DIY landscaping

[unclemick]

Ah yes - like cars we have have owned - the boys and their toys.

Makes me all misty eyed, warm and fuzzy all over.

The rental co.'s know and love me - Little Bobcats - exotic ones with back hoes, trenchers, cement mixers, air powered nailers, air hammers for plastic bulkhead sheet piling - let me count the ways.

Thinking bulkhead later this summer - Navy or Harvard? wall to cut back on lake erosion.

P.S. The really big jobs like debris after hurricanes - I hired a bulldozer. BUT - I do takes pictures!

When I lose it on frugal - I really lose it. The cussing, sweating, and swearing never again are also great fun - in hindsight.

 

[wabmester]

Just an update on our slooow landscaping progress.    We're starting with the fence.   It's a pretty big fence -- about 600 lineal ft.   It's a combination of privacy fence and a fence that will keep the dogs/kid in the yard.

We looked at a lot of fences, and ultimately decided to go with something like this combo:

I could probably build it myself. I looked at material costs, and it's not cheap. Around $10/ft. And I figured there were a myriad ways for me to screw it up. So, I found a local guy who builds nice fences, and he's going to do it for around $14/ft. I get to help (just to pop my fence-building cherry), but he'll do most of the work.

 

[KB]

Now THAT is a fence. It's beautiful....

 

[wabmester]

Thanks -- I think we made a good choice. My wife gets all the credit though. I wanted to do a split-rail with chicken wire (CHEAP), but she wouldn't go for it.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Your gate is on backwards.

You used a grade of wood that I wouldnt touch with a 10' pole.

Whats the deal with the sudden tilt up in the fence on the left near the back? Too lazy to do a slow slope up with the pickets? Oh...you probably used those inferior premade sections that no DIY-er would even think about employing.

Oh, its a sample. No worries then. Yours wont look as good. May as well stick with the chicken wire.

Wait until tomorrow when I've had better than 4 hours of total sleep in 2 days. It'll get better

 

[wabmester]

Your gate is on backwards.

There is no backwards and forwards to gates and fences.   Only pretty sides and ugly sides, and you get to pick which side you want to look at and which side you want your neighbors to look at.

You used a grade of wood that I wouldnt touch with a 10' pole.

We're going with #2 cedar.   Good enough for fences.

Whats the deal with the sudden tilt up in the fence on the left near the back?  Too lazy to do a slow slope up with the pickets?  Oh...you probably used those inferior premade sections that no DIY-er would even think about employing.

Agreed on the pre-made panels, but there are a few different ways to handle grades.   The differences are aesthetic.   I prefer the rectangular panel look, personally.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I still think that gate is on backwards. If its on straight you must be using incorrect line voltage and thats why it looks wrong.

Maybe its just you.

 

[wabmester]

Woohoo! The fence is in. And it looks mahvelous! I asked the contractor to let me do the last couple of fence segments so I could view my HUGE outlay as tuition for fence building school.

I dug three post holes with a hand-auger, and my back is in SERIOUS pain. But the money feels well spent now. The contractor dug the other 80-something post holes. He doesn't have to worry about me competing with him. And he did a much better job than I would have, although now that I know some of the finer details, I think I could build a decent fence.

Next, we're rebuilding a small deck, and then I need to level part of the backyard to prep for a playground. I think I'll take on the deck as a DIY, but hire somebody to build a retaining wall and truck in some dirt.

 

[Nords]

Woohoo!   The fence is in.   And it looks mahvelous!  I asked the contractor to let me do the last couple of fence segments so I could view my HUGE outlay as tuition for fence building school.

I dug three post holes with a hand-auger, and my back is in SERIOUS pain.   But the money feels well spent now.   The contractor dug the other 80-something post holes.   He doesn't have to worry about me competing with him.   And he did a much better job than I would have, although now that I know some of the finer details, I think I could build a decent fence.

That must be a great project to have finished! You'll have to drink one frosty beverage for each hole.

