Quickly figure out your raw wood materials, spacing setups, and estimated job costs.
* These values use typical engineering spacing and linear layout coverage formulas. We always recommend adding roughly 10% to your total order to cover split boards, mistakes, and cutting scrap wood.
A wood privacy fence is one of the cheaper ways to raise your home's value and stop the neighbor's dog from visiting. Most fences fail for two reasons: the material math was wrong, or the posts weren't buried deep enough.
Shallow holes are the single most common DIY mistake. If your concrete sits above the local frost line, the frozen ground pushes the footings upward over winter — a process called frost heaving. Two or three seasons later, your fence is leaning.
Bury one-third to one-half of the post length. For a 6-foot fence, that means a 9-foot post with 3 feet underground. Dig the hole at least 10 to 12 inches across — about three times the post width — so the concrete collar has enough mass to hold under lateral wind load.
For posts and rails, buy pressure-treated lumber rated for ground contact. Untreated wood rots at the soil line within five years. For the visible pickets, cedar and redwood cost more upfront but resist warping and insects without needing paint every other year.
With 8-foot spacing you get 13 sections, which needs 14 posts. If you incorporate gates into the path, you may add 1 variance layout post to adjust hardware latch lines cleanly.
8 feet is standard for residential wood fences. Drop to 6 feet if you're in a windy area or building taller than 6 feet. 10-foot spacing is usually only used for lightweight agricultural fencing.
At least one-third of the total post length. A standard 6-foot privacy fence uses 9-foot posts set 3 feet into the ground.
Two 60lb bags for a standard 4x4 post in a 10-inch hole. Scale down to 1.5 bags for 4-foot fences, up to 3 bags for 8-foot posts.
4x4 pressure-treated posts, 9 feet long. Six feet above ground, three feet below.
Check your land survey first. Most local ordinances require a 2 to 6-inch setback inside your property boundary. Getting this wrong leads to disputes — and sometimes forced removal.
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