Fence

So as most of you know (becuase it is basically all Dave talked about for weeks) we have been working on our fence. It became quite the large project. The storm ripped up half of it and we extended another section of it to enclose the side yard. It took about 6 saturdays and me doing little things through out the week to get it all done. I think it is fantastic! We worked really hard and it paid off. We estimated that we saved over a thousand bucks by doing it ourselves. The process from start to finish was:

Planning/measuring and getting permits and approval from the city and HOA
Taking down old/broken pieces, digging out stumps
Digging holes and cementing posts in place
Nailing together the cross beams and pickets
Power washing the old section (it was disgusting!)
Staining the outside
Disposing of the scraps

On paper looks do-able right? Well it was harder than it sounded but well worth it. Our backyard is now twice as big, and a major plus our kitchen window is now fenced in so we no longer look at our neighbor's garage and people can't see in as they drive by.

Here is the part that was damaged in the storm. Two of the sections had blown over and landed down the alley. The posts holding them in place had snapped at the base. We managed to salvage some of it, but we had to put in a few new posts and pickets as well.



These are the remnants of the posts that snapped. You wouldn't think it, but disposing of wood is pretty tough if you don't have a some kind of fire pit to burn it.

Here is what the front now looks like from the front of the house. Before the fence line was even with the back of the house. This also shows the stain we used called "Redwood" (in honor of California of course, but don't tell that to our Texan neighbors).



This much of the yard was added by moving the fence line (you can see the line on the grass where the fence used to be). The kitchen window now looks into the yard. Yay!