Chain Link Fence Calculator
Find how many terminal posts and line posts a chain link fence needs, with the top rails, rolls of fabric, tension wire, fittings, and bags of concrete for the post holes. Enter each straight side and each gate, and the calculator sorts the posts into end, corner, and gate posts.
- Choose US or Metric.
- Enter the sides in order as you walk along the fence. Measure each straight side from the center of the post at one end to the center of the post at the other. Use Add side at every corner and Add gate for each gate opening, placed between the two sides it sits between.
- Check The fence closes into a loop if the fence goes all the way around, so the last side ends at the first post.
- Enter the Fence height, which is the height of the chain link fabric, such as 4 ft. It sets the tension bands, the fence ties, and the depth of the post holes.
- Keep or change the Max line post spacing, the Top rail length, and the Fabric roll length to match what you buy.
- Uncheck Add a bottom tension wire if your fence has no wire along the bottom. Leave Tension bands per fabric end blank to use the rule of thumb below.
- Keep the hole sizes or enter your own, and optionally enter a price for each item to estimate the cost of the materials.
Length fields accept whole numbers, decimals, fractions, and mixed
numbers, such as 100, 10.5, 3/4, or
5 1/2. Choose ft + in as the unit to enter a
length such as 16 ft 6 in in two fields.
How to calculate chain link fence posts
Each side gets a terminal post at both ends and line posts in between, no farther apart than the max line post spacing:
Sections per side = side length ÷ max line post spacing, rounded up
Line posts per side = sections − 1
Terminal posts = sides + gates + 1
In a fence that closes into a loop, the last post is the first one, so leave out the + 1. Two sides that meet at a corner share the corner post, and a gate is an opening between two posts with no post inside it.
The 10 ft spacing follows the Chain Link Fence Manufacturers Institute (CLFMI) Product Manual, which sets line posts no more than 10 ft apart, and the installation guides from Master Halco and The Home Depot. The Metric 3 m follows the guides from Peak Products in Australia and First Fence in the UK.
End, corner, and gate posts
Terminal posts are the heavier posts that the fabric is stretched between. The calculator sorts them by where they stand along the fence, in the order you entered the sides and gates:
| Post | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Gate post | On each side of a gate |
| Corner post | Where two sides meet |
| End post | At an end of a fence that does not close into a loop |
| Line post | Between the terminal posts of each side |
All three kinds of terminal post are usually the same size, so they share one price. The order of the sides and gates changes only how the terminal posts are split into kinds, not how many posts, rails, rolls, or fittings you buy. To fix the split, remove the rows that are out of order and add them again.
On a slope, start a new side where the grade changes. Master Halco uses a corner post assembly where the ground rises or drops more than 15 in per 100 ft, and the CLFMI also places pull posts on long runs. A post where you split a side is counted as a corner post, with the fittings of a corner post.
The Home Depot's guide gives 2 3/8 in for terminal posts and 1 5/8 in for line posts. Master Halco sets terminal posts 2 in taller than the fabric and line posts 2 in shorter, so add the hole depth to choose the post length.
Top rails, fabric, and tension wire
Top rails = fence length ÷ top rail length, rounded up
Fabric rolls = fence length ÷ roll length, rounded up
The fence length is the sides added together, without the gates. The top rail stops at the rail ends on the gate posts, and the gate has its own frame, so neither the rail nor the fabric crosses a gate. Rails and fabric are counted over the whole fence, so the piece left over at the end of one side is joined into the next.
The 21 ft default top rail follows the CLFMI Product Manual, and the Metric 6.4 m is the metric length it gives for the same rail. Many home centers sell 10 ft 6 in rails instead, so enter the length you buy. Rails with one swedged end slide into each other and overlap a few inches at each joint, so buy one extra or enter the length minus the overlap. Rails without a swaged end are joined with a rail sleeve, one at each joint.
Fabric commonly comes in 50 ft rolls in the US and 25 m rolls in the UK. Roll lengths vary, so enter the length of the rolls you buy.
The bottom tension wire runs along the bottom of the fabric from one terminal post to the next, so it is as long as the fence. The Home Depot and Peak Products include it, and Master Halco lists it as optional. A fence without a top rail uses a second tension wire along the top, of the same length; skip the top rail row for that kind of fence.
