Estimating Temporary Fence Requirements

Estimate Temporary Fence Requirements

Whether you’re organizing an event or planning out a construction site, having the appropriate amount of temporary fencing for the job is a must. If you know the perimeter of the site then that is a huge advantage, unfortunately that information is not always readily available. In these cases there are free online tools that can help, namely Google Earth.

Google Earth

Most of us are familiar with Google Earth, and likely have made extensive use of its liter-featured cousin Google Maps. Google Earth is free to access and has a number of additional tools that can be very useful for those planning an event or worksite, the most relevant for calculating temporary fencing needs is the measuring tool.

How to estimate temporary fence requirement using Google Earth

Access Google Earth and navigate to the location you’re looking to measure.

Once located, zoom out to get the whole location on screen, then select the measuring tool found at the bottom of the tool bar that is positioned on the left of the screen then trace out the perimeter. The total length of the perimeter, as well as the area covered, can be seen in the tooltip.

Divide the perimeter by 12 (the length of a standard ZND fence panel) to estimate the number of panels required. In the examples below the estimated requirement is 176 temporary fence panels. This estimate doesn’t account for pedestrian or vehicle access gates, or inclines, but it serves as a useful basis for establishing requirements.

Remember that all panels will require stands and couplers, in addition to other accessories that improve stability, safety or security of the installation or site.