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Fence Gate Calculator

A gate in a fence line — its posts, its frame, and the hardware it hangs on.

An estimate of material — a heavy or wide gate may need bigger posts and hardware.

200' · 2400 in · 200 ft · 60.96 m

200 ft

This page recalculates as you type. There is no Calculate button.

Answer

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Posts

21 posts

200 ft of fence · 20 bays · 21 posts in holes 36" deep

Rails 60 rails · 3 a bay
Fence, gates left out 200 ft
Concrete 46 × 50 lb fast-setting
Gravel under the posts 12 × 50 lb bags (0.5 ft³)
Ticked items cost $1,459.17
More numbers
Post holes 36" deep, 10" across
Widest post spacing 10' on center
DrawingThe project drawn to scale. Run 1: 200' × 4'.200'4'Run 1

Buying noteCall 811 a few business days before you dig. It is the free national before-you-dig service: the utilities mark their lines, and every post hole needs it.
Buying noteYour frost depth is not set. Where the ground freezes, a post set above the frost line heaves: ask your building department for the depth (IRC Table R301.2(1)) and type it under Assumptions — every hole follows it.
Buying noteSplit rail makers say to tamp the posts in earth, not to set them in concrete (West Virginia Split Rail), so the concrete and gravel rows start unticked. Tick them if you set yours in concrete.

Breakdown

Run or gate Measurements Qty Length Share
Run 1 200' Add ×1 200 ft

What to buy

Buying noteCall 811 a few business days before you dig. It is the free national before-you-dig service: the utilities mark their lines, and every post hole needs it.
Buying noteYour frost depth is not set. Where the ground freezes, a post set above the frost line heaves: ask your building department for the depth (IRC Table R301.2(1)) and type it under Assumptions — every hole follows it.
Buying noteSplit rail makers say to tamp the posts in earth, not to set them in concrete (West Virginia Split Rail), so the concrete and gravel rows start unticked. Tick them if you set yours in concrete.

Ways to buy the concrete

The bags for every post hole together, by the shape of the holes. Every way is worked out; pick the one you will buy.

46 × 50 lb fast-setting Bags 46 Left over 0.01 ft³ Weight 2,300 lb Cost $367.08 Reference price $7.98. Type your store's.

Shopping list

19 19 × 7 ft $360.43 Reference price $2.71. Type your store's.
2 2 × 7 ft $37.94 Reference price $2.71. Type your store's.
60 rails $1,060.80 Reference price $17.68. Type your store's.
46 46 × 50 lb fast-setting $367.08
12 12 × 50 lb bags (0.5 ft³) $65.76 Reference price $5.48. Type your store's.
Ticked items $1,459.17

Untick what you already have. Lumber is priced by the foot, beside its row; the concrete's bags are priced in the table above.

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How this was worked out

Every number below is yours. Each constant links to the row where you can change it.

Run 1 200' 200 ft
Posts 20 bays in 1 runs: 19 line + 2 end + 0 corner + 0 gate 21 posts

Change:Post spacing, split rail

How deep a post goes 30" in the ground, or the frost depth 0" where deeper 30" + 6" = 36"

Change:Split rail post in the groundYour frost depthGravel in the bottom of a hole

Line posts, length 48" + 30" = 78" 19 × 7 ft
End posts, length 48" + 30" = 78" 2 × 7 ft
Concrete, each line post (π ÷ 4 × 10" × 10" − 5" × 5") × 26 1/2" 0.821 ft³ × 19 = 15.6 ft³

Change:Split rail post, acrossHole across, split rail postConcrete stops under the ground

Concrete, each end post (π ÷ 4 × 10" × 10" − 5" × 5") × 26 1/2" 0.821 ft³ × 2 = 1.642 ft³

Change:Split rail post, acrossHole across, split rail postConcrete stops under the ground

Bags of concrete 17.242 ft³ ÷ 0.375 ft³ 45.98 → 46 × 50 lb fast-setting

Change:Yield, 50 lb fast-setting bag

Gravel under the posts π ÷ 4 × 10" × 10" × 6" × 19 + π ÷ 4 × 10" × 10" × 6" × 2 5.727 ft³ → 12 × 50 lb bags (0.5 ft³)

Change:Gravel in the bottom of a hole

Split rails 20 × 3 60

Change:A split rail every

What it comes to 19 × 7 ft × $2.71/ft + 2 × 7 ft × $2.71/ft + 60 × $17.68 $1,459.17

Assumptions

Every one of these is editable. Change one and the answer changes with it.

