The making of a wooden fence not your everyday kind of task or cup of tea

This latest job we tackled had been on our minds for quite some time. It took some planning and of course Benno doing research by watching a pile of YouTube movies (truly recommended) of how to approach the work involved. There are a few contractors in our area to do this kind of work, but after getting the estimate for the 100ft fence with materials and labor we were a little shell-shocked and decided to do the fence ourselves. After all how hard could it be, right?

Having a wooden fence on the west side of our property sure helped with the planning. A professional contractor and his assistant built that fence three years ago, but this fellow is now retired. Since Benno did such a nice job with the chain link fence during my stay in Germany, I was confident we would build this wooden fence also with no problems and there was no rush to it. The important part was to get all the materials and calculating how much of everything we needed. At this time of year the big lumber and hardware stores were trying to clear out their inventory of pressure treated and outdoor lumber before the wintertime. We used those discounts to our advantage.

Now that the fence is done, I can tell you the hardest part, or difficulty was to bore the holes for the 14 - 10ft posts at the exact distance so the posts would all be equally spaced and straight. This chore became a challenge a few times because there were roots crisscrossing at the exact spot the holes had to be drilled. 

I let the pictures speak for themselves and to capture the process.

Purchasing fence pickets

bringing home the stash of wood

and this pile is what 240 pieces of pickets look like

The 10ft posts

quick set Cement to set the posts in

starting to drill post holes, but there are tree roots slowing us down

measuring the exact spot to position the auger drill

inserting the fence post, adding cement and water and levelling 

to get it 100% straight 

another tree root is pestering the drill

smacking the tree root with the $69+ tax digging bar

we especially purchased anticipating trouble

something down there blocking the drill

so Benno is applying all his weight

finally the auger drill is all the way down

I helped cleaning out the holes

but look what it did to my old Kodiak work boots

picket support bars are fastened to the posts

Benno is cutting off the tops of the fence posts

he used the trailer to stand on rather than the ladder

the fence pickets are being fastened with a nailer

Benno made a jig for the exact spacing in-between 

he's on a roll now and moving along pretty good

he had me bring load after load of pickets

saying hurry up!

I'm placing the pickets where they are needed next

all fence pickets are installed

a look from the other end of the property

closeup of a section

voila! all done

Benno did a super job and I helped a little ;-)

To celebrate our accomplishment I made a batch of locally caught Yellow Perch in beer batter in our "Fry Daddy" deep fryer with a pile of onion rings for dinner. (Thanks for the fish, Barry) 

So if you think Benno would now put his feet up and relax, wrong. This morning he washed the travel trailer down before the predicted rain this weekend.  I guess he wants to be ready to  head south, but I think it will be a little while yet.

Thanks for visiting again. Wishing everyone some fun at Halloween this coming week.