Hats for Emily, Edgar Allen and Mike with Pickets all around!
This weekend I prepared for and accomplished the work to trim my new back fence (3 sections of 4 that is).
Saturday it as a bit hot, but I swept the back steps and pulled and cut weeds and accessible blackberry vines (I did not go into LBT).
To-day I took the plunge and, in two work sessions, screwed in all the pickets to the lower rail, trimmed the posts and pickets and added the three post caps: hats for Mike, then Edgar Allen, then Emily.
Cutting the posts was a three step process: use the sabre saw to get through 2/3rds of the post from one side, then the saw again to get 1/6th of the post from another side, then finally use my trusty handsaw to get the final bit. There was a little trimming afterwards.
I used the three step ladder from inside the house. Two of the rubber feet broke through the metal legs, so I need to replace them now!
Between work sessions I had a late lunch (3:30 to 5 p.m.), then resumed from 5 to 8:20 p.m.
My measurements worked...3 inches less than 7 feet was the height of the pickets, posts cut at 2 1/4 inches less than the height of the pickets.
The "hat" for Emily won't work tonight because I did not charge it but the other two should be good. I wonder how well they will charge during the day: the posts are in shade.
I needed the Craftsman sabre saw and the Bosch drill. The drill was to drill a hole for the screws used to hold in the post caps and to drive the deck screws through the pickets into the rails.
My trimmed pickets are not too bad. A few places were not quite straight, but in general the top line for the pickets follows the ground, so from Emily to Edgar Allen, then from Edgar Allen to Mike there is a noticeable descent in the top of the fence.
The "hats" are not obscured by the pickets and rise to 7 feet from base to top. So pickets are 7 feet minus three inches. I purposely got post caps which were as low profile as possible to maximize the picket height.
So what is next for these three sections and the corner section:
[ ] trim picket lumber to fit the gaps and install those pickets.
[ ] remove extra post.
[ ] create picket box for corner.
[ ] treat the pickets with preservative.
That will be it for the summer.
If we have a nice fall and the ground is softer I can put in the two 8x8 posts and put in the last section this year.
I expect next year we will design and install gates.
Meanwhile I can work on LBT and the patio.
[ ] cut down at least part of Byron Hill 2 to put in one of the 8x8 posts.
[ ] remove all black berries. poke, grass and bindweed from LBT.
[ ] add bricks, bags and other items from several locations in the yard.
[ ] cut dead branches and trim to the bark.
[ ] if safe for the tree, remove all branches up to 11 feet.
[ ] weed patio area.
[ ] stack bricks and blocks to staging area.
[ ] smooth and slope area.
[ ] landscape fabric, paver base, sand, bricks and blocks, sand.
[ ] paint trim
[ ] put up solar drier
Then I can start on the drainage system for the south side.
Saturday it as a bit hot, but I swept the back steps and pulled and cut weeds and accessible blackberry vines (I did not go into LBT).
To-day I took the plunge and, in two work sessions, screwed in all the pickets to the lower rail, trimmed the posts and pickets and added the three post caps: hats for Mike, then Edgar Allen, then Emily.
Cutting the posts was a three step process: use the sabre saw to get through 2/3rds of the post from one side, then the saw again to get 1/6th of the post from another side, then finally use my trusty handsaw to get the final bit. There was a little trimming afterwards.
I used the three step ladder from inside the house. Two of the rubber feet broke through the metal legs, so I need to replace them now!
Between work sessions I had a late lunch (3:30 to 5 p.m.), then resumed from 5 to 8:20 p.m.
My measurements worked...3 inches less than 7 feet was the height of the pickets, posts cut at 2 1/4 inches less than the height of the pickets.
The "hat" for Emily won't work tonight because I did not charge it but the other two should be good. I wonder how well they will charge during the day: the posts are in shade.
I needed the Craftsman sabre saw and the Bosch drill. The drill was to drill a hole for the screws used to hold in the post caps and to drive the deck screws through the pickets into the rails.
My trimmed pickets are not too bad. A few places were not quite straight, but in general the top line for the pickets follows the ground, so from Emily to Edgar Allen, then from Edgar Allen to Mike there is a noticeable descent in the top of the fence.
The "hats" are not obscured by the pickets and rise to 7 feet from base to top. So pickets are 7 feet minus three inches. I purposely got post caps which were as low profile as possible to maximize the picket height.
So what is next for these three sections and the corner section:
[ ] trim picket lumber to fit the gaps and install those pickets.
[ ] remove extra post.
[ ] create picket box for corner.
[ ] treat the pickets with preservative.
That will be it for the summer.
If we have a nice fall and the ground is softer I can put in the two 8x8 posts and put in the last section this year.
I expect next year we will design and install gates.
Meanwhile I can work on LBT and the patio.
[ ] cut down at least part of Byron Hill 2 to put in one of the 8x8 posts.
[ ] remove all black berries. poke, grass and bindweed from LBT.
[ ] add bricks, bags and other items from several locations in the yard.
[ ] cut dead branches and trim to the bark.
[ ] if safe for the tree, remove all branches up to 11 feet.
[ ] weed patio area.
[ ] stack bricks and blocks to staging area.
[ ] smooth and slope area.
[ ] landscape fabric, paver base, sand, bricks and blocks, sand.
[ ] paint trim
[ ] put up solar drier
Then I can start on the drainage system for the south side.