How fence calculator works
A fence run divides into bays: one panel width each. Divide the total length by the panel width and round up — that is your bay count, the number of panel gaps the layout needs. Standard wood privacy panels are 6 ft wide (1.83 m); chain-link and some panel systems differ, so the width is editable.
Posts live at the joints, so a closed loop (a full perimeter) needs one post per bay, with the last panel meeting the first at the starting corner. A straight run needs one more post: bays + 1, because both ends get a terminal post. Each gate occupies one bay, so gates subtract from the panel count but not from the post count — a gate bay still needs two posts to hinge and latch against.
Rails multiply the panel bays: two rails per bay is the common wood-fence layout, three for taller or picket-heavy styles. The output is a materials count, not a quote — slope, corners, and wind load change post depth and hardware, which no flat-ground calculator can see from here.