Temporary Fence Takeoff: Panels, Posts, Gates, Rails, Code Barriers, Install, and Rental Cost

Panel, post, rail, gate, and hardware counts for a construction fence, the type that fits your site, the barrier rules that drive the height, the install labor, and the rental-versus-buy cost over the schedule.

Temporary fence is a 10 ft panel system, and the takeoff is a linear-foot count with a waste allowance, not a pretty drawing. Standard rental chain link is a 6 ft by 10 ft panel on a frame post with two rails, a tension wire at the bottom, and a brace at every corner and every end post. The height that the code asks for is driven by what you are protecting: an excavation edge barrier, a hoisting area, a public walkway, a school, a pool, and a right-of-way hoarding are five different heights and five different details.

—Panels, posts, rails, gates, and hardware
—Fence type for your site and duration
—Barrier rules that drive the height
—Post holes, auger, ballast, and install hours
—Rental versus buy and cost per linear foot
—Gates, openings, bracing, and wind
How the math works
  • Panel count: (perimeter minus gate width) divided by 10 ft, times 1.05 for waste and breaks. A 400 ft perimeter with two 12 ft gates is 376 ft net, 40 panels.
  • Post count: one post per panel, 2 gate posts per double gate, and a brace post at every corner, every end, and every 500 ft of run, with a guy and a deadman on a 6 ft line.
  • Rails and wire: 2 rails per panel on a 4 ft and 6 ft line, 3 rails on a 8 ft line, plus tension wire at the bottom at 1.06 times the net run, plus 8 ties per panel.
  • Install: 0.04 man-hours per foot on plastic mesh, 0.06 on chain link, 0.08 on welded mesh, 0.15 on plywood hoarding, times 1.25 on a 8 ft line, times 1.2 on a base-plate pavement install. Demobilize at 70 percent of the install hours.
  • Rental versus buy: chain link rental 1.50 per linear foot per month, welded mesh 2.20, barrier 3.50, with buy prices installed at 4.50 for plastic mesh, 9.50 chain link, 12 welded mesh, 16 barrier, 26 plywood hoarding. Break-even months = buy price divided by monthly rent.
Temporary fence takeoff tool on standard 10 ft modular fence packages with published panel, post, rail, and hardware counts, and standard installation practice. Local rules on a right-of-way fence permit, a hoarding permit, a fence height in a dense urban district, a fence at a school, a fence at a park, a fence at a pool being built with a self-closing and self-latching gate, a fence at a playground, a fence with a required scope sign, permit placard, emergency information placard, and contact number, a fence on a sidewalk with a required pedestrian path width, a required accessible route with a 36 in clear width and a compliant latch, a fence over a utility easement, a fence in a wetland and a flood zone, a fence in a historic district, a required lighted marker and reflective band, a required barricade at a hoisting area, and a required barricade at an excavation edge are set by the authority having jurisdiction, the city engineer, the state DOT maintenance of traffic requirements, and the MUTCD. A fence designed for a wind load, a fence on a base plate in a seismic region, a fence used as a retaining structure, a fence used as a fall protection barrier at a leading edge, a fence at a crane load path, a fence rated as a barrier for a public highway, and a fence that must carry a banner load are engineered questions. Fence rental, haul, install, and disposal rates vary by region, and rental is priced on a 28 day month with the haul, the patch, and the shortage charge.

How many panels do I need for 400 feet of temporary fence?

40 panels: 376 ft of net run after two 12 ft gates, divided by 10 ft, times 1.05 for breaks and waste. Order 42 panels with 10 percent extra posts, because a damaged panel at a corner and a panel taken at a gate are the two counts that open a closed site.

How tall does a construction fence have to be?

6 ft is the standard site fence. An excavation edge barrier with workers exposed to the edge is 42 in set 2 ft back from the edge, the public barricade adjacent to a walk is 4 ft with a kick board, a hoarding in a dense city is 8 ft with a permit, and a pool being built is a 5 ft isolation fence with a self-closing and self-latching gate.

Is renting temporary fence cheaper than buying?

Under 6 months, rental wins on chain link: 1.50 a foot a month against 9.50 a foot installed, a 6.3 month break-even. Over 6 months a fence you can re-erect at the next site is a buy, and welded mesh at 2.20 a foot a month rental against 12 installed is a 5.5 month break-even. Plastic mesh and plywood hoarding are buy items: there is no rental line for them.

How long does it take to install 400 feet of temporary fence?

A 2 person crew on flat dirt runs 150 to 250 ft a day on chain link, so 400 ft is 2 to 3 days with the concrete set day, the rails, and the gates. On pavement with base plates it is the same crew in 1.5 to 2 days with no cure time. Plywood hoarding runs 40 to 70 ft a day, and plastic mesh on T-posts runs 300 to 400 ft a day.

Where do gates and bracing go on a fence line?

Gates where the equipment actually enters: a 12 ft double at the crane pad, a 12 ft double at the truck ramp, a 3 ft self-closing pedestrian gate at the sidewalk route, and a chained gate at the laydown yard. Brace at every corner, every end, every 500 ft, and every 250 ft in wind exposure, with a guy and a deadman at a corner post on a 6 ft line.

Related tools

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