PostPosts go into the ground first. Everything else is fastened to them.
Boards (siding)They are nailed to the rails. Fence books also call them siding or infill.
Top railRails run from post to post and carry the boards.
Middle railA third rail, halfway between the other two. It makes a tall fence stronger.
Bottom railThe lowest rail. The bottoms of the boards are nailed to it.
Cap railIt runs across the tops of the posts and sheds rain. That protects the wood under it.
KickboardIt closes the gap under the fence. It also keeps the boards off the soil. Some books call it a baseboard.
Concrete footingConcrete poured round the post in its hole. Its top is sloped so water drains away from the post.
GravelA few inches go in before the post. Water can then drain away from its foot.
Picket fence 4
PicketsEvenly spaced upright boards with a gap between each. Nailed to the rails.
Post capIt covers the cut top of the post and sheds rain. Caps run from plain flat tops to ornamental shapes.
GateHangs on hinges from one gate post and latches to the other.
Gate postGate posts need more support than the posts between them. So builders set them deeper or in concrete.
How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where two independent sources use it for that part. Read through archive.org's full-text search (passages, not whole pages): (1) Sunset, Fences & Gates (Lane Publishing, 1981), https://archive.org/details/isbn_037601105 ; (2) James Barrett, Fences & Gates (Creative Homeowner Press, 1998), https://archive.org/details/fencesgates0000barr ; (3) Ortho's All About Fences and Gates (Meredith Books, 2001), https://archive.org/details/orthosallaboutfe0000mill , and Fences & Gates: a do-it-yourself guide (Meredith Books, 2005), https://archive.org/details/fencesgatesdoity0000unse , one publisher and counted as one source; (4) Kevin Geist, How to Build Wooden Gates and Picket Fences (Stackpole Books, 2011), https://archive.org/details/howtobuildwooden0000geis . Read in full: (5) Sunset, How to Build Fences and Gates (1951), https://archive.org/details/how-to-build-fences-and-gates-1951 , counted with source 1; (6) Wikipedia, Fence and Picket fence (text only). Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Licence: own work
How it works
A wooden fence in two drawings. The board fence is seen from the yard side, where the frame shows, with one post hole cut open. The picket fence is seen from the street.
Read the full guide
Parts of a fence, names from the top down
A cap rail lies across the tops of the posts. Under it, three rails run from post to post: top, middle and bottom. The boards are nailed to the rails, and a kickboard closes the gap along the ground.
What holds a post up
The cut-open hole shows a few inches of gravel at the bottom, the post standing on it, and a concrete footing round the post. Gate posts carry a moving gate, so builders give them more support than the posts in the run.
Fence books call the upright boards siding or infill. A lumberyard sells them as fence boards.
Rails are also called stringers, and a kickboard is also called a baseboard.
Questions and answers
What are the horizontal boards on a fence called?
Rails. They run from post to post and the boards or pickets are nailed to them. A tall fence has a top rail, a bottom rail and often a middle rail. A flat board across the post tops is a cap rail.
What is the board at the bottom of a fence called?
A kickboard. It runs along the ground under the bottom rail, closes the gap under the fence and keeps the upright boards off the soil. Some books call it a baseboard.
What are the vertical boards on a fence called?
On a picket fence they are pickets: narrow boards, often pointed, with a gap between each. On a solid fence they are fence boards, which builders also call siding or infill.
What is the top of a fence post called?
A post cap. It covers the cut top of the post and sheds rain. Caps range from a plain flat piece to ornamental shapes.