ft apart there are 92.5 in of open span, and 17 boards fill it, the same count as a plain privacy section. The wood fence calculator shows that division for a full privacy fence. The count stays at 17 here, but the list gives no board length, and each board only has to be 5 ft long.
How many boards does a lattice top fence need?
The worked example is an 84-ft back line, 6 ft tall overall with a 1-ft lattice band, one 4-ft walk gate, posts 8 ft apart, 1×6 boards set tight, 5% waste on. Taking out the gate leaves 80 ft, exactly 10 sections of 8 ft.
| Line | From the calculator | What to change or add for the lattice top |
|---|---|---|
| Posts | 13 (11 line, 2 gate), 4×4, 8 ft long, 2 ft buried | none: 6 ft above ground reaches the cap |
| Rails | 30, or 32 with waste, 8 ft long | the top rail carries the lattice frame |
| Boards, 1×6 | 170, or 179 with waste | buy them 5 ft long instead of 6 |
| Concrete | 26 bags of 80-lb mix | none |
| Fasteners | 1,020 | add screws or nails for the lattice frame |
| Lattice | not counted | 10 strips 1 ft tall, cut from 3 sheets of 4 × 8 ft |
| Frame strips and cap | not counted | one cap board and frame strips per section |
The lattice line is plain arithmetic. True Value, a hardware retailer, lists a Real Wood Products cedar privacy lattice panel 4 ft wide, 8 ft long and 3/4 in thick, and one such panel ripped lengthwise gives four 1-ft strips, each long enough for a 92.5-in span. Ten sections take ten strips, which is two and a half panels, so three. With an 18-in band a panel yields two strips with 1 ft left over, and with a 24-in band exactly two, so either way the 10 sections need 5 panels. A lattice band over the gate adds one more strip.
The lattice is also the part a climbing plant can use. Canes tied into the band hang their weight on the slats and the frame strips, which is one more reason to fasten each frame to the posts and the top rail.
Entering the height
Enter the overall height, ground to the top of the lattice, because the posts have to reach it and the calculator's bury rule depends on it. On the 84-ft line, 5 ft and 6 ft give the same list, and the 8-ft posts with 2 ft in the ground stand exactly 6 ft tall, flush with the cap. For Morgan Hill's 7-ft case, 6 ft of boards plus a foot of lattice, enter 7 ft; entering 6 ft leaves the list short. At 7 ft the calculator switches to 6×6 posts, 10 ft long and 2.5 ft deep, in 12-in holes, adds a fourth rail to every section, and needs 39 bags of concrete instead of 26, half again as much. The boards stay at 179, now 6 ft long, and the fence post calculator breaks out the line and gate posts.
Paint, stain and the white lattice top
Painted white, the lattice band reads against the sky as a pattern, and the same paint on the boards ties the two parts together. Paint or stain the strips before they go into the frame, while every slat edge can still be reached with a brush or sprayer.
Pricing the fence and the lattice
The national cost table has no lattice-top row. The nearest is 6-ft wood privacy at $37 per foot installed at the mid figure, and for the 84-ft example, 80 ft of fence plus the walk gate and a typical permit fee, that comes to about $3,480. That rate prices a fence with 6 ft of boards. It does not price the lattice panels, the frame strips or the extra labor of framing a band in every section, and it counts a foot of boards the lattice replaces. Enter the 80 ft of fence without the gate opening in the wood fence cost calculator for your state, then add the lattice at a store price.
Other ways to change the look on the same posts include a horizontal fence or a shadow box fence, both with their own board counts.
Key Takeaways
- At 8 ft overall the 84-ft line moves to 6×6 posts 12 ft long, buried 3 ft, still 39 bags of 80-lb concrete as at 7 ft.
- In 60-lb bags the 6-ft example takes 39 bags.
- 6×6 posts narrow each span to 90.5 in, and the count stays at 17 boards a section.
- With posts 10 ft apart the line drops to 8 sections and 11 posts, but each span opens to 116.5 in, 20.5 in longer than a strip cut from an 8-ft lattice panel, so every band needs a joint.
- At 6-ft spacing the 84-ft line takes 14 sections and 17 posts, and the 68.5-in spans still use one strip each, 14 strips from 4 panels.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add lattice to an existing fence?
Only within the height your town allows, and only if the posts reach. On a 6-ft fence built on 8-ft posts set 2 ft deep, the posts end at the top of the boards, so a lattice band above them needs longer posts.
Does lattice make a fence more private?
Less than boards would. A tight 1½-in grid at the top of a 6-ft fence screens better than a 5-in grid, and neither closes the view the way the 5 ft of boards below it does.
Is a 7-ft fence with a lattice top allowed?
In Morgan Hill it is, along side and rear lines, when the top foot is lattice. Southfield caps the whole fence at 72 in. Check your own code before buying 10-ft posts.
What size lattice panel do I need for an 8-ft section?
A strip as tall as the band and as long as the open span, 92.5 in between 4×4 posts. A 4 × 8 ft panel gives four 1-ft strips.
Sources
- City of Southfield, Michigan, Zoning Ordinance Section 5.37-1, Fence Regulations (amended by Ordinance 1598), December 14, 2012, accessed November 1, 2026: cityofsouthfield.com/sites/default/files/2019-07/fence-ord-handout-1.pdf
- City of Morgan Hill, California, "Fences & Walls", no date, accessed November 1, 2026: morganhill.ca.gov/83/Fences-Walls
- Walpole Outdoors, "Horizontal Vertical Lattice Topper Fence", no date, accessed November 1, 2026: walpoleoutdoors.com/standard-designs/horizontal-vertical-lattice-topper-fence
- True Value, "Real Wood Products 4 Ft. W. x 8 Ft. L. x 3/4 In. Thick Natural Cedar Privacy Lattice Panel" product page, no date, accessed November 1, 2026: truevalue.com/product/172545/
