Good Fences Make Good Neighbors...Part 2

We finally had enough with trying to keep Berry from fighting through the fence with the unruly dogs next door. The fence line looked like a junk yard...every time the dogs found a way through the existing barriers I added something new to the pile...pallets, plywood, old signs, etc. Last fall the man of the house and I bit the bullet and spent the money on a solid cedar fence for the one side if our back yard.

We were able to set up a temporary fence to keep the dogs separated during the construction...the man of the house was only bit once by the neighbor dog...torn jeans and bruises, but no blood! I designed the fence to be both attractive and secure. It is 6' tall, built of cedar boards, cedar trim and posts. To keep the dogs from digging under the fence I specified sandwiching hardware cloth between the bottom trim and buried it 12 inches into the ground. I wanted to use clear or tight knot cedar boards, however I didn't specify them because I knew that would add a lot to the materials cost...I planned to sort through the boards and use the best looking ones for the most visible areas. Well, after hearing about my concerns for stability and security (from the big dog next door) the pros at Parr Lumber suggested the tight knot boards because they are thicker than the standard boards...so we expanded our budget to accommodate the upgrade.

Timothy Younce Construction, who built the fence for us, allowed us to save some money on labor by doing some work ourselves...the Man of the House helped with demolition of the old fence and helped when he could with the construction; I installed the hardware cloth and applied the stain, and made a more than a few trips to the hardware store!
We went all out on the gate; it is the main entry into the garden for guests who come around the house, and it is used by us nearly everyday when taking out trash or bringing home garden supplies. The window in the gate is an old floor grate that I had cleaned up and powder coated a soft black color. The handles were special ordered from Winks Hardware. The hinges are self-closing so the dogs are unlikely to slip out behind us. My favorite part of all, is the dead bolt lock...it is a Kwickset lock with "smart Key" technology; we were able to re-key it ourselves to match the key for our front door.

The neighbors, the dogs, The Man of the House and I are all happy with how the project turned out. We are looking forward to relaxing quietly on our side of the fence this summer.