FENCE PAINT CALCULATOR
FENCE PAINT CALCULATOR
Pre-filled with a 150 ft, 6 ft privacy fence coated on both sides. Use the spread rate on your product's label.
Counted on the back side only
Use the low end of the label range on rough-sawn or weathered wood
RESULT
Buy
19 gal
18.2 gallons exact · e.g. 3 x 5-gal pails + 4 gal
- Area per coat
- 2,064 sq ft
- Boards (faces + edges)
- 1,800 sq ft
- Rails
- 131 sq ft
- Posts (19)
- 133 sq ft
Assumes 3/4-inch boards and 4x4 posts / 2x4 rails (3.5 in faces). A sprayer with no back-rolling uses more than this; see the notes below.
How the fence paint calculator works
A fence is not a wall. Paint has to cover both faces of every board, the edges of spaced pickets, the rails on the back side and four faces of every post. This calculator adds those up separately, multiplies by your coats, divides by the spread rate on your product's label and adds a waste allowance.
It uses your label's number on purpose: spread rates differ a lot between a solid stain, a semi-transparent stain and an exterior paint, and between smooth and rough-sawn boards. For decks, use the deck stain calculator, which handles boards, railings and stairs.
Worked example: 150 feet of 6-foot privacy fence
| Part | Math | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Board faces | 150 ft x 6 ft x 2 sides | 1,800 sq ft |
| Rails (back side) | 3 rails x 150 ft x 3.5 in | 131 sq ft |
| Posts | 19 posts x 4 faces x 3.5 in x 6 ft | 133 sq ft |
| Per coat | 2,064 sq ft | |
| Two coats + 10% waste at 250 sq ft/gal | 2,064 x 2 x 1.1 / 250 | 18.2 gal, buy 19 |
Spraying a fence: why it uses more
A sprayer is the fastest way to coat a picket fence, but overspray drifts through the gaps and off the ends, and wind makes it worse. Back-brushing or back-rolling the first coat works the coating into the grain and evens it out. The spray vs roll comparison covers the trade-off, and the sprayer guide covers setup.
Prep before you coat a fence
- Wash it. Dirt, mildew and gray weathered fibers stop coatings from soaking in. Let it dry fully afterward.
- Fix it. Reset loose boards and replace rotted ones; coating does not hold rot together.
- Scrape failing paint. A new coat over peeling paint peels with it.
- Check the weather. Follow the label's temperature range and keep rain off until it has set. The cold-weather guide covers fall jobs.
- Protect the ground. Drop cloths along the base keep coating off grass, mulch and pavers.
Pricing a fence job
Contractors can turn the area from this calculator into labor hours with the labor cost calculator and add overhead with the overhead calculator. Price picket fences higher per running foot than solid ones: they take less coating but far more brush time on the edges.
Fence painting: common questions
How much paint do I need for a 6-foot privacy fence?
Each side of a solid 6-foot fence is 6 square feet per running foot, so 100 feet of fence is 600 square feet per side and 1,200 for both sides before posts and rails. Multiply by the number of coats and divide by the spread rate on the product label, then add a waste allowance.
Do picket gaps really save paint?
Some. With 3.5-inch pickets and 2.5-inch gaps, boards cover about 58% of the fence plane, but every picket also has two edges that need coating. The calculator counts both, so the saving is smaller than the gaps suggest.
Should I paint or stain a fence?
Stain soaks in and wears away gradually, so recoating is easier; paint forms a film that hides more but peels when it fails and has to be scraped. What is already on the boards usually decides it, because going back from paint to stain means stripping.
Can I paint a new pressure-treated fence right away?
Usually not. New treated lumber is often too wet to accept a coating well. Check the coating's label for its requirement and test the wood: water sprinkled on it should soak in rather than bead up.