Guide
How to measure your yard for a fence
Run by run, with gates and corners counted properly.
Short answer
Measure each straight run of the fence line separately, in feet, and add them up. Take gate openings out of the runs, count each corner post once, and work out posts run by run. A back yard fenced on three sides, 60 × 80 × 60 ft with a 4 ft gate, is 200 ft of fence and about 27 posts at 8 ft spacing.
Before you measure: find the line
Find your property corners first, from the survey that came with the house or the pins at the corners, and check the town’s rules on setbacks and height, and any HOA rules. Many people build a few inches inside the line so the whole fence, footings included, is unambiguously theirs.
Measuring, step by step
- Walk the fence line and mark every corner and every change of direction with a stake.
- Run a string between stakes; each stretch of string is one run.
- Measure each run along the string with a long tape or a measuring wheel, to the nearest foot.
- Mark where each gate goes and note its width. A walk gate is usually 3 to 4 ft, a drive gate 10 to 12 ft.
- Add the runs for the total length. That total is what you buy rails, pickets or mesh for.
A worked example
A back yard 80 ft wide and 60 ft deep, fenced on the two sides and the back, with a 4 ft gate in one side:
| Run | Length | Posts | Spacing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Side with gate (60 ft less 4 ft) | 56 ft | 8 | 8.00 ft |
| Back | 80 ft | 11 | 8.00 ft |
| Other side | 60 ft | 9 | 7.50 ft |
The three runs have 28 posts between them, but the two corners are each counted twice, and the gate needs a post of its own on the far side of the opening: 27 posts in all.
Fence length for a quarter, half and whole acre
| Plot | Fence | Posts |
|---|---|---|
| 0.25 acre | 417 ft | 54 |
| 0.5 acre | 590 ft | 75 |
| 1 acre | 835 ft | 106 |
A long, narrow plot of the same area needs more fence than a square one. Measure the real lines rather than working from the acreage.