Imagine that you finally have reluctantly switched off your mobile to avoid the distractions so that you can get your garden back to some sort of order over the weekend. Late Sunday afternoon you can finally see all your hard work and think that your garden looks great – a job well done. You promise you that with a little maintenance you will remain there.
Came home late on Monday after a hard day’s work the first thing you notice is the doggie do-dos on your neatly mowed lawn. By now, you have had enough of cleaning up the neighborhood dogs and faces the possibility of building a fence to keep them out.
Even if you consider yourself a bit handy, you have never built a fence before. Make sure you have spiked again with the odd plank or two years, but the possibility of building a new fence is a bit scary even if you do not like to admit it. The phone rings and Charlie and the boys are waiting for you to join them at the local pub. Good that you think they might have some ideas about building a fence.
It reluctantly taking up the issue of fence building with your friends who, as usual, are so-called experts on the construction fence. They tell us how important it is to plan the whole process and that the first thing you must do is find out the relevant authorities of the type of fence is allowed in your neighborhood and if no permission is required before you begin building your fence. You also need to contact the neighbor if it is a border fence and get their permission in writing to build fences and share construction costs. At that time my head is spinning and you have not even dug a hole.
Continues the then talks about getting a good set of plans so that you can not guess how much material you actually need. Then you can give your neighbor a good estimate, otherwise you’re halfway through the job, with materials and with a neighbor reluctant to cover other expenses. They then talk about digging holes well below the frost line, so that when the ground freezes it does not lift up your posts. Never thought of that you believe in yourself. You will hear the story of a guy who built a fence that looked just awful because he does not exactly locate each hole so that the services set up with each other.
Charlie says we should start with the last post and allow the concrete to set so that you can then stretch a string from one to the other so that you create a perfect line from one service to another. Then drive a stake every 6 to 8 meters along this line and make sure you measure carefully so the posts are evenly spaced. Personalize your messages with the string and make sure they are level vertically and tighten them while the cement sets. Give them a couple of days to cure before adding the actual fence. He also says that it is a good idea to secure your fencing with screws instead of nailing the pole so that, if they come loose you can tighten them. He then goes on to say that you should seal completed fence so it will last for many years.