We're Fencing

Well, we're planning (and starting) to put up a fence in our back/side yard. It's a plan that's been in the works since we bought the house 2 years ago. When we poured our new patio last fall, we knew that the next step of the outdoor-makeover would be the fence.

So, here we are in the spring of 2012 with a new puppy and in desperate need of a fence for containing her and for some privacy in the yard. We are on a super duper tight budget for this. Like pennies. So, we can't do anything fancy. We're leaning towards all-practical with room to embellish later on if additional funds roll in.

As a way of reminder, here is the new bare-as-bones patio...

And here was a tiny list of the many, many things that still needed to be accomplished in the surrounding area...

Joey actually got started on the sinking-steps problem before winter hit. I'll have more on that in a separate post.  The pile of junk got thrown out and the wood pile moved to the opposite side of the porch by our neighbor's fence.  The dirt/grass issue was taken care of by regrading the side lawn and planting new grass. It was super easy, and the new grass grew in fast before winter came. It's a little patchy, but we can fix that this summer. So, here is the layout of our tiny back/side yard.

Joey has started marking wear the post will go. The fence will sit about a foot in from the driveway and sidewalk in order to leave more walking room for people. We're going to wrap the fence around by the side door of the house. This door leads right down to the basement wear the puppy's kennel is kept. So, letting her in and out from this entrance will be easy. There will be a little gate in front of the side walk way for anyone wanting to enter the yard from this point.

Rose will love not having to be on her leash. She'll be free to roam the yard and patio area and see the dog next door. They already talk to each other when they're both outside. And they have play time together EVERY day. I don't even get play time with my friends every day. Lucky pup.

Joey got a head start on this project without me even knowing it (until I saw it completed). He actually started on the opposite side of the patio - both behind the garage and to the right side of the porch.

Behind the garage was a disaster zone. A lot of leftover boards, materials, and junk were piled on the grass-less ground. Joey cleared it all out, laid down new sod, and then added a fence panel at the far end to prevent Rose from wandering to the neighbors on the other side of the garage....

Ignore the peeling paint. The garage and porch siding will eventually be replaced.

Here is the other side of that same panel (I snuck up the neighbor's driveway to take the pic)...

Joey used green-treated wood panels and nailed them into the 2X4 boards he put up. The "green" coloring will eventually disappear, and I'd like to white-wash the fence for a clean, bright finish. Again, this is the cheapest, yet most-durable lumber we could afford.

Meanwhile, on the side of the back porch, Joey got busy installing a gate. He laid down some boards on the dirt for now, but we'll either lay down sod or possibly landscaping stones later. The gate will make access easy to this side of the house, and it allows for our neighbors to easily enter the backyard to take Rose over play time each day. We love our neighbors!

I caught him mid-project, but you can see that he put up posts and the gate frame first. The frame came with hinges to use and everything. So, it was a pretty simple follow-the-instructions kind of process.

Then panels were nailed to the frame to fill in the space. Joey still has to get the latch attached for it to hook to the neighbor's fence.

You can see the gate comes up to Joey's ribs. The fence will be a little bit higher than that. And we're planning to added some decorative lattice or something like that to the top of the fence. So, that will make it seem even higher.

Puppy will hopefully enjoy the freedom of roaming the yard (eventually)...

The next step will be digging post holes, pouring concrete, and getting the fence posts in place.

Joey is planning to start that project not this weekend, but the next weekend. So, I'll have more pictures when the time comes, but we're planning on using the same green-treated wood panels that were installed here. Again, I hope to paint it all white some day, but at least for now we'll have some privacy and dog-roaming room.