A gate sits inside a run, so the run’s length includes the gate opening. But a gate is not fence: nobody is building panels across that opening. Fence footage is the total run length minus the gate widths, and the gates are priced separately, once each.
Forgetting that subtraction is a common way to overprice a job and to overorder materials. This fence gate calculator makes the subtraction visible and shows what it does to the price.
A worked example with sample prices
| Total run length | 120 ft |
|---|---|
| Gate openings | 2 × 4 ft = 8 ft |
| Fence footage | 120 ft − 8 ft = 112 ft |
| Fence, at a sample price of $35 per foot | 112 ft × $35 = $3,920.00 |
| Gates, at a sample price of $450 each | 2 × $450 = $900.00 |
| Sample price before tax | $4,820.00 |
| Fence line if the gates were ignored | 120 ft × $35 = $4,200.00 |
Ignoring the gates would price the fence line at $4,200.00 instead of $3,920.00, a difference of $280.00 before the gate prices are added back. Your own rates move every figure, but the structure stays the same.
