Vinyl Fence Calculator

bays = ceil( fence length ÷ panel width ) panels = bays − gates posts = bays + 1 caps = posts last bay = fence length − ( bays − 1 ) × panel width

fence length

Total length of the fence line in feet, measured along the run rather than around the corners

panel width

Width of one finished panel in feet — the bay it makes is the same width, since panels are a fixed size rather than something you cut to fit

gates

Number of gates in the run, each one taking the place of a panel in one of the bays

bays

Bays, which is the length divided by the panel width rounded up — the last one is usually narrower than a full panel

posts

Posts, one more than the number of bays because both ends need one

caps

Post caps, one per post: they keep water out of a hollow post, and they are a separate line on the order rather than part of the post

Measure the fence line first, and measure it as the line the posts will stand on — a vinyl panel is rigid, so a run that steps down a slope is set in short level stages rather than racked like a wood fence, and you may want to measure those stages one at a time. Then find out what panel width you are actually buying, because that drives everything: 6 ft and 8 ft are the common privacy widths and 2 m is the metric equivalent of neither, so a run that divides evenly in one width does not in the other. Count the gates next — each one simply displaces a panel, and the page will tell you when you have asked for more gates than the run has bays. Read the three counts as a purchase order and the last bay as a cutting note: the posts are one more than the bays, the caps are one per post, and the short last bay is where the offcut goes.

1. A 100 ft run in 6 ft panels with one gate

   1. Bays: 100 ÷ 6 = 16.67, rounded up to 17 bays
   2. Panels: 17 bays − 1 gate = 16 panels
   3. Posts: 17 + 1 = 18, one at each end
   4. Caps: one per post, so 18
   5. Last bay: 100 − 16 × 6 = 4 ft, which is 48 in or 1219 mm

   The defaults, and the shape of every answer on this page: the run does not divide into whole panels, so one bay comes up short — 4 ft of a 6 ft panel here. In practice the panels are spread so the short one is at an end or against a corner, and the offcut is what you cut to fill it. Note the gate: it costs one panel, not two posts, because the posts at the edges of that bay were being counted anyway.

2. A 200 ft run in 8 ft panels with two gates

   1. Bays: 200 ÷ 8 = 25 exactly, so 25 bays with no short one
   2. Panels: 25 − 2 gates = 23
   3. Posts: 25 + 1 = 26
   4. Last bay: 200 − 24 × 8 = 8 ft, a full panel — nothing to cut

   A run that divides evenly, which is the case worth designing for: at 200 ft in 8 ft panels every bay is a full panel, so nothing needs cutting and the fence goes up faster. Two things still need attention. The gates sit in two of those full bays, and what goes there is a gate kit rather than a panel — so the 23 panels are for the remaining bays and the two gate openings are bought separately. And the even division is a property of this length: shorten the run to 190 ft and you are back to a short bay.

3. A 100 ft run in 6 ft panels with no gate

   1. Bays: still 17 — the length and the panel width are unchanged
   2. Panels: 17 − 0 = 17, one more than the default case
   3. Posts: 17 + 1 = 18, unchanged by the gate count
   4. Last bay: 100 − 16 × 6 = 4 ft

   Zero gates is a legal input and the other two fields are not, and this pair with the first example is the whole gate rule in one line: adding a gate moves one unit from the panel column to the gate column and changes nothing else. The post count is the same 18 in both, which is the part people get wrong when they order — a gate does not need extra posts, it needs a stronger pair of the posts you were already buying.

This page counts material for a straight run and does not lay out a fence. It assumes the ground is level enough to set panels in line, and a vinyl panel is rigid — on a slope the usual answer is to step the fence down in level stages, which means more posts than this page counts and a short piece of panel at each step. Corners and ends each need their own post and this page counts them only as the two ends of a single straight line, so an L-shaped run is two runs of this page. It does not count rails, brackets or the aluminium carrier some systems use, nor gate hardware, hinges, latches or the heavier gate posts that a real gate hangs on. The last bay is measured from post centre to post centre, so its clear width is that figure minus the post width — typically 5 in on a vinyl system. And it assumes the panels are a standard stock width: anything outside the usual range is a special order with its own numbers.

How many fence panels do I need for 100 ft?

17 panels of 6 ft if there is no gate, and 16 if there is one — the run is 100 ÷ 6 = 16.67 bays, rounded up to 17, and a gate takes the place of a panel in one of them. In 8 ft panels the same run is 13 bays and 13 posts plus one, and if a gate is going in, 12 panels.

How many posts for a vinyl fence?

One more than the number of bays, because both ends of the run need one: 17 bays take 18 fence posts. A gate does not add a post — it sits between two of the posts you were already buying, though a gate post is usually a heavier section than a line post. Corners do add one each, and this page counts a straight run only.

Do I need post caps?

Yes, one per post, and this page reports the count next to the posts for that reason. A vinyl post is a hollow tube with an open top, and water that gets in sits there, freezes and splits the post — the cap is what stops it. The count is always the same as the post count, printed separately because on a real order it is a separate item with its own price.

Why is the last bay shorter?

Because the run rarely divides into whole panels. A 100 ft run at 6 ft panels is 16 full bays and one of 4 ft, and every vinyl fence on a real property has one or two of those. The page reports it in inches and millimetres because it is a cutting dimension: cut a full panel down and slide the offcut in, which is also where the spare material for a repair comes from.

Does a fence gate change the number of panels?

It reduces it by one per gate and changes nothing else, because a gate occupies one bay. Two gates on a 200 ft run of 8 ft panels means 25 bays and 23 panels. What the page cannot tell you is what those gates need: hinges, a latch, a heavier gate post at each side, and usually a different panel — a gate is bought as a kit rather than cut from a line panel.

Can I use a vinyl panel on a slope?

Not by racking it the way a wood fence can. A vinyl panel is a rigid rectangle, so a run that follows a slope is stepped: a short level stage of one or two panels, then a step down, which costs extra posts and a short cut piece at every step. This page assumes one level run, so a fence on a grade needs the stages measured separately.

• Fence — materials, panel systems and the post spacing that goes with each — Wikipedia
• Approximate Conversions from U.S. Customary Measures to Metric — the feet, inches and millimetres compared on this page — National Institute of Standards and Technology