Fence Fixing Time

Hey Howdy everybody.  I am posting a quick fence fix today to keep the puppy dog from running the roads.  I talked about the critter here in this post, but we needed some additional fence fixes and this time a little more attractive and usable. 

The little powerhouse peeking out from the ferns in this picture is Harry.  He is a rescue dog that we adopted a couple of years ago, and he is quite athletic.  He has the ability to leap small fences in a single bound. 

Months back we built a fence to fit the riding mower in the back yard, detailed here.  Real carpenters might want to turn away because this is about to get ugly.  I had a problem with the slope of the grade and water runoff and at the end of a long day of gate building I cut the bottom with a reciprocating saw.  I know, I know not exactly the right way to do it, but I stand by my decision as a DIYer.  It was late, I was tired and losing the light so I did it.  Needless to say we had an ugly gap in the bottom of the gate that we filled in with a random 2x4 and a few bricks. 

The problem is Harry is steadfast in his quest for freedom to chase buses, garbage trucks and unleashed dogs. So here is the engineering that was born out of my DIY brain. 

First I purchased and fence board and cut it the width of the gate. 

Next I clamped it down to my work table and used and hole saw to cut a few drainage holes along the bottom. 

Then I marked where the board would meet the fence boards behind it and sketch out a track. I drilled pilot holes and used the skill saw to cut tracks on both sides. 

Once they were sanded and somewhat smooth, I assembled the dog catcher on the gate.  I drilled holes through the existing fence boards. 

 

I attached my contraption in a bolt-washer-board-board-washer-wingnut fashion. 

The idea being that I could loosen the wingnut and slide the board up, then tighten to hold in place while I open and close the gate. 

 

I took the picture after I was finished, two weeks worth of weather have yellowed the board to the same hue as the others and the fix seems as though it belongs there.  Maybe one day I will re-grade the yard on this side of the house but for now this works beautifully at keeping Harry in, and others out.

 

It works a like a charm, and I have used it several times with no problem.  I take turns cutting the grass with the yard man and he told me he saw the new board, but asked me why I cut the slits in the boards? He had an AHA moment when I explained it was so he could move the board up and down without removing it.   So there it is my critter catcher for the front of the house. 

Critter Catcher

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween.  I must say that I had a spook-tacular day, despite the fact there was a 90% chance of rain at 6 o’clock last night, poor trick-or-treaters.  The two that came to my door got a half a bowl of candy each, yay!

Today I am posting a quick fix for the back yard to make a new fence critter proof, mixed in with a couple Tool Talk tips.  Being a corner lot has its advantages to be sure, extra square footage and only one fence neighbor to name a couple.  However you often end up home to the block's utility needs.  Case in point: There is a pad mounted transformer in the back corner of my yard.  For many years it was surrounded by a makeshift fence that consisted of some chain link precariously placed against the wooden fence separating me and my neighbor.  Several months ago I was contacted by the electric company who informed me they had been working on the transformer and wanted permission to take out the make shift chain link and build me a wooden gate to give them easier access.  Well again, I’m no fool I immediately said yes and gave them my blessing.  When I returned home that day I had a shiny new fence/gate that not only hid the transformer but gave me more privacy. 

Now there was the trouble of Harry.  Harry is a sweet little Dachshund we adopted from the Feliciana Animal Welfare Society. He is named after one of my son’s favorite books Harry the Dirty Dog, but in reality it’s more like Harry Houdini.  

 For starters he can spring a good 4 feet into the air, he has been known to clear the wall separating the carport from the back yard, and has used every bit of patio furniture I own to facilitate his escapes.  The gap left at the bottom of my fence was simply not going to work for us. 

 

 I grabbed some wire mesh I had on hand, an oscillating tool, gloves, tape measure, staple gun, and a couple extension cords. 

 I began by measuring the length of both sides of the gate.  Here’s a handy tip, if you need to take a few measurements for a quick project like this one, use a piece of painters tape to write down the numbers on your measuring tape. 

I laid out the mesh and clipped it to my table to hold it still.  While cutting my second piece I burn up my oscillating tool and ended up cutting the remaining mesh with utility scissors.  It wasn't easy, but it worked. I need to invest in some tin snips.

With the two pieces cut to length I hauled the needed tools to the back corner to get started. I wanted to mention how much I use the extension reel below.  It brings the outlet closer to me so that I don't need to link 200 feet of extension cord.  It is so handy for large power tools and long expanses like this project.  

 I began by cutting away some of the brush with a pair of B&D Alligator Loppers I bought off the clearance rack at Lowe’s.  I don’t mind buying things out of the box to get the better price. 

 

Also you can see the Velcro straps I keep on the end of my cords to secure the plugs and keep them from coming apart while I am working. 

