Spring has finally come to the north, and I've been taking advantage of the warm weather to get things moving along. Our new AC condensor is going in, replacing a true mid century unit which has unfortunately stopped working. This thing is totally cool - open bottom, wood grain vinyl access panel. It worked great - for about the first month we were in this house, then it just gave up. It has to be the original unit that was installed when the house was built, so 60+ years of service is pretty impressive. What does this have to do with a fence you ask? Well, read on.
The reason I mention the AC is that it's being moved to the side of the house to free up some room in the rather small back yard. And we want to move the fence line to enclose a larger part of the backyard, and to really increase the modern vibe of the house that's been hidden for so long. The fence was designed in Sketchup - is horizontal, built in place, and is constructed from cedar 1x material and cedar 4x4's sourced from Menards. As you can see in the image to the right, I went through several iterations of the design, both to make sure I had even coverage of fence boards for the full height of the 6' 4x4 uprights, and to make sure it just looked 'right'. I think that the design I cam up with (most similar to the left panel to the right) really looks groovy!
The final design (with dimensions) is the panel shown to the right. It uses cedar 1x2's (1.5" wide) and 1x4's (3.5" wide). The upper 1x2's are attached in pairs, and each pair of 1x2's has a 1/2" gap between them. This means that each of the upper pairs (with the gap) is the same width as the lower boards. Each upper pair is separated from the next, lower pair by a 3/4" gap. The lower, wider boards are also separated by a 3/4" gap. Keeping the gaps these dimensions in the layout was done so that when the fence is stepped down the sideyard slope, the upper 'split' pairs will match up with the lower, wider slats making it all line up horizontally from panel to panel. Panel width is not super important, but keeping the panels approximately the same width is. I made my panels for the side yard all around 4 feet because of the slope. You'll see below.
The construction starts with digging holes and planting the cedar 4x4's. Cedar is *NOT CHEAP* these days! We used the real deal, but home dumpster has simulated cedar pressure treated 4x4's that actually look pretty darn good. I think when we do the other side of the house, I will use that material to save some bucks. It is imperative, for this style of fence in particular, that all of the posts are *exactly* perpendicular to level front to back and side to side, AND that all of the posts are *exactly* lined up. This is important for any fence, but you will really notice when you look along the fence later that it's more of a wave than a fence. I used a string stretched along the ground and several straight 2x4's to ensure my posts were aligned, and that the tops were also level (because the ground was not (in the picture to the right, you can see I've been doing some excavating in the foreground. The front part of the sideyard had not yet been graded in this image). Getting the tops of each pair of posts exactly level is important because this is a horizontal design and the top board must be level. When everything is level and plumb, fill the first two holes and pack it down. I used gravel to fill the holes so that it would be well drained and keep any ground water away from my expensive cedar posts. I packed it down with a scrap 2x4 and a small sledge on all four sides of the post - this will really firm up the infill. Now, in the image above, you see three cedar 4x4's going in - that's because my gate is going in that larger gap.
I wanted a nice wide gate, so that I wouldn't have any trouble getting wide stuff into the back yard. On the other side of the house, the ground is flat and I'll be making one of the 6 foot sections removable for even larger stuff down the road. But the gate on this side is 4 feet wide, which should be wide enough for most stuff. Now, because this is a clean horizontal design, because there are fairly sizeable gaps in the fence, and because this is a large gate, the gate would need some support to minimize sagging. Usually, this is done with Z-bracing - which acts like a bracket to help to resist shear stress on the unhinged side of the gate. Can't do that here because it would be super visible from the outside. So I decided to use galvanized wire to do the same thing. I assembled the outside of the gate first, then added some large eye bolts and then used plastic coated galvanized wire run to some turnbuckles to supply the load relief for the unhinged side of the gate.
The gate was hung with a few of the horizontal slats in place, and then tensioned with the turnbuckle to get the top of the gate level. A good long level is essential for this process. I have a 4 foot level and a 2 foot level, and the 2 footer was off a bit from what the 4-footer was telling me. The hinges I used are good-quality, nice beefy galvanized hinges. Don't skimp on hardware - you don't want to have to replace any of this any time soon - everything I used was either stainless steel or galvanized. At this stage, I went ahead and got the rest of my posts in, made sure they were plumb and aligned, and really started slapping up the boards. You can see the chainlink fence that this is replacing still up (which made installation a bit tricky) because our three large dogs would otherwise be able to escape!
Because all of the gaps between the upper pairs and the lower boards are 3/4", installation of the horizontal components can go pretty quickly using a couple pieces of scrap material as installation guides. Pre-drilling and countersinking screws is a must, as these will show from the outside. All screw holes must be aligned and centered on the boards. The uppers get one screw on each side, and the wider 3 1/2" boards each get two. I used stainless steel square drive 2" deck screws for this as they will never rust. You can see some of the hand-digging that I had done in the back yard in this picture for the retaining wall that I had begun putting in in the Fall of 2016. I've just finished the wall and the back yard is now graded and we've got new grass planted back there as well. The place is coming along!
It all goes up pretty quickly once the pre-drilling and cutting of the boards is done. This fence has done more to bring this house out of its disguise as a 70's raised ranch than we were expecting. Now, you can really see the 1950's origins of this house - it's really starting to get its groovy back. You can see the newly-graded back yard in this picture, and you can also see how good this fence looks not only from the front, but also from the back. It came out great, was a pretty easy project to do, it really brought the house out of its drab but promising exterior clothes, and it will last a great many years. We plan on giving the fence a very light cedar water-resistant transparent stain toward the end of the summer to allow it to really dry out and the pores to open up a bit more. The natural variation in the color and grain of cedar are one of the things we like about this wood, and we're not going to cover that up with an opaque way-too-red not-at-all-cedar-looking coating.
