We got a lot of the fence built today, but it was pretty exhausting. Tom's back is better but still not back to normal, so he was moving pretty slowly today. So it took more time and effort than we had expected.
In looking at Chalet style houses, it seems most of the fences are rustic looking: split rail is common, but so are picket fences and board fences. We thought about doing a board fence with cut outs to match the cut outs on the porch railings, but we realized this would probably be a graffiti problem. So we decided to build a picket fence, and we bought some used 2" wooden rods from Ohmega - 48 of them, each one 7 feet long.
We started by taking the wooden poles we had bought, and cutting them down to 3 1/2 feet long. Then we ripped each one in half - so we ended up with 192 pickets for the new fence.
The we set the 4x4s on the new retaining wall. The 4x4s were the corner posts in the Delaney House's old basement, so they are true 4x4s (a 4x4 made today measures 3 1/2 by 3 1/2). However, because the hold downs for the fence are made for today's 4x4s, we had to use the router to remove some wood to make a place on each post for the hold downs. Then we had to drill out bolt holes, and set the posts, making sure they are plumb.
After that, we put up the horizontal boards between the posts, and started nailing up the pickets. We also moved the old gate over so it's now situated at the opening where the stairs to the Cheney Cottage will be. Eventually, we'll build a new gate for the fence, once the stairs are in, but for now we're re-using the old gate from the chain link fence.
A new fence and an old gate in front of the Cheney Cottage
The fence isn't done - about half of it still needs pickets, so we left the chain link on that part. And on the left side of the property, the chain link is where the driveway will be.
The fence and the opening for the driveway
But again - more progress. Just so exhausting. I need a drink.
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