What is a stockade fence?
A stockade fence is a solid wood fence of narrow boards set edge to edge, each cut to a point at the top, after the log stockades whose tops were sharpened. With 1×4 boards between 4×4 posts 8 ft apart, a section takes 27 boards, so an 84-ft side yard run at 6 ft with one 4-ft gate needs 13 posts and 284 boards, 5% waste included.
Updated
Advanced: Picket Width & Gap
11 line + 2 gate, 4x4
With 5% waste: 32 rails, 284 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 the privacy-fence count with the board width set to 3.5 in, a 1×4 once dressed, and no gap between boards, which is how a stockade fence goes together. It opens on an 84-ft side yard run at 6 ft with one walk gate and lists the posts, rails, boards, bags of concrete and fasteners for it. It does not count the two cuts that make each point, the backer rails of a bought panel, or the gate leaf. The other wood layouts are on the fence styles hub.
From log wall to backyard fence
The name is older than the fence. Wikipedia's entry describes a stockade as "an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically" with "the tops sharpened as a defensive wall," and adds that "nowadays, stockade walls are often used as garden fencing, made of finished planks." The backyard version keeps the two things that defined the log wall: boards standing tight against each other, and a point on every top. Dimensions.com, an architectural drawing reference, describes the solid stockade privacy fence as "often with a sharp, pointed top" and gives it heights of 6 to 8 ft.
Each point takes two angled cuts meeting at the center of the board. On a 1×4 the two cuts are short, so the row of points is dense: 27 tips in every 8-ft section, where a 1×6 fence shows 17.
Stockade vs dog ear fence
In stores the two names overlap. Superior Fence & Rail, an installer, sells "dog ear privacy fence in stockade" in a September 29, 2025 post, using stockade for the solid row and dog ear for the top cut. On this site a stockade fence is narrow boards with pointed tops, and a dog ear fence is 1×6 boards with clipped corners. On the 84-ft run they compare like this, with a narrower 3-in board added:
| Board, set tight | Top | Boards per 8-ft section | Boards with waste | Fasteners | Board width bought per section |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1×4, 3.5 in | pointed | 27 | 284 | 1,620 | 94.5 in |
| 3 in as measured | pointed | 31 | 326 | 1,860 | 93 in |
| 1×6, 5.5 in | dog ear | 17 | 179 | 1,020 | 93.5 in |
Look at the last column first. Every row buys almost exactly the 92.5 in of open span between two 4×4 posts, so the amount of fence face in wood barely changes with board width. What changes is the number of pieces: the 1×4 stockade has 59% more boards to cut, carry and fasten than the 1×6 fence, and 59% more nails or screws.
The diagram's 351 and 221 are for 100 ft with no gate, before waste. Posts, rails and concrete are the same in all three rows, so the board width only moves the board and fastener lines.
How many boards does a stockade fence take?
Inputs: one straight run of 84 ft along a side property line, 6 ft tall, one 4-ft walk gate, posts 8 ft apart, 1×4 boards set tight, 5% waste on boards and rails. The gate leaves 80 ft of fence, exactly 10 sections.
| Line | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Fence line | 80 ft |
| Posts | 13 (11 line posts, 2 gate posts), 4×4, 8 ft long, 2 ft in the ground |
| Rails | 30, or 32 with waste, 3 per section, 8 ft long |
| Boards, 1×4 | 270, or 284 with waste, 6 ft long |
| Concrete | 26 bags of 80-lb mix in 10-in holes |
| Fasteners | 1,620, 2 per board at each rail |
The photo shows the rail side, with the three rails of each section running between the posts. Twenty-seven boards of 3.5 in add up to 94.5 in, 2 in more than the span, so the calculator's rounding up leaves one board in each section to rip down to a narrow strip. Put that strip against a post, where it is least visible, or split the difference between the two ends. The general board-count method for closed layouts is on the fence board calculator.
Stockade fence panels
Stockade fences are also sold as panels, with the boards already nailed to backer rails. Lenco Supplies, a building supply seller, lists its spruce panel as a "6x8 stockade fence panel made from natural spruce with three back rails" and warns that the "number of picket boards may vary." Fence Authority, a Pennsylvania and Delaware installer with an online shop, sells a "Spruce Stockade - Fence Panel - 6' x 8¾'". Count the boards on the panel you are buying instead of trusting a board count from a stick-built fence.
With panels, the calculator's post and concrete lines still apply, and its board and rail lines do not. The panel count equals the section count: 10 panels for the 80 ft of fence. Watch the width, though. A 96-in panel is wider than the 92.5 in between 4×4 posts 8 ft on center. Hung between the posts, it needs them 99.5 in on center, and on this run that spacing still makes 10 sections on 13 posts.
The stockade gate
A gate that matches the fence carries the row of points across the opening. The 44.5-in clear opening of a 4-ft gate fits 13 boards of 1×4, less whatever the hinge and latch gaps take. The calculator counts the two gate posts and stops there, so the leaf's frame, boards and hardware go on their own list; the wood fence calculator names what it leaves out.
What a stockade fence costs
The national cost table has no stockade row. The nearest priced layout is wood privacy, a row built on 1×6 dog ear boards, so read what follows as that layout's price, not a stockade price. At 6 ft its mid-range installed rate is $37 per foot, and the 80 ft of fence with a walk gate and a typical permit comes to about $3,480 at national mid-range prices. The table has no line for the extra 105 boards the 1×4 build hangs on this run. Enter your own length and state in the wood fence cost calculator.
Other closed wood layouts
Nothing laps the joints between stockade boards. If you want them covered, the board on board fence adds a second layer over each one. The shadow box fence puts every other board on the far face of the rails, and the horizontal fence drops the vertical row altogether. The fence materials compared guide weighs wood against vinyl and metal.
Key Takeaways
- The 2 in that each section's boards overrun the span add up to 20 in of ripped-off board along the 80 ft.
- Leave out the gate and 84 ft no longer divides evenly: 11 sections on 12 posts, the last bay 4 ft wide, and 312 boards with waste.
- With posts 6 ft apart the run becomes 14 sections of 20 boards on 17 posts, 294 boards with waste and 6-ft rails.
- Every 1×4 board crosses 3 rails at 6 ft, so it takes 6 fasteners.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a stockade fence a privacy fence?
Yes, a solid one: the boards touch, so there is no gap to see through when new. The plain 1×6 privacy count, with its own worked example, is on the wood fence calculator.
How many stockade panels do I need for 100 ft?
At 8-ft sections with no gate, 13 panels on 14 posts. The same 100 ft built from loose 1×4 boards takes 369 boards with waste.
Can a stockade fence be 8 ft tall?
The calculator handles it. On the 84-ft run it switches to 6×6 posts 12 ft long, set 3 ft deep, with 4 rails per section; the wider posts trim the span to 90.5 in, so a section takes 26 boards. Check the limit first: Sioux Falls, South Dakota, caps rear and side yards at 6 ft in its July 2024 handout, and the fence height rules and permits guide has three more cities.
How many boards per foot does a stockade fence take?
About 3.4 per foot of fence in 1×4: 27 boards cover each 8-ft section. The 84-ft run with its gate works out to the same 3.4 per foot once waste is in.