Spring has finally come to the north, and I've been taking advantage of the warm weather to get things moving along. Our new AC condensor is going in, replacing a true mid century unit which has unfortunately stopped working. This thing is totally cool - open bottom, wood grain vinyl access panel. It worked great - for about the first month we were in this house, then it just gave up. It has to be the original unit that was installed when the house was built, so 60+ years of service is pretty impressive. What does this have to do with a fence you ask? Well, read on.
The reason I mention the AC is that it's being moved to the side of the house to free up some room in the rather small back yard. And we want to move the fence line to enclose a larger part of the backyard, and to really increase the modern vibe of the house that's been hidden for so long. The fence was designed in Sketchup - is horizontal, built in place, and is constructed from cedar 1x material and cedar 4x4's sourced from Menards. As you can see in the image to the right, I went through several iterations of the design, both to make sure I had even coverage of fence boards for the full height of the 6' 4x4 uprights, and to make sure it just looked 'right'. I think that the design I cam up with (most similar to the left panel to the right) really looks groovy!
The final design (with dimensions) is the panel shown to the right. It uses cedar 1x2's (1.5" wide) and 1x4's (3.5" wide). The upper 1x2's are attached in pairs, and each pair of 1x2's has a 1/2" gap between them. This means that each of the upper pairs (with the gap) is the same width as the lower boards. Each upper pair is separated from the next, lower pair by a 3/4" gap. The lower, wider boards are also separated by a 3/4" gap. Keeping the gaps these dimensions in the layout was done so that when the fence is stepped down the sideyard slope, the upper 'split' pairs will match up with the lower, wider slats making it all line up horizontally from panel to panel. Panel width is not super important, but keeping the panels approximately the same width is. I made my panels for the side yard all around 4 feet because of the slope. You'll see below.
The construction starts with digging holes and planting the cedar 4x4's. Cedar is *NOT CHEAP* these days! We used the real deal, but home dumpster has simulated cedar pressure treated 4x4's that actually look pretty darn good. I think when we do the other side of the house, I will use that material to save some bucks. It is imperative, for this style of fence in particular, that all of the posts are *exactly* perpendicular to level front to back and side to side, AND that all of the posts are *exactly* lined up. This is important for any fence, but you will really notice when you look along the fence later that it's more of a wave than a fence. I used a string stretched along the ground and several straight 2x4's to ensure my posts were aligned, and that the tops were also level (because the ground was not (in the picture to the right, you can see I've been doing some excavating in the foreground. The front part of the sideyard had not yet been graded in this image). Getting the tops of each pair of posts exactly level is important because this is a horizontal design and the top board must be level. When everything is level and plumb, fill the first two holes and pack it down. I used gravel to fill the holes so that it would be well drained and keep any ground water away from my expensive cedar posts. I packed it down with a scrap 2x4 and a small sledge on all four sides of the post - this will really firm up the infill. Now, in the image above, you see three cedar 4x4's going in - that's because my gate is going in that larger gap.
I wanted a nice wide gate, so that I wouldn't have any trouble getting wide stuff into the back yard. On the other side of the house, the ground is flat and I'll be making one of the 6 foot sections removable for even larger stuff down the road. But the gate on this side is 4 feet wide, which should be wide enough for most stuff. Now, because this is a clean horizontal design, because there are fairly sizeable gaps in the fence, and because this is a large gate, the gate would need some support to minimize sagging. Usually, this is done with Z-bracing - which acts like a bracket to help to resist shear stress on the unhinged side of the gate. Can't do that here because it would be super visible from the outside. So I decided to use galvanized wire to do the same thing. I assembled the outside of the gate first, then added some large eye bolts and then used plastic coated galvanized wire run to some turnbuckles to supply the load relief for the unhinged side of the gate.
The gate was hung with a few of the horizontal slats in place, and then tensioned with the turnbuckle to get the top of the gate level. A good long level is essential for this process. I have a 4 foot level and a 2 foot level, and the 2 footer was off a bit from what the 4-footer was telling me. The hinges I used are good-quality, nice beefy galvanized hinges. Don't skimp on hardware - you don't want to have to replace any of this any time soon - everything I used was either stainless steel or galvanized. At this stage, I went ahead and got the rest of my posts in, made sure they were plumb and aligned, and really started slapping up the boards. You can see the chainlink fence that this is replacing still up (which made installation a bit tricky) because our three large dogs would otherwise be able to escape!
Because all of the gaps between the upper pairs and the lower boards are 3/4", installation of the horizontal components can go pretty quickly using a couple pieces of scrap material as installation guides. Pre-drilling and countersinking screws is a must, as these will show from the outside. All screw holes must be aligned and centered on the boards. The uppers get one screw on each side, and the wider 3 1/2" boards each get two. I used stainless steel square drive 2" deck screws for this as they will never rust. You can see some of the hand-digging that I had done in the back yard in this picture for the retaining wall that I had begun putting in in the Fall of 2016. I've just finished the wall and the back yard is now graded and we've got new grass planted back there as well. The place is coming along!
It all goes up pretty quickly once the pre-drilling and cutting of the boards is done. This fence has done more to bring this house out of its disguise as a 70's raised ranch than we were expecting. Now, you can really see the 1950's origins of this house - it's really starting to get its groovy back. You can see the newly-graded back yard in this picture, and you can also see how good this fence looks not only from the front, but also from the back. It came out great, was a pretty easy project to do, it really brought the house out of its drab but promising exterior clothes, and it will last a great many years. We plan on giving the fence a very light cedar water-resistant transparent stain toward the end of the summer to allow it to really dry out and the pores to open up a bit more. The natural variation in the color and grain of cedar are one of the things we like about this wood, and we're not going to cover that up with an opaque way-too-red not-at-all-cedar-looking coating. 
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete