Fences
Getting Back to It
It's been almost a year since the last post on the great fence replacement of 2022. I think this has been one of the most eventful years of my life, filled with both joy and sadness. Both of these extremes happened in the middle of the fence project. I don't know why, but I just never got back to writing about the last bits of the project, but I guess it's time to wrap that up. Let's get into it!
Quick Catch Up
In our last conversation, the back fence had been replaced and the new potting bench had been built. That left just the south fence and the driveway gate. And can I just say - I was not looking forward to rebuilding the gates, I remember how difficult it was the first time around!
Pale Death beats equally at the poor man's gate and at the palaces of kings. - Horace
First - A New Post!
But even more concerning was the post from which one of the gates swung. As it turns out, time and moisture had taken its toll on one of the posts, which snapped when I was attempting to straighten it up...
So, it was off to Home Depot to rent a jack hammer, which of course I was not loathe to do! I only had one previous opportunity to use a jack hammer at 173 - when I removed the old walkway in the back yard in 2011, and it was a blast!
The only problem is, these days I have back and neck issues, so I had to take turns with my neighbor on the jack hammer. Nonetheless, it made pretty quick work of cleaning out the post hole! And within the hour, the new post was in and curing!
The New Gates
Then it was on to the gates, which I had stressed about for some time. But really, using the EasyGate brackets saved the day once again!
And in really no time at all, the framing was made and both gates were hung...
And I reused the old barrel lock and the hooks that hold my handmade copper gate bolts.
The nice thing was that they were already stained! Of course things would have been a little easier had we stained the frames before installing the slats. But nonetheless...
This angle makes it look like a long driveway!
But, in what took no more than a few hours, not counting concrete curing time, the new gates were up. It really turned out to be not nearly as onerous as I anticipated!
My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, 'You're tearing up the grass'; 'We're not raising grass,' Dad would reply. 'We're raising boys.' - Harmon Killebrew
Refreshing the Hardware
After the driveway gates were up, all that really was left was the hardware for the gates and minor finishing touches. I decided to stay with all the old hardware, which really consisted of just a few handles. All they needed was a good cleaning and some paint.
On close inspection, you may notice that the roughest area on the handle was wear water pooled...
So, using a little common sense - or flight of fancy, I drilled a little drain hole in each handle. Not sure if that will work, but there's really nothing to lose!
Then a quick spritz of Krylon and all the handles were ready for another dozen or so years!
Done!
And just like that (a year ago) the fences at 173 were done!
Sorry it took so long to put a bow in this one, but there we have it. Thanks so much for stopping by and we'll see ya next time!
