Well, technically the fence is finished and the gates aren't, but anyway...
Michael, Nathan, and Chris came over on Saturday and helped me get the runners (2x4s) cut and nailed up. Jenny and I had marked the posts earlier in the week. With a borrowed framing nailer and staple gun (from Mark) things went pretty darn well. The rain dampened our spirits a bit, but it cleared off and we were able to resume.
We started putting up the pickets, but had to cut it short so that Jenny and I could get cleaned up for David Smith's wedding in Opelousas. We had a good time at the wedding. It turns out we knew about a half dozen people there (other than the groom and his family). I have to bitch about the 6 oz. cups of beer that they served, but I just resorted to getting 2+ at a time. David told me he was a big fan of the blog (who knew we had fans?) and when he introduced me to his wife she knew who I was. Crazy. Congratulations to David and Emily (I hope you read this), I wish you the best!
Anyhow, I woke Nathan up on Sunday and he came over and we rocked and rolled on the pickets and got the rest of the fence done (except for the areas where gates are going). I continued to work on the fence this week to hammer out some odds and ends. I had to purchase some 8' pickets for one area of the fence that traversed a particular low portion of the yard. I cut them to fit and stapled them in place. Hopefully Mark and I can get together this weekend to get the gates finished up. If he doesn't show, I'll probably have to resort to doing them myself.
I was able to get the yard to the point that Izzy can roam freely now. I had some trellis laying around that I tacked up where one of the gates will go. The back corner of the yard is temporarily fenced off because their is a pile of bricks and other assorted "stuff" back there that I am going to have to pick through before Izzy gets back there. Pictures to follow as soon as I take them and upload them. :)
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
This will probably take a while...
The fence posts are all set!
That said, I owe many people a significant debt of gratitude. First and foremost Chris Broussard. He and I both completely physically exhausted ourselves yesterday. By this I mean we both collapsed. The most exhausted I have ever been. I got light-headed an hour and a half before we stopped. Then we both got up and started again today. Thank you Chris. I won't give you my first-born daughter, but I owe you something big. In a close second: Mark (my fencing sub-contractor from work) Will, Paul, Michael and Dustin. Everyone was a huge help. Y'all are awesome for showing up and for not hating me at the end of the day. I owe y'all as well. Oh yeah, and Frankie. Thanks for dropping by ;)
I set up this blog for two purposes: the first is that it is a way to keep all of our family and friends (that we may not talk to as regularly as we should) up to date on what is going on; secondly (as it was so delicately pointed out today) so that others can learn from our experiences. I have a pretty decent "nugget of wisdom" to drop on y'all here. Part of it is things I did right, and part of it isn't. If you never plan on building or having a fence built, ignore the next part.
1. This is key - If you have a significant number of trees in your yard and are building a fence over 150' HIRE SOMEONE. I knew this would be a good deal of work, but I would not have believed how much work it would be if I hadn't been there.
2. Rent an auger. Unless you are setting four or less posts, spend the money and rent an auger. This will make the job was easier. If you think the job won't be that bad, see #1.
3. It is advisable to have a professional or experienced amateur on hand. I thought I knew all that I needed to know (I've been picking my Mark's brain for weeks), but I didn't.
4. Have a reciprocating saw on hand. When you find a significant root, you'll understand.
5. When asked where you want the gate to go, don't say "ask the wife." You will end up with a double gate large enough to fit a semi-through (almost).
6. We hit a root larger than 8" across more than a foot in the ground. We dug out barbed wire a foot underground. We ran into concrete. We had to cut down a couple of small trees (up to 5" in diameter.) You will be amazed at what you find and the extra work that crops up.
7. This seems really obvious, I know, but it bears noting: 80 lbs sacks of concrete are heavy. The first one may not be that bad. The 5th one sucks. It gets worse from there.
8. Shop around for prices. Call the lumber yard 20 miles away. If they have the best price, they may deliver for free. If they don't deliver for free, Lowe's will probably price match if they can verify it. I shit you not, one Lowes (out of 3 in BR) has fence pickets for 30 cents less than the others. No 30 cents doesn't seems like much. Multiply it by 500. That's not just pocket change.
9. Home Depot sucks (don't ask).
10. You can't have too many friends. You know they are friends if they know that you are calling to ask you to help set posts and they still answer.
That's all for now, but if I think of anything else I'll post it. I thought it was a bit amusing that my neighbor walks over today as we are setting the last half dozen posts to tell us that we are welcome to tie into his fence. I didn't want to because it is only 4 feet high, but I thought it was kind of funny. Jenny has been taking pictures and I will upload them at some point. I believe that's all for now. I will update when we finish the fence, but that may be a couple of weeks.
That said, I owe many people a significant debt of gratitude. First and foremost Chris Broussard. He and I both completely physically exhausted ourselves yesterday. By this I mean we both collapsed. The most exhausted I have ever been. I got light-headed an hour and a half before we stopped. Then we both got up and started again today. Thank you Chris. I won't give you my first-born daughter, but I owe you something big. In a close second: Mark (my fencing sub-contractor from work) Will, Paul, Michael and Dustin. Everyone was a huge help. Y'all are awesome for showing up and for not hating me at the end of the day. I owe y'all as well. Oh yeah, and Frankie. Thanks for dropping by ;)
I set up this blog for two purposes: the first is that it is a way to keep all of our family and friends (that we may not talk to as regularly as we should) up to date on what is going on; secondly (as it was so delicately pointed out today) so that others can learn from our experiences. I have a pretty decent "nugget of wisdom" to drop on y'all here. Part of it is things I did right, and part of it isn't. If you never plan on building or having a fence built, ignore the next part.
1. This is key - If you have a significant number of trees in your yard and are building a fence over 150' HIRE SOMEONE. I knew this would be a good deal of work, but I would not have believed how much work it would be if I hadn't been there.
2. Rent an auger. Unless you are setting four or less posts, spend the money and rent an auger. This will make the job was easier. If you think the job won't be that bad, see #1.
3. It is advisable to have a professional or experienced amateur on hand. I thought I knew all that I needed to know (I've been picking my Mark's brain for weeks), but I didn't.
4. Have a reciprocating saw on hand. When you find a significant root, you'll understand.
5. When asked where you want the gate to go, don't say "ask the wife." You will end up with a double gate large enough to fit a semi-through (almost).
6. We hit a root larger than 8" across more than a foot in the ground. We dug out barbed wire a foot underground. We ran into concrete. We had to cut down a couple of small trees (up to 5" in diameter.) You will be amazed at what you find and the extra work that crops up.
7. This seems really obvious, I know, but it bears noting: 80 lbs sacks of concrete are heavy. The first one may not be that bad. The 5th one sucks. It gets worse from there.
8. Shop around for prices. Call the lumber yard 20 miles away. If they have the best price, they may deliver for free. If they don't deliver for free, Lowe's will probably price match if they can verify it. I shit you not, one Lowes (out of 3 in BR) has fence pickets for 30 cents less than the others. No 30 cents doesn't seems like much. Multiply it by 500. That's not just pocket change.
9. Home Depot sucks (don't ask).
10. You can't have too many friends. You know they are friends if they know that you are calling to ask you to help set posts and they still answer.
That's all for now, but if I think of anything else I'll post it. I thought it was a bit amusing that my neighbor walks over today as we are setting the last half dozen posts to tell us that we are welcome to tie into his fence. I didn't want to because it is only 4 feet high, but I thought it was kind of funny. Jenny has been taking pictures and I will upload them at some point. I believe that's all for now. I will update when we finish the fence, but that may be a couple of weeks.
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