Fence Addition

I began working on the side fence last week. My neighbor suggested it after seeing the first one I built in the back. We're splitting the materials.

There was already a wire fence between the two yards that has been there for a while. I decided to bolt the new posts against the existing ones to avoid extra digging.

Cost of materials $800.

Fence Gate

On superbowl sunday I built the fence gate frame out of pressure treated 2 x 4's.

Yesterday I hung it in the opening. I sat it on top of a cooler to lift it off of the ground.

 Before I attempted to mount the gate, since I was working alone, I screwed a piece of 1/2" plywood to the vertical leg of the gate. The width of the gate is one inch less than the opening in the fence. By using the 1/2" plywood as a shim the gate would be centered in the opening.

I used the plywood like a flange to secure against the fence post and hold it while I attached the hinges and the rest of the pickets. I first clamped it in place to adjust the position of the gate. Then I used a few screws to secure the plywood to the post.

I had to bring the gate up flush with the existing fence pickets so that the gate pickets would match up and the hinges would line up correctly. At the top of the opening you can see the string that marks the top of the pickets. The entire fence is on a slight downhill slope.


Once the hinges were bolted on I removed the screws that were holding the plywood to the post. After I checked out the swing of the gate I removed the screws holding the plywood to the gate. It worked like a charm! A perfect half inch space on either side of the gate.

The final result...

About $820 or around $9 per linear foot (not including labor)

And a week later...

Fenced in

Over the last two weeks we've begun a stockade style privacy fence in the backyard. It is essentially to contain Aggie, who has already lept the wire fence and gone into the neighbors yard.

The fence spans about ninety feet. The week before last we dug the holes for the posts and put them in.

Aggie helped a little until she realized it was to keep her in. After that we were on our own.

Yesterday it was about fifty degrees outside and I was wearing a short sleeve shirt and it was a good day to put up pickets. Today it snowed.

It was about 25 degrees all day long. It was not a good day to work outside. Yesterday was the best day to be outside in weeks. It makes for a strange dichotomy.

If it's a good day to work, do it, if you feel alright. Tomorrow it might rain or snow. You might feel bad. You might be in a bad mood. The world could be conspiring against you. Don't do any work when you are angry. It won't be quality work and you'll end up having to do it twice. Don't even cook if you're mad, the food won't taste good.

You will always run out of gas when it's raining. Your battery will be dead when you are in a hurry. Your tire will be flat on the coldest day of the year. That's how it goes. Do all of those things to get ahead on a sunny day when you don't mind the labor. It will all go better for you.

So it took me two weeks to build the fence (and I'm still not done). So what? Yesterday was a fine day to work outside. Today was the worst of the year. It didn't matter, I enjoyed the work and today I enjoyed the snow!

2.5" of snow that paralyzed Atlanta!

More Fencing

I completed the gate today (almost). The fence is almost finished but the boards are beginning to warp already because I used very green lumber. Dumb idea.

I will probably need to replace a bunch of pickets before it is all said and done. I should of used panels because they are already pretty dry, even though I would have needed to break them apart.

View from the other side.

The hill very steep.

Fence Design

This is my fence design that I came up with for the new section of fence going in on the east side of the house.