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fence in the back yard
2017-Oct-30, Monday 04:07 pmPutting a fence in my back yard has been more of an adventure than I expected. It doesn't help that I'm getting old (half a century, in just a few more days). Between arthritis in my spine and bursitis in my shoulder, digging post holes requires a lot more effort, ache, and recovery than it would have 30 years ago.
So I started by planting a post, letting it set a day, then adding a fence section with another post. I would jam them in together tight. It took a while because of the frequent rain we had on weekends this summer. I got a few sections done that way, then I realized that maybe I was doing it wrong! I saw in my printed instructions from the local reseller that I needed a "clip" that I could use to fasten a fence section between two posts that were already set in concrete. Uh oh! The way I did it, replacing a section means lifting an entire post up out of the ground, because there is no "wiggle room" for each section.
I found clips nowhere in the house, searching all 3 floors. I went to the Jerith website directly, and I ordered clips there. Then I waited nearly a month for the backorder to show up. They looked nothing like the clips in my instructions. I couldn't figure them out. So I drove to the reseller and had one of their guys talk me through the whole process.
I was doing it right! He said the clips were a new invention from Jerith, and there were so many complaints about them that they stopped using them. I'm supposed to do one post/section at a time, and cram them up against each other tight. He said that if a tree fell and ruined a section, then it would be necessary to cut it out. Placing a new section would involve a new kind of brace that would allow fitting the section in between braces that can turn/slide out, so sections can fit between established posts.
Well... that was more than a month wasted for my self-inflicted confusion. But at least now I know.
And I got lucky. The post on the far right in this picture escaped the sidewalk that I discovered a few inches under the dirt in that area. I didn't have to cut into concrete back there. Yay! But the final section has its own obstacle.
There was a stump of a former hedge in the way. I spent an afternoon burning it down, which made it brittle so that I could destroy enough of it to prevent obstruction of a fence section there. When I started digging the final post hole, however, I ran into a rock. Kind of a big one. I'll have to dig a much bigger hole in order to dig out that rock first. The weather is supposed to warm up again this weekend, so I should be able to get the alley secured before snow sets in.
Other good news: I've already tested getting my car into the back yard through the double gate. It's a very tight fit, but it works. I'll only need to park on the old gravel driveway when the streets are prohibited. Last week, I parked in back while the city ran trucks to clear the streets of leaves. This winter, I'll have to do it again once or twice for snow plowing. But it works. It will work as long as the neighbor behind me doesn't put a fence up right next to the alley. I placed my fence only 4 feet (>1 meter) from the alley pavement, and that's not enough turning room to get my car through the narrow posts. Maybe I should have put it 6 feet (~2 meters) from the edge instead. I have to use some of the neighbor's yard to turn, getting my car in and out of the posts.
But, like I said... it works. So I'm a happy camper.
I'm eager to get all the fence sections into the yard, because they've just been sitting in my kitchen, blocking access to my ground floor restroom. With the sections that I've placed outside now, I can probably readjust and get that door open, so I don't have to climb upstairs every time I want to use the restroom. But... I don't mind having them there as "security fence" on the inside of the house, blocking access to both of those windows. *laugh*
Next spring, I'll finally do the front yard. And now that I'm familiar with setting concrete into the post holes, I can get a "garden fence" set up on the side of the house for the grape vines to grow on too. That'll be good for fresh fruit, and good for shade so the house doesn't get all of the hot sun.
Progress, slow but persistent.
So I started by planting a post, letting it set a day, then adding a fence section with another post. I would jam them in together tight. It took a while because of the frequent rain we had on weekends this summer. I got a few sections done that way, then I realized that maybe I was doing it wrong! I saw in my printed instructions from the local reseller that I needed a "clip" that I could use to fasten a fence section between two posts that were already set in concrete. Uh oh! The way I did it, replacing a section means lifting an entire post up out of the ground, because there is no "wiggle room" for each section.I found clips nowhere in the house, searching all 3 floors. I went to the Jerith website directly, and I ordered clips there. Then I waited nearly a month for the backorder to show up. They looked nothing like the clips in my instructions. I couldn't figure them out. So I drove to the reseller and had one of their guys talk me through the whole process.
I was doing it right! He said the clips were a new invention from Jerith, and there were so many complaints about them that they stopped using them. I'm supposed to do one post/section at a time, and cram them up against each other tight. He said that if a tree fell and ruined a section, then it would be necessary to cut it out. Placing a new section would involve a new kind of brace that would allow fitting the section in between braces that can turn/slide out, so sections can fit between established posts.
Well... that was more than a month wasted for my self-inflicted confusion. But at least now I know.
And I got lucky. The post on the far right in this picture escaped the sidewalk that I discovered a few inches under the dirt in that area. I didn't have to cut into concrete back there. Yay! But the final section has its own obstacle.There was a stump of a former hedge in the way. I spent an afternoon burning it down, which made it brittle so that I could destroy enough of it to prevent obstruction of a fence section there. When I started digging the final post hole, however, I ran into a rock. Kind of a big one. I'll have to dig a much bigger hole in order to dig out that rock first. The weather is supposed to warm up again this weekend, so I should be able to get the alley secured before snow sets in.
Other good news: I've already tested getting my car into the back yard through the double gate. It's a very tight fit, but it works. I'll only need to park on the old gravel driveway when the streets are prohibited. Last week, I parked in back while the city ran trucks to clear the streets of leaves. This winter, I'll have to do it again once or twice for snow plowing. But it works. It will work as long as the neighbor behind me doesn't put a fence up right next to the alley. I placed my fence only 4 feet (>1 meter) from the alley pavement, and that's not enough turning room to get my car through the narrow posts. Maybe I should have put it 6 feet (~2 meters) from the edge instead. I have to use some of the neighbor's yard to turn, getting my car in and out of the posts.
But, like I said... it works. So I'm a happy camper.
I'm eager to get all the fence sections into the yard, because they've just been sitting in my kitchen, blocking access to my ground floor restroom. With the sections that I've placed outside now, I can probably readjust and get that door open, so I don't have to climb upstairs every time I want to use the restroom. But... I don't mind having them there as "security fence" on the inside of the house, blocking access to both of those windows. *laugh*
Next spring, I'll finally do the front yard. And now that I'm familiar with setting concrete into the post holes, I can get a "garden fence" set up on the side of the house for the grape vines to grow on too. That'll be good for fresh fruit, and good for shade so the house doesn't get all of the hot sun.
Progress, slow but persistent.
