Four-Panel Progress

I am really tired tonight, so this blog will be brief.  We made great progress on the fence today, partly because we already had four holes dug and ready for posts.

Our starting point this morning was our off-center post.  The good news
is that we were able to correct the problem with the next panels.

This morning started damp and foggy with the promise of rain by 3:00 p.m.  We figured we would work as long as we could before we had to stop due to weather.  While Rick ran to Home Depot to get more cement, I set up the back yard for a day of work.

With the first two panels in, we "dry fit" the lower
rail on the next section of fence.  We had to slightly
bury the bottom rail to follow the contours of the lot.

The first two panels were only four-foot panels thanks to the roots and wire issues when digging the holes.  We figured those would go quickly, but since we have never used this exact fence design before, completing the first two panels took a bit longer than either of us would have liked. We worked from 7:30 until a little after noon getting the first two panels assembled and cemented into place.

The design on this fence is a little more ornate than the fence we installed in Florida.  While that fence had fairly straight tops and bottoms, this fence has a much more detailed design.  That makes sliding the top and bottom rails into the posts a bit more complex, and I am guessing that this fence also will be a royal pain in the rear to wash and to keep clean.  On the plus side, the panels on this fence seem thicker and the tracks into which they slip are deeper.  That feature will help the panels stay into place through all types of weather.

After lunch, we decided to try to get the next two panels in before the rain.  Now that we knew how to install them, these two eight-foot panels went in a little more quickly.  We still have challenges ahead of us as we know that we will have to step up the fence on the north side of the yard and step down the fence on the east side.  Such is our landscape.  We finished our work around 3:00 p.m.  The rain did not arrive until 4:00 p.m., so the weather cooperated with our timing.

The first four panels outline the northeast corner
of our back yard.  I want to plant a lilac bush in this
corner to replace the one that the tree cutters destroyed
two years ago.  This corner will be perfect!

We now have the start to our privacy in the back yard.  While we will have to take a bit of time to adjust to the more enclosed area, we no longer will have to worry about the unkept yard behind us or the prying eyes of anyone who drives down the street around the corner from our house.  The yard will be ours, free of leaves blowing in from the neighbors, and free of intrusion from the neighborhood children and dogs.

Rain is predicted for all day tomorrow, so we probably will have a day off from the mud of the back yard.  That will give us time to get inside chores completed before getting back outside.  We look forward to continuing our work.