How to Make a Fence in Minecraft (Ultimate Beginner’s Guide 2025)
Just starting a new world in Minecraft? Fences are one of the first things you’ll need to learn. This guide covers how to craft fences and gates, where to use them, and a few easy tips to avoid common mistakes. Fences are in both Java Edition and Bedrock Edition, so no matter which one you play, you’re set.
What Is a Fence in Minecraft?
A fence is a protective block that keeps mobs in one place. Fences are 1.5 blocks tall, so nothing can jump over them, even though they look like just one block. The very first use of fences in a survival world is to make animal farms.
You can craft a total of 12 different fences. They connect easily to walls, gates, and solid blocks, so building with them is simple. Fences are great if you want to avoid sudden creeper attacks while building a farm in your base. Below are the detail on how to make a fence in Minecraft.
Required Materials to Craft a Fence
To make 3 fences in Minecraft, you’ll need the following:
4 Wooden Planks – Crafted from any type of wood log. All planks must be the same type (oak, birch, spruce, etc.).
2 Sticks – Made by placing two wooden planks vertically in your crafting menu.
Crafting Table – You need a crafting table for the 3×3 crafting menu, required for the fence recipe.
How to Make a Fence in Minecraft
Fences are crafted using wood planks and sticks. Each recipe gives 3 fence blocks. You must use a crafting table because the recipe needs a 3×3 grid.
Method 1: Using a Crafting Table
Open the crafting table. Place 2 sticks in the center column and 4 planks on the left and right sides. This gives you 3 fences. Make sure you use the identical wood planks, because the fence recipe simply won’t work if you use different wood planks.
Method 2: Using Inventory Crafting
⚠️ You can’t craft fences in the 2×2 inventory grid. It doesn’t have enough space for the full recipe. Always use a crafting table for fences, even in the early game.
How to Craft a Fence Gate
Fence gates work completely differently from fences. You can walk through them, but mobs can’t so they’re perfect for farm entrances. This makes them ideal for getting in and out of farms without letting any mob escape.
To craft one, place 2 sticks on the sides and 2 wooden planks in the center of the crafting grid. This gives you one fence gate. It’ll match whatever wood you used, just like regular fences do. You can open a gate by right clicking it.
How to Craft Special Fences
Nether Brick Fence
Step 1: Craft Nether Bricks from Netherrack
Smelt Netherrack in a furnace. Each block gives one Nether Brick.
Step 2: Make Nether Brick Blocks
Put 4 Nether Bricks in a square in the crafting grid. This makes one Nether Brick Block.
Step 3: Use Those Blocks to Craft the Fence
Place 2 Nether Brick in the middle and 4 Nether Brick Blocks on the sides of the crafting table. This makes 6 Nether Brick Fences.
Fun Fact: Nether Brick Fences don’t burn in Lava.
Cobblestone Wall
Cobblestone walls work like fences, but are much easier to obtain. They are fireproof and don’t burn like wood. Use them when you’re building in the Nether or near Lava.
Step 1: Gather Cobblestone
Mine stone blocks using a pickaxe to get cobblestone. You can find stone almost everywhere underground or on surface cliffs.
Step 2: Craft the Wall
Place 6 cobblestones in two rows across the crafting table. This gives you 6 cobblestone walls.
Where to Find Fences Without Crafting?
If you’re interested in challenges like collecting building materials, such as fences from natural structures, good news! You can find fences in naturally generated structures. Below is a list of structures that generate fences naturally with them:
Deserted Mine Shafts
Mineshafts are mostly found underground and on the surface in the Badlands biome. Oak fences are used to support them. Use an axe to break the fences quickly and collect them. Watch out for poisonous cave spiders nearby.
Villages
Fences are common in villages, usually around animal barns, crop farms, and lamps. You can find one in Plains, Savanna, and the Snowy Tundra. It’s a fast way to gather fences in the early game, just don’t take too many if that village is your first base!
Nether Fortresses
In the Nether, you’ll find Nether Fortresses. These fortresses have Nether Brick Fences, which can be mined with a pickaxe. Be careful, because Blazes and Wither Skeletons won’t let you collect them easily.
Witch’s Cabins
Witch huts are found in Swamp biomes and are usually rare to find. These small huts are made of spruce wood and often have fences around them. Use an axe to break them faster and avoid the witch if she’s inside.
Common Fence Uses in Minecraft Builds
Hostile Mobs Protection
If you’re building a base in a village, keeping the villagers safe should be a top priority. Hostile mobs like zombies and pillagers can easily attack if the area isn’t secured. The simplest way to protect your village is by placing a fence boundary around it.
Animal Farms
Animals are a great source of food, wool, and leather early in the game. Building an animal farm using fences keeps them in one place, so they don’t wander off. Just lead them in with wheat, carrots, and seeds, and then close the farm with a fence gate. Without fences, you’ll waste your time chasing animals later.
Organizing Your Base with Fences
As your base grows larger, things start to scatter, crafting tables and chests everywhere. Fences help you create areas in your base depending on their use. Like animal farms in one place, crafting, and furnaces are in another. If you skip this at the start, animals will end up walking on your grown crops or blocking furnaces and chests.
Beginner Mistakes to Avoid When Using Fences
Placing Gates in the Wrong Spot
Avoid placing gates behind chests or at the edge of a wall. It’s best to place them somewhere easy to reach, like the center of the farm. So, Animals don’t come out when you’re going in.
Leaving Gaps Open
Always double check the corners of your fence builds. Even a single block gap can ruin your setup by allowing animals to escape or mobs to walk in. Gaps usually happen on uneven ground or when a gate isn’t connected properly.
Using Wood Fences Near Lava
Wood fences can catch fire, so don’t place them near lava or fire. If you’re building in the Nether or near a lava pool, use Nether Brick Fences instead, because they don’t burn. It saves you from losing your base to burn down.
How Fences Work in Multiplayer (Protection & Grief Prevention)
In multiplayer, fences help with mob protection and farming, but they don’t provide protection against other players. Anyone can break them, jump over, or open gates if the land isn’t claimed. Most public survival servers use plugins that let you claim land, which stops others from building or breaking blocks in your area. Without that land claim, fences are only for decorations, not real security.
Fences vs Walls: What’s the Difference?
Fences and walls might look similar, but they’re made from different materials. Fences are made from wood, and walls from cobblestones or deepslate bricks. Both have the same 1.5 block height, so mobs cannot jump over them. I prefer making animal and crop farms using fences, because they connect perfectly with each other. And if I am building something near a lava pool or in the Nether, I go for the walls because they don’t burn.
Conclusion
Fences are easy to craft, and they help you a lot in your survival world. Use wooden fences for animal and crop farms, and Nether Brick fences for builds near lava. Just avoid common mistakes like leaving gaps or placing them near lava. And if you don’t have enough materials, check villages, mineshafts, and nether fortresses—they often have fences that you can take.
