Horizontal Hit and Miss Fence Calculator

Work out your posts and timber quantities for a true horizontal hit & miss fence — boards alternate front/back with a deliberate gap for airflow and screening.

Choose your privacy level. We turn that into a sensible gap guide (gap stays smaller than the board face).

Guide only. Built around standard UK fencing practice and stocked timber lengths.

What this calculator is for?

This calculator is designed for true hit & miss fencing (double sided). Each row of boards is fixed alternately to opposite faces of the supports, so you get screening from both sides while keeping airflow.

If you want a solid “privacy fence” with no through-gaps, this is a different build method and needs different take-off rules.

Estimate the materials needed for a true horizontal hit and miss fence using stocked sizes and standard trade assumptions. Boards alternate front and back with a deliberate gap for airflow and screening.

1

Fence size

Start with the overall run and finished fence height.
Finished height from ground level to the top of the fence.
2

Build options

Choose the post setup and how stiff you want the fence.
These are the extra vertical fixing lines between the posts in each bay.
3

Boards & privacy

Set the board size, privacy gap and layout assumptions.
Visible board coverage height per row.
We aim for your chosen spacing, then space evenly across the full run.
Selected: 90% Gap guide: — mm Build: true hit & miss
Smaller gap = more privacy and more timber. Larger gap = more airflow and a lighter look. A sensible starting point is board face minus 10%.
Used for intermediate uprights cut down to fence height.
Auto Stocked lengths are chosen to span the bays with fewer joins where possible.
Both faces Quantities assume boards alternate front and back for true hit and miss screening.

Estimated materials

A quick summary first, then the full breakdown below.

Detailed material list

Shop the materials

Shop fence posts Timber and concrete post options. Shop fence boards Browse treated timber for horizontal fencing builds. Shop treated timber lengths Useful for rails, uprights and general fence construction. Shop fixings & postmix Everything needed to install the fence.

Advice & guidance

Planning guidance

In the UK, permitted development rules often allow a fence to be up to 2 metres (≈ 6ft 6in) high without planning permission in rear and side gardens.

If the fence fronts onto, or is adjacent to, a public road, footpath or highway, the limit without planning permission is commonly 1 metre (≈ 3ft 3in).

These limits are usually measured from ground level to the highest fixed point. Rules can vary depending on your council, listed status, conservation areas and local constraints, so check with your local planning authority if building near the limit.

General guidance only and not a substitute for local planning advice.

Installation tips

Set out evenly: mark post centres using the spacing shown and keep the line straight with a string line.

True hit & miss: boards alternate front and back so the gaps are visually screened from either side.

Supports matter: horizontal boards need vertical fixing lines. Wider bays and exposed sites usually benefit from extra supports.

Wind exposure: in exposed areas, tighter centres, stronger posts and more supports usually make a better long-term build.

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