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Fence Stain Coverage, Coats & Material Cost

Estimate liquid stain and entered material cost for one or both fence faces, with one-coat, two-coat and box-fence assumptions.

  • Formula & worked example
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Calculator inputs

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How to use this calculator

  1. Enter the known values in the units shown. Results update as you type.
  2. Where results are editable, change one to solve backwards. Lock a value to hold it fixed.
  3. Use the worked example to check the method. Reset restores the starting fields.

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Inputs and results stay in this browser tab. Bookify does not upload or store the values you enter.

Formula and method

A 10 m by 2 m fence stained on both faces has 40 m² of face area. At 8 m² per liter, one coat uses 5 L; at $5/L, the liquid stain costs $25.

Liquid volume = length × height × sides × geometry multiplier × coats / coverage

Worked example

Enter these known values and leave the other values blank.

Fence length
10 m
Fence height
2 m
How many sides do you want to stain?
Both
Entered coverage per coat
8 m² / L
Transparent stain price per selected volume
5 USD / L
Total stain needed
5 L
Total cost of stain
25 USD

Assumptions and limitations

  • Picket mode uses the rectangular face area without subtracting gaps. Box-fence mode multiplies this area by a fixed 1.5 to approximate extra surfaces; it does not measure individual board edges or overlaps.
  • The retained transparent choice applies one coat and the solid choice applies two. Actual coat requirements and coverage depend on the selected product and surface.
  • Coverage and price both have volume-unit selectors. Confirm the denominator unit, especially when switching between liters, US gallons and UK gallons.
  • Volumes are continuous estimates. Round purchases up to available containers and account separately for waste, absorption, labor, preparation and tax. Zero entered prices are supported.

Common questions

Can I price stain per US gallon but use metric dimensions?

Yes. Set the price denominator to US gallons while leaving length, area and coverage in the units on the product information. The model converts the units before multiplying volume by price.

References

Bookify permits zero stain prices and material costs while retaining positive geometry and coverage. The international acre is exactly 43560 square international feet; Bookify replaces the rounded captured area factor. The US fluid ounce uses one 128th of the exact US liquid gallon, replacing the rounded captured reciprocal factor. The US customary cup uses one sixteenth of the exact US liquid gallon, replacing the rounded captured cup volume. Bookify replaces the captured rounded US gallon with the exact 3.785411784-liter definition.

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