Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Fence post

I apologize for not posting about this project sooner, but I thought we'd be done a couple of weeks ago.

One of the things we've always planned to do in the yard was to fence it in. Here is the yard before fence (with set posts). By the way, the white monstrosity replaced a singe stall stucco garage that matched the house beside it. Sad.

Here is the same expanse with an almost finished fence.


We chose to build the fence from scratch, rather than using pre-made panels. For one, it offered more ability to design it how we wanted, and for another, we could custom fit areas and (I think) build a higher quality product.
This is the fence from the outside. Our design was based off a picture in a fence book we bought at the "orange" store. That, combined with the multitude of how-to books from our local library (that reminds me, they're overdue) gave us most of our inspiration and methods. The first weekend, we had help from my dad, my grandpa and my sister (who came on her day off!). This sped the process up greatly. Without their skills, tools, suggestions and labor, we would still be setting posts. The fence is five feet high, and made from surplus playground cedar. This allowed us to have a cedar fence at a much lower price. It came pre-stained, too. the only downside was that some of the boards had pre-drilled holes, but many of these could either be cut off or used.
All in all, we are very proud of the fence, and have received a lot of compliments from neighbors. A boy on his bike even stopped and said "Wow, that looks beautiful!" We've met some neighbors too, and have given and gotten fence-building advice.

I thought I had true after pictures, but I don't, even though the fence is finished. I will post those soon, along with a picture of my newly expanded garden.

Mostly, it's satisfying to actually finish a job on time and be happy with the finished product. Arlo loves it too. Although, after one Peter Rabbit-esque incident involving a panicked rabbit and a dog fulfilling his innermost desires, the rabbits have left the yard, much to his dismay.

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