Privacy Fence - DONE!

We took leave from work last Thursday to work on our fence.  LD optimistically thought we would get it all done, but I knew better.  We did manage to finish installing the rest of our railings, and got some of the pickets nailed in.

Tired of taking millions of trips up and down the slope to carry supplies, LD came up with the brilliant idea of finding a little wagon that we could load up with supplies and pull down our narrow pathway.  I went online and found a couple of candidates at Home Depot and Lowe's.  The one from Lowe's won out (it was bigger and it was assembled).  It was just under $100, but it was one of the best $100 we ever spent.  LD's little "burro" saved us a lot of time and exhaustion by carrying our tools and lumber up and down the slope.

Little "Burro"

This is the terrain in our backyard.

Last Sunday, we really put a dent on the fence.  After working on it for almost 8 hours, we stopped with about 25 feet to go.  LD wanted to get it all done, but I was exhausted!

We took showers and had dinner at the local Chinese buffet.  I thought we were done for the day, but LD had other plans.  She wanted to burn some of the brush that had been dumped on our property.  Lucky for her (not for me), Sunday was a burn day.  So we spent a couple of hours burning.  It only put a small dent on the pile, but at least we managed to create some space between the brush pile and the fence.  We were tired, but happy with all the progress we made.

It took us less than two hours Saturday morning to finish installing the rest of the pickets and the gate.  It is far from perfect, but it is done!  The dogs finally get to enjoy their yard, and so do we.

Last nail

View before

View after

This project would not have been possible without our friends Rollin and Jeannette.  They were kind enough to lend us their trailer, nail gun, and extension cords.  To top it all off, Rollin came to our rescue last Thursday when we could not figure out that we had a nail jammed in the gun, and assisted with the pickets that day.   

Fences Make Good Neighbors (We Sure Hope So!)

Despite the initial set backs and the extreme heat, our chain link fence was completed last Friday.  LD is quite happy with the fence, and I must admit that despite my initial doubts about installing chain link fence I am too.   It blends into the background much better than what I expected, and makes the backyard feel like a park.

We really love where we live, and wanted to maintain the open feel of the property which is why we decided to go with black vinyl chain link.  Unfortunately, part of the southern property lines borders another subdivision and we have had issues with trespassing (ATV riding, teenagers shooting at birds, dumping of yard waste) in the wooded portion of our lot.  We were not convinced that a 42" chain link fence would be enough to stop the issues we had been having, so we decided to build a privacy fence along that boundary.  We paid our contractor to dig the holes, and decided to try and tackle the privacy fence on our own.

Brush Dumping

ATV Riding

Last Saturday we rented a trailer and loaded it up at the local Home Depot with twenty-five 4 x 4 posts.  We also picked up approximately 200 lbs of gravel.  After setting four posts, however, we decided it was way too hot and headed to the movies.  Thinking we would continue in the evening once it cooled down.  Well we came out of the movie and the thermometer had actually gone up!

We were fortunate to get a break from the oppressive heat this Saturday and we took full advantage of it.  After three runs to Home Depot for concrete (our cars could only handle so much weight), we managed to set all twenty-five posts.  It took 37 bags of 50 lb Quikrete Fast-Setting Concrete Mix = 1,850 lbs!  Needless to say, we were both exhausted at the end of the day but very pleased with our work.  We will have to rent a trailer to purchase the railings, and hope to get started on those next weekend.

Our dogs will have to wait a bit longer before they can finally have the freedom to roam around in the backyard.  They have waited three years, so a few more weeks will not hurt.

Morgan celebrated her 13th birthday last week with her MOTF-1 USAR  friends.

Morgan, Katy, Phoenix (first three on the right).  BTW-each dog has a plate of birthday cake in front of them!!!