This page opens on One wall set up as a fence: five standard 6 ft panels in a row (9.15 m long, 1.83 m high), Both sides ticked, and Cuprinol Less Mess Fence Care picked, so its coverage and its 5, 6 and 9 litre tins are already in. That run is 33.5 m² to cover, which at one coat and 4.8 m² per litre is about 7 litres: a 9 litre tin.
Measuring a fence
Measure the run along the ground from the first post to the last, and the height of the panels, not the posts. For a fence that steps down a slope, add each level as its height times its length and use the average height. Panels are usually 1.83 m (6 ft) wide, so counting panels and multiplying is quicker than a tape: 8 panels are 14.6 m.
Tick Both sides when you will treat the back too. The calculator doubles the area, and any gate or gap you add under “Not painted” comes off both faces.
Choosing the treatment and coats
Pick your product in the Paint menu: Cuprinol Less Mess Fence Care, Cuprinol 5 Year Ducksback and Ronseal Fence Life Plus are listed under the UK. Each brings its maker’s coverage and tins, and the number of coats the maker gives. Other brands: choose Any paint and type the coverage from the tin, in square metres per litre (a tin that says “up to 24 m² per 5 L” is 4.8).
Coverage on a fence varies more than on a wall. New, dry rough sawn timber soaks up the first coat; an old grey fence takes even more. Buy the tins the calculator suggests and keep the receipt for an unopened spare rather than running out halfway along a colour.
Before you start
Brush off dirt, moss and cobwebs and let the wood dry: wet timber doesn’t take the treatment evenly. Cover plants and the patio along the bottom, and do the edges of each board first, then the faces, with the grain.
Fence treatment for runs of 6 ft panels
Panels 1.83 m wide and 1.83 m high, both sides, posts left out, at each maker's coverage and its own number of coats; the tins are its own sizes with the least left over.
| Fence | Area, both sides | Cuprinol Less Mess Fence Care 4.8 m²/L, 1 coat | Cuprinol 5 Year Ducksback 4.8 m²/L, 2 coats | Ronseal Fence Life Plus 6 m²/L, 2 coats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 panels (5.49 m) | 20.1 m² | 4.2 L: 1 × 5 L | 8.4 L: 1 × 9 L | 6.7 L: 1 × 9 L |
| 5 panels (9.15 m) | 33.5 m² | 7.0 L: 1 × 9 L | 14 L: 1 × 9 L + 1 × 5 L | 11 L: 1 × 9 L + 1 × 5 L |
| 8 panels (14.64 m) | 53.6 m² | 11 L: 2 × 6 L | 22 L: 2 × 9 L + 1 × 5 L | 18 L: 2 × 9 L |
| 10 panels (18.3 m) | 67 m² | 14 L: 1 × 9 L + 1 × 5 L | 28 L: 2 × 9 L + 2 × 5 L | 22 L: 2 × 9 L + 1 × 5 L |
| 15 panels (27.45 m) | 100.5 m² | 21 L: 1 × 9 L + 2 × 6 L | 42 L: 3 × 9 L + 3 × 5 L | 33 L: 1 × 9 L + 5 × 5 L |
Sources, checked October 2026: Cuprinol, Less Mess Fence Care and 5 Year Ducksback (a 5 L can covers up to 24 m² in one coat, about 8 panels); Ronseal, Fence Life Plus (up to 6 m² per litre); Jacksons Fencing, fence panel heights (standard panels 6 ft or 1.83 m wide). Brand names are used only to describe the products; Meadow Tools is not affiliated with any of them.