Chain link fence fittings
The fabric is stretched from terminal post to terminal post on each side, so every side has two fabric ends. End and gate posts hold one fabric end, and a corner post holds two. The fittings are counted from the fabric ends:
| Fitting | How many |
|---|---|
| Tension bar | 1 per fabric end, threaded through the end of the fabric |
| Tension band | Fence height in feet minus 1 per fabric end, at least 3, to hold the tension bar to the post |
| Rail end | 1 per fabric end, to hold the top rail |
| Brace band | 1 per rail end, plus 1 per fabric end for the bottom tension wire |
| Terminal post cap | 1 per terminal post |
| Loop cap | 1 per line post, with a loop for the top rail |
| Fence tie | 1 every 24 in of top rail, and 1 every 12 in on each line post |
| Tension wire clip | 1 every 24 in of bottom tension wire |
These counts follow Master Halco's bill of materials and The Home Depot's guide: 3 tension bands for a 4 ft fence, 4 for 5 ft, and 5 for 6 ft at each end or gate post, and twice as many at a corner post. Peak Products uses 3 per post and ties every 600 mm on the rail and 300 mm on line posts. Commercial specs such as the CLFMI's space tension bands no more than 12 in apart, which gives more, so enter your own number of bands if your fence calls for it.
Each tension band and brace band takes one carriage bolt, which usually comes with the band. The calculator does not count carriage bolts, rail sleeves, gate hinges and latches, which usually come with the gate, or the brace rails and truss rods that the CLFMI calls for at terminal posts of commercial fences 6 ft and taller. Fittings and ties are not included in the cost.
Concrete for chain link fence posts
Each post hole is treated as a cylinder filled with concrete to its full depth:
Concrete per hole = π × hole diameter² ÷ 4 × hole depth
Bags = concrete for all holes × (1 + waste % ÷ 100) ÷ yield per bag, rounded up
The hole diameters follow Master Halco's guide: about 8 in for terminal posts and 6 in for line posts. The Metric 200 mm and 150 mm follow Peak Products. The steel posts are hollow and thin, so the calculator does not take the post out of the hole. A 2 3/8 in post in an 8 in hole fills about 9% of it, so the estimate is a little high. Master Halco's guide allows about two 60 lb bags per post hole, close to the 0.87 ft³ of an 8 in hole 30 in deep.
If you leave Hole depth blank, the calculator uses half the fence height, the same rule as the Fence Calculator: The Home Depot's guide digs about a third of the post's length, which is half the height above the ground. That gives 24 in for a 4 ft fence and 36 in for a 6 ft fence, at least as deep as the CLFMI's commercial minimum of 24 in plus 3 in for each foot over 4 ft. Master Halco digs terminal posts 30 in and line posts 18 to 24 in. For a shallower hole, or where the ground freezes and local codes call for deeper footings, enter your own depth.
The Home Depot's guide sets line posts in tamped soil instead of concrete, while Master Halco and Peak Products set them in concrete. If you set line posts in soil, leave out the line post subtotal shown in the concrete breakdown. The bag sizes and the 10% waste allowance are the same as in the Concrete Calculator.
Examples
A 100 ft straight fence
A 4 ft fence along one 100 ft side, with line posts at most 10 ft apart, has 100 ÷ 10 = 10 sections, so 2 end posts and 9 line posts. It takes 5 top rails of 21 ft, 2 rolls of 50 ft, 6 tension bands (3 at each end), and 86 fence ties. The holes take 5.42 ft³ of concrete with 10% added, or 15 bags of 50 lb mix.
A yard with a gate
Sides of 50, 100, and 30 ft, a 4 ft gate, and a last side of 16 ft make a 6 ft fence with 6 terminal posts (2 end, 2 corner, 2 gate) and 16 line posts. The 196 ft of fence takes 10 top rails, 4 rolls of fabric, 40 tension bands, and 194 fence ties, and 47 bags of 50 lb concrete mix. At $32 per terminal post, $18.50 per line post, $25 per rail, $120 per roll, $0.30 per foot of tension wire, $150 for the gate, and $6.50 per bag, the materials come to $1,732.30.
A Metric enclosure
A 1.8 m fence around sides of 12, 8, 12, and 7 m, with a 1 m gate, closes into a loop. It has 5 terminal posts (3 corner, 2 gate) and 10 line posts, with 7 top rails of 6.4 m and 2 rolls of 25 m. The holes take 0.33 m³ of concrete, which is 24 bags of 30 kg or 36 bags of 20 kg.
FAQ
For a straight 100 ft fence, 2 terminal posts and 9 line posts. Divide each side by 10 ft and round up to get its sections. Each side has one less line post than sections, and you need one terminal post per side and gate, plus 1 for a fence with two ends.
No more than 10 ft apart, center to center, for line posts. Terminal posts go at every end, corner, and gate, however short the side.
The fence height in feet minus 1 at each end and gate post, and twice that at a corner post: 3 per end for a 4 ft fence, 4 for 5 ft, and 5 for 6 ft. Fences under 4 ft still use 3.
It depends on local prices. Enter the price of each part, and the calculator multiplies it by the posts, rails, rolls, feet of tension wire, gates, and bags you need. Fittings, ties, and labor are not included.
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