Tool
Fence post calculator: how many fence posts do I need?
The SIMO Securon fence post calculator counts the posts (poles) your fence needs, run by run: intermediate, strain and corner posts, the braces and the pits to dig. Move the post spacing slider to change the gap between poles, and compare the count chain link would need on the same line. A knotted fence needs around half.
Fence post calculator
Enter each straight run of the fence and choose the fence. The count, the braces and the pits come back from our server, with the post gap slider.
Count the fence posts
Step 1 of 3
Your result
Answer the questions, then press "Count my posts". Your result shows here.
More about the fence post calculator
How the calculator counts the posts
- Run by run. Each straight run gets a post at its start, then one at every post gap, and one at its end; the last gap is shorter when the run is not a whole number of gaps.
- Strain posts. At a regular interval along the run, a strain post takes the place of an intermediate post. The fence is tensioned against it.
- Corner posts. A small allowance for the turns of the line, in place of intermediate posts.
- Braces and pits. Two braces at every strain post and every corner post, and one pit for every post and every brace.
The fencing cost calculator counts a plot you describe from its real corners and gates, so its count can differ by a post or two.
Fence posts for a SIMO Securon fence
QvikFixrr™ posts are steel angle posts with standard 8.5 ft shafts and attachments for barbed wire and concertina coil, hot-dip galvanised or epoxy coated. The weight of any angle is in the angle weight calculator; see fence posts for how they are set.
FAQ
Fence post calculator questions
How far apart should fence posts be?
For a SIMO Securon knotted fence, 5 to 6 m for Alpha and 5 m for Zeta Nova and Pi, because the fixed knot locks every crossing and keeps the fence rigid across the span. Conventional galvanised chain link needs its posts closer together, 2.5 to 3 m apart.
Knotted fence vs chain linkWhat is a strain post?
A heavier post the fence is pulled tight against, braced so it does not lean. The calculator puts one at a regular interval along each run (usually every 10th post) and counts two braces for each. You can change the interval under More options.
Why does the calculator count corner posts as a share?
Because it does not know where your line turns. It allows a small share of the posts as corner posts, each with two braces, as SIMO Securon does before the drawing is final. Once you know your corners, the fencing cost calculator takes the real number of corners and gates.
What happens past the largest post gap?
The calculator gives no count and says why: past its largest gap a knotted fence sags between the posts and loses its tension, so it is not built that way. Keep to the gap the grade is made for, or ask us about your site.
How many pits do I need to dig?
One for every post and one for every brace. The calculator adds them up for each run and in total, and shows how many fewer a knotted fence needs than chain link.
Want our engineers to check the plan?
Send the run lengths and your drawing on WhatsApp, or call us. We check the post layout against the site and the fence, and send the quantities and a price.