Assumption Value Confidence
Post spacing, split railWest Virginia Split Rail installation instructions: 11 ft rails lapped 6 in into each post, so posts stand about 10 ft 3 in on center. in From a data sheet or an agency document
A split rail everySplit rail is sold two rails for a fence about 3 ft high and three for about 4 ft; one rail for every 18 in of height gives the same. ~ in Derived or single-supplier
Split rail post in the groundWest Virginia Split Rail: post holes 24-30 in deep, backfilled with tamped earth. The deep end, which puts a 3-rail fence on a 7 ft post. in From a data sheet or an agency document
Your frost depthYour frost depth, from your building department (IRC Table R301.2(1) is filled in locally). 0 means not given: every hole is then as deep as the post's own rule. Typed in, no hole stops above it. ≈ in Trade convention
Gravel in the bottom of a holeQuikrete Setting Posts, step 2: 6 in of gravel or crushed stone in the bottom of the hole, for drainage. in From a data sheet or an agency document
Concrete stops under the groundQuikrete Setting Posts, steps 4 and 6: fill the hole to 3-4 in below the top, then finish with soil. The middle of the range. in From a data sheet or an agency document
Split rail post, acrossA split rail post is a split log about 5 in across; taken as square for the hole it fills. ~ in Derived or single-supplier
Hole across, split rail postA split rail post's hole; the rail maker gives a depth and no width. ~ in Derived or single-supplier
Yield, 50 lb fast-setting bagQuikrete Fast-Setting Concrete Mix spec sheet. ft³/bag From a data sheet or an agency document

What a fence gate takes

A gate is a gap in the fence with a post either side and a leaf hung between them. A 12 foot driveway gate in a 6 foot wood fence is two leaves of 6 feet, and it takes two 6×6 gate posts, each 10 feet long, set 36 inches deep in a 12 inch hole; six hinges, three to a leaf because each leaf is 6 feet tall; one latch; and one drop rod — the cane bolt that pins the fixed leaf to the ground so the other has something to latch to.

A wood gate is built from the fence's own lumber. Each leaf is a frame of three 2×4 rails, one for every 24 inches of height as on the fence, and a brace from the bottom of the hinge side to the top of the latch side, so the leaf hangs from its hinges instead of sagging toward the latch. A 6 foot leaf takes its rails from 8 foot boards and its brace, about 8 feet 4 inches long, from a 10 foot one. Its face is covered with the same pickets as the fence, 14 to a leaf.

Single or double

A walk gate is one leaf, usually 3½ to 4 feet; a drive gate is two leaves meeting in the middle. In the parts list choose Gate, one leaf or Gate, two leaves and type the opening. A double gate needs the drop rod and a latch that holds two leaves; a single gate needs neither.

Hinges

A leaf up to 5 feet tall hangs on a pair of hinges; from 6 feet it takes three, which is what Hoover Fence advises for wood gates. Both figures are under Assumptions. Heavy-duty strap or tee hinges carry a wood leaf; a chain link, vinyl or aluminum gate comes made, often with its hinges and latch — untick those rows if yours does.

Gate posts

A gate post carries a swinging leaf, so it is a 6×6 on a wood fence where the line posts are 4×4, in a wider hole with more concrete: 1.558 cubic feet each against 1.247 for a line post. Hang the gate before the fence pickets go on either side of it, and leave the gap the hinge and latch need. We are not connected with any maker, store or supplier named here.