We'll be putting in a gate & 50 feet of PVC fencing ourselves in the next few years (when the current fence finishes falling down). Anything you'd do differently or avoid like the plague? Anything you wish you'd added? Any advice on where to shop, what brands to buy, and how to save?

 

[wabmester]

Any advice?

Yes, if you have tricky vertebrae, avoid digging post holes.   Especially in rocky hard pack.

And know thy boundaries.   Building your fence on the neighbor's property is bad karma.   Luckily, we found all the old survey markers while we were digging around.   Also, find out where cables are buried before you dig.

It's hard to mow grass around fences, so I rented a sod cutter and removed some along the fence line.   And we put down some mulch as a weed suppressor.   It looks pretty good, and I'm hoping to avoid much weedwacking in the future.

We went with cedar instead of PVC because this is a woodsy area, and it just looks better.    It took us a while to decide on a style that we thought would both compliment the house and the neighborhood.   And still keep the dogs in.

In retrospect, there was only one pretty major thing we didn't consider: a new fence can make an old house look like crap.   It didn't stand out so much before, but now we have to figure out a way to make the house as pretty as the fence.

This could turn out to be a very expensive fence.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Yes, if you have tricky vertebrae, avoid digging post holes.   Especially in rocky hard pack.

And know thy boundaries.   Building your fence on the neighbor's property is bad karma.   Luckily, we found all the old survey markers while we were digging around.   Also, find out where cables are buried before you dig.

It's hard to mow grass around fences, so I rented a sod cutter and removed some along the fence line.   And we put down some mulch as a weed suppressor.   It looks pretty good, and I'm hoping to avoid much weedwacking in the future.

We went with cedar instead of PVC because this is a woodsy area, and it just looks better.    It took us a while to decide on a style that we thought would both compliment the house and the neighborhood.   And still keep the dogs in.

In retrospect, there was only one pretty major thing we didn't consider: a new fence can make an old house look like crap.   It didn't stand out so much before, but now we have to figure out a way to make the house as pretty as the fence.

This could turn out to be a very expensive fence.

Yeah, I have this problem all the time. You do some landscaping and the
house looks like crap. You put in a new driveway and the yard looks bad.
You carpet the bedroom and everything else looks shabby. Have not
found a solution. DW can ignore. I can't.

JG

 

[unclemick]

1. Tear down the fence

2. Fiind some really cool and funky fast growing plants/weeds to grow along the fence. We always had trouble with blackberry vines in the PacNW when I was a kid.

I remember my dad put a 1929 Buick on cinder blocks in front of the fence and painted the picket boards white. He was a minor union official - probably trying to garner the hillbilly and Scander hovien vote.

 

[wabmester]

We always had trouble with blackberry vines in the PacNW when I was a kid.

Mmmm, the Himalayan Blackberry. Delicious but very obnoxious. I think of the snakes of Medusa as I try to cut them down.

 

[unclemick]

Wab

You need to get the fence - blended in ASAP - especially if she likes it.

1995 - a tornado tore the entire roof off the camp - and trashed the interior - unfortunately she got about 15 years of backlogged honeydews on that one.

And a bunch of 'new' stuff to match the 'new' interior. I only wanted to fix the roof and walls - maybe get some big throw cushions for the floor.

Some votes don't count - Pier 1 loved me that year.

Plant the weeds - quick.

 

[Nords]

Yes, if you have tricky vertebrae, avoid digging post holes.   Especially in rocky hard pack.

This could turn out to be a very expensive fence.

Thanks, Wab! I was going to contract this one out until I realized how much fun it is to use a power auger. We have rocks here but it's mostly clay and I only need to go down about 18".

Good point about over-improving the property. We'll definitely go with PVC instead of lava rock...

 

[Brat]

Deck material warning:  The new wood treatment chemicals can cause grief with nails and hangers.  Make sure you research that on the web.

A lot of folks undersize the hangers where the deck attaches to your sill-plate.  As much as you may dream of dumping your kid's friends when they are teenagers, you don't really want risk colapse when they party 10 years from now.