the fence post

Our house turns 25 this year.  As an anniversary gift, we bought the house a new fence.

Besides the heater, we think everything else has been replaced since the house was built.

Hopefully the new fence will make it another 25 years!

On Sunday, the day before demolition began, this is what the old, tragic fence looked like,

complete with rotted posts, leaning sections, and sagging gates:

We live on a large, pie-shaped lot that backs to green space and walking paths.

The replacement project included about 340 linear feet of fence,

50 posts, and three gates.

Demolition started Monday morning at 7:15.  The project foreman (is that the correct construction term?) caught us in our pajamas and interrupted breakfast/scriptures.  We were all glued to the windows as we watched the fence come down.  The crew made short work of the demolition, turning our yard into a skeleton in just a few hours.

They also brought in tons of supplies.  It was weird to see our yard from all angles, totally exposed.  We are glad to live in such a safe area; none of our bikes or toys were stolen from the back yard this week!

Tuesday was a day of slow progress.   The crew pulled/dug out the remaining fence posts and began placing new ones.  The rocky ground here made placement difficult.  At the end of the day, about half of the posts were in place, but there were several holes in the ground marked with cones.  Caution tape circled the entire yard.

Wednesday brought winter weather back to the Springs.  The fence crew took the day off.

The wind and rain blew down all of the caution tape.

On Thursday, even though it was still pretty chilly outside, the crew came back.  They finished setting all of the fence posts and began tacking on the slats.  We chose 6-inch cedar slats that are 6 feet high.  They look awesome!  They are a huge improvement over the 4-inch-by-5-foot slats we had before.

Today the rest of the fence came together.  Gavin and Lexi were eager spectators, especially because the weather was awesome!  They wanted to be outside all afternoon.

We watched holes like this...

...turn into fences and gates like this.  I think having fully functional,

non-sagging gates is my favorite part of the whole shebang.

The higher fence gives extra privacy, plus the absence of a middle rail

means Gavin cannot scale the fence!  Gate hardware is also higher,

and Gavin isn't tall enough to work it.  Wahoo!  

So there it is: our new fence.  We are thrilled with the final product.

In a couple of weeks, after the wood has had time to cure, Garry will stain it (lucky dog).

Next up: getting the blasted sprinklers fixed so we can start watering our lawn!