Small Fence, Big Difference (Final)

Today, I return to building the fence. Again, we are using fencing material we salvaged from a neighbor who was having their fence replaced. While the initial cost was $0US, nothing is free. Instead of paying for wood, we are paying with time cleaning and cutting. We start this final installment with more of that. One unrelated bit: on the day we finished the fence, we sold GoRo, the 2009 Audi A4, to a guy down the street. He saw it parked and asked. A couple conversations and a test drive later, it's gone.

Prepare the Pickets

finished

In my prior update, we sanded and ripped down 30 pickets for our fence. Before we could start hanging them, we needed to cut off any rot from either end. Basic math says that's 60 considered cuts with a circular saw. Each cut took a few minutes so, again, simple math says this took a few hours. For each board, we would find where the rot ended, and score straight across the plank with a knife. The board would then get laid onto a work table, clamped down and then cut. We would repeat the process with the other end, and then move on. Considering how randomly we selected the old wood in the first place, Boo and I were quite surprised that we did not need to throw any away, nor did we come up short, in terms of fence-height, once we cut the ends off. We did, however, need to produce a few extra pickets on our final day.

Fence Hangers

I described the efforts to build the gates last time. I still had the short section of fixed fence to receive hangers and then 2x4's to which we would eventually afix pickets. I arrived at the location for the set of hangers closest to the person-fence by aligning to the bottom of the runner along the top of the gate. With a level, I confirmed it was correct height-wise and then held a piece of scrap picket to set the depth the same as the gates. I repeated this process for the lower hanger, and attached the hangers with roofing nails (they don't rust). To set the height for the post closest to the house, I used a picket and a level. Again, I set the front-to-back depth with a scrap picket and mounted the hangers with roofing nails.

laying out pickets

By this time, we had run out of viable fence runners from the salvaged fence. I was surprised we found enough material to build the gates, but 2 more 2x4's which needed to be just over a meter long was just too much. What remained was mossy and dusted off in chunks: rotted out. I looked in the garage and found a couple of 2x4's from when I removed the little closet around the furnace. While these are not pressure-treated, they are in perfect shape. I cut off a little bit off each end (because whoever built the closet hadn't and the ends were not square), and then measured and cut 2 runners. I slid them into place in their respective hangers and nailed them into place with more roofing nails.

Picketing

fixed fence

While I worked on getting the fence runners done, Boo was considering the pickets, deciding which would fit where and which side should face the street. We decided that we would start with the section of fence needing the least skill on our part: the not-moving part of the fence that I just prepared. For each picket, we would determine it's location left-to-right, using a spare picket as the spacer. Once determined, we would lay that spacer on it's side on top of the upper runner and use it to set the height of the "tooth". Since this part of the fence is so low, the bottom runner is practically on the ground. So, we decided that trimming-for-length by cutting the bottom would protect against a bad run with the circular saw, leaving any error virtually un-seeable. We flipped the boards over, and did it again, this time marking the cut line with a knife. I took the boards over to the work table (in the shade, it was practically 35*C or 95*F by this time) and ran the saw along the lines.

Taking the boards back over to the fence, Boo set them back in place one by one. I then drilled a single hole through the picket and then the top runner. Through that hole I sent a coated outdoor grade screw I had found in the toolshed. More free materials. We repeated this process to get the "fence" section, versus gates, picketed. Once the run was done, we visually set each picket vertical and drilled/screwed to the bottom runner. We returned to this a few days later and repeated the process for the vehicle gates and then the people gate. Remaining nimble, we decided that having the bottom of the gates level with each other, rather than contouring with the uneven ground looked better. This also avoided the gates from getting hung up on the uneven ground as they opened and closed. Last, this meant that I could cut every board the same length so the process got much quicker.

The install remained the same, though. We quickly discovered that the gate sizes did not perfectly allow the pickets to be exactly one picket width apart. To resolve, we started by installing the pickets on each end of each gate. Then, we installed boards much like you would cut sushi: put in the center first, and then keep doing the picket in the  exact center between the pickets until there is insufficient room for another picket. In this way, all of the pickets are spaced evenly, relative to the size of the gates. Since the vehicle gates are identical, the pickets appear consistent all the way across. The people gate ended up having the pickets placed maybe 1/4 inch closer together than the vehicle gates, but the space difference is not really noticeable. To us, the imperfections are part of the charm.

Latches

We were feeling the end approaching. While the heat of the day was unrelenting, Boo and I both simply wanted it done. So, I started with the latch for the vehicle fence. These were part of the gate-frame kit, so no additional cost. They are simple bar-to-latch style, mounting with a pair of screws for the bar and 2 pairs for the latch. For the vehicle gates, I put the bar on the gate closest to our neighbor's fence, and added a second latching mechanism to his fence so the gate could be latched open. The latch for the people gate was a fairly simple install as well. I added a spacer behind the bar so the front side of the gate would be aligned with the other gate and fixed fence. Last, I added a footer "cane" to the vehicle gate which had the latch (versus the post) so the gates would remain in place without putting pressure on the small latch. I did not drive a pipe into the ground for the cane to fit into, so that step remains, but otherwise, the work was finished.

gate latched open

With the fence/gates fully built, the next test was to bring Tuukka over to see how well it worked. He does not like them... because they effectively keep him in the back yard. While we were building this, Tuukka would come out and hang out with us, walking from the back yard to the front, not threatening to run away even when other dogs or people walked by. He just sat or laid there. If one of his dog-friends happened by, he would sit upright and wag his tail, but wouldn't move. So, while the gates will keep him in the back yard, we will probably leave the gates open most of the time where we are out there with him. These will be a big win when we need to put him outside so we can get a big project done (move the furnace, build the kitchen, etc). Those times, we can keep the gates closed, and Tuukka safe.

That's it for today. The total cost of this fence was $120 for the steel gate frames plus the "cane".  All the wood was salvaged and the fasteners were just in the shed (prolly, maybe, $20US for a box). We have not decided about the height of the posts, so we will cut them later, or maybe not.

Thanks, as always, for following along-