I then stapled the wire mesh to the bottom of the gate using my power stapler.  I went back with a hammer to tap in any staples that weren’t flush and checked for any puppy sized gaps.

That’s all there was to it.  I have said before that I want to share the truth and nothing but, so I will admit that the plan was to cut the second piece on an angle to account for the change in grade, but I was in a hurry to finish this project before I had to picks up the boys and stapled it on upside down. Arrgh!?!

 

But in the long run it worked so I figured when I put a new flower bed back here and plant a tree no one will notice.  Another project tackled, bring on the next.  

Gateway to Paradise

 I know that title may seem a bit extreme, but that is exactly what not having to mow the lawn with a push mower is to me, paradise.  Did I mention that I have a Construction Management degree from Louisiana State University?  Well I do.  I did some work refinishing older homes in the garden district in college where I learned a few things, that along with all the projects I helped my father and brothers with over the years, piqued my interest and thus my career choice was born.


 That being said, this project came about when we received a riding lawn mower from my brother–in-law.  He had a new house with some strange slopes and yard shapes and he was handing his riding mower down to us. Yay, thanks BIL!

 Now I needed a gate built, and forgetting my senses for a moment I went out and got some quotes.  We live on a corner lot, and I have 70 feet of chain link with a 3 foot gate on one side of the house and a 6 foot wooden fence on the other with no gate. The first company said they could drop in a 5 foot gate in the chain link for $485, or a wood gate in the front for $585.  The second quote was much crazier but did offer more bang for my buck with a $685 minimum on any chain link work.  This was crazy to me that they couldn’t leave their parking lot for less than almost $700, but because of the minimum and the condition of my current fence they quoted me all 70 feet of chain link, a 3 foot gate, and a new 5 foot gate along the side for the total price of $685.  Now that was a deal, except for the fact that I hadn’t really planned on spending that kind of money for the convenience of no longer cutting the back yard by hand.  Crazier than that, the minimum for wood fencing work was $785 and that length was less than 8 feet.  So while I do have plans to take them up on the chain link option later, both of these were a no go.


 I continued for another couple of months to store the riding mower under the carport cleverly disguised under a painting tarp and cut the back yard with my trusty push mower.  Then one weekend my husband asked me, “So what do you want to do this weekend?” He saw that wide eyed look on my face and knew he was in for a home project.  I ran outside with a tape measure and measured the width of the mower at its widest point, the width of the space between the fence post, and the width of the clearance between the HVAC unit and the fence.  All the numbers added up and I decided we were a go on the new gate.

 The items I purchased for this project were treated 2x4’s, pine fence boards, hinges, one 4 inch caster, screw shank nails, and lock hardware.  I used this video on the Home Depot website to get me started and then stared at the fence for a good long time before making my first move.  I got a few tools together including my reciprocating saw, compound miter saw, cordless drill, a hammer, a square and my trusty tool belt.

 I know the boards here have a few good years on them, but they were all sturdy despite their aged patina.  The fence posts have withstood several hurricanes and are very solid, but seeing as how the side closest to the house is not anchored to anything more than the post itself I decided not to remove all of the boards in this section and only remove the ones needed to construct the gate. Once I removed the two boards closest to the post I used the reciprocating saw to remove the section of fence.

 

 The dolly pictured here is how you haul off a section of fence without having to bug the hubby, ladies. I carefully measured the opening and determined the size of the gate I needed.  I then constructed the gate as shown in the video with a few modifications and dry fit it into the space. I checked the spacing and with some muscle help from the hubby attached the hinges.

 

 

 I then determined the cross boards' heights and screwed those into place.  My biggest hurdle here was trying to fit a square gate into an older not-so-square space. Fortunately I was able to wiggle this into the space and secure the cross boards to help it hold the shape I needed.  I hammered a couple of nails vertically into the existing boards and used a string level to keep my fence boards at the same height as I secured them with screw shanked nails.  I shimmed the gate to the height I needed to swing freely and attached the caster using some long wood screws. Voila, one working gate!

  Now I will say that because of the clearance problem due to the slope of the yard there is a gap just the right size for the dog to escape, but I am currently using a 2x4 and a couple of bricks to solve this problem temporarily until I can devise a more permanent solution.  I would also like to use a few concrete pavers to keep the ground under the caster’s path solid, but hey, another day another project.

  So there you have it, my “make my life so much easier” gate.  Look how happy the yard man looks.  By the way, don’t judge me I didn’t say I did the yard every week myself.  The yardman and I take turns; sometimes this momma needs a hand.

By the way if you live in the area and need a great lawn care provider email me, I'd be happy to give you his name. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to come back see what I’ve going on next.