Separate coverage, framework and system fittings
- 01Coverage stock
- Mesh, top rail and enabled bottom wire use the covered length after gate deductions, plus your waste allowance. Each stock format rounds independently; these are whole purchases, not a rail cutting or fabric stretching plan.
- 02Framework and gates
- Post categories follow the positioned fence map. Gates remain their own material lines even though their clear widths are removed from coverage. Confirm the system's rough-opening and post-centre details separately.
- 03Concrete and fitting verification
- Optional concrete uses all calculated posts as the hole count. If post categories need different hole profiles, estimate those groups separately. The fitting workflow below uses its own specification inputs; primary quantities do not automatically establish bands, ties, caps, braces or gate hardware.
Why rolls and posts respond differently
Why does moving a gate change post quantities?
The mesh deduction stays the same when gate width is unchanged, but moving the gate changes the separately rounded fenced runs on either side.
Why can a small waste allowance add a whole roll?
Waste is added before purchase rounding. If the adjusted length crosses a roll or stock boundary, the next whole unit is required even when the added length is small.
Are shared corner posts counted once?
Yes. Connected segments reuse one corner endpoint. Gate posts remain separate, and accepted gates cannot touch each other.
MaterialNest reconciled chain-link gate deduction and whole-stock rounding on September 13, 2026; system-specific fittings still require product verification. Editorial and correction policy.
Trace coverage and posts through a gate
1. 100 ft fence with one 4 ft gate
Complete inputs
Layout
- Layout type
- Straight
- Corner endpoints
- 0
- Endpoint roles
- endpoint-start: terminal; endpoint-end: terminal
- Section 1
- 100 ft; endpoint-start to endpoint-end
Openings and gates
- Gate 1 - Section 1
- 4 ft wide at 40 ft from section start
Fence and purchase assumptions
- Fence height
- 4 ft
- Maximum line-post spacing
- 10 ft
- Mesh roll length
- 50 ft
- Top-rail stock length
- 10 ft
- Bottom tension wire
- Included
- Tension-wire coil length
- 170 ft
- Waste or overage
- 10%
Expected result
- Fence height
- 4 ft
- Base material length after gates
- 96 ft
- Waste allowance
- 9 ft 7 3/16 in
- Waste-adjusted material length
- 105 ft 7 3/16 in
- Mesh rolls
- 3
- Top-rail pieces
- 11
- Bottom tension-wire coils
- 1
- Gate quantity
- 1
- Total posts
- 12
- Concrete bags
- 0
Manual derivation
- The gate starts 40 ft from the first end. It leaves separate 40 ft and 56 ft fenced runs, and 100 ft - 4 ft = 96 ft of covered material.
- Ten-percent waste adds 9.6 ft, so 105.6 ft rounds up to three 50 ft mesh rolls, eleven 10 ft rails, and one 170 ft tension-wire coil.
- At a 10 ft maximum, the 40 ft and 56 ft runs use four and six spans: eight line posts plus two end posts and two gate posts = 12 posts.
Example drawing
2. Connected custom runs with a gate
Complete inputs
Layout
- Layout type
- Custom connected sections
- Corner endpoints
- 1
- Endpoint roles
- start: terminal; corner: corner; end: terminal
- First section
- 6000 mm; start to corner
- Second section
- 4000 mm; corner to end
Openings and gates
- Gate 1 - Second section
- 1000 mm wide at 1000 mm from section start
Fence and purchase assumptions
- Fence height
- 1200 mm
- Maximum line-post spacing
- 2500 mm
- Mesh roll length
- 5000 mm
- Top-rail stock length
- 3000 mm
- Bottom tension wire
- Not included
- Waste or overage
- 0%
Expected result
- Fence height
- 1200 mm
- Base material length after gates
- 9000 mm
- Waste allowance
- 0 mm
- Waste-adjusted material length
- 9000 mm
- Mesh rolls
- 2
- Top-rail pieces
- 3
- Bottom tension-wire coils
- 0
- Gate quantity
- 1
- Total posts
- 7
- Concrete bags
- 0
Manual derivation
- 10,000 mm of segments minus a 1,000 mm gate gives 9,000 mm of covered material.
- The shared corner counts once; two terminals, one corner, two gate posts, and two line posts total seven.
Resolve these before the supplier order
- Forgetting to deduct a gate opening from mesh.
- Assuming a fittings checklist is a professional bill of materials.
- Using a fence estimate as permit or code approval.
Auditable calculation record
Gate deductions and stock rounding
Mesh rolls, rail pieces, wire, and post counts describe the measured chain-link runs and clear gate openings supplied here. Confirm the selected manufacturer's framework and fittings, installation conditions, and local rules before purchase; this list does not approve fence strength, foundations, or permits. Have unusual or critical work checked professionally.
- Formula version
- 2.1.0
- Last reconciled
- September 13, 2026
- Measurement datum
- Segments use endpoint-post centrelines; a gate offset runs to the near inside face and its width spans the clear opening.
- Rounding
- Gate openings are deducted before waste. Mesh, rail, and tension wire then round up independently to the entered whole-stock formats.
- Known exclusions
- Bands, ties, caps, tension bars, gate hardware, framework specifications, and installation requirements remain product-system checks.