The Great Wall

I finally got around to starting the big project for this season - the fence extension along the stroll and viewing garden.

The goal is to hide the neighbor's ugly white plastic fence - it ruins the esthetic I have been aiming for. Additionally, he rarely, if ever, cuts his lawn and I just can't stand to look at it. This fence extension should help hide those unwanted views and help to draw ones eyes towards the plants in the garden instead of the awful view behind it.

I prepped the beds last fall in anticipation of the project. 

 

Getting the wood was very difficult. The Covid pandemic has left construction materials in short supply, and the prices are easily twice what they normally would have been. Eventually I came across a very good supply of cedar to work with, especially the 4 x 4 x 8 posts which were hard to find. Once found, I purchased everything I needed and stored it in the garage. I then had to wait until the weather cooperated.

I started with the posts. Needless to say, I am getting old and post hole digging is not as easy as it used to be. Digging through sandy soil wasn't too bad, but on at least three of the holes I encountered old tree roots that had to be cut out - no easy task.

Once the posts were in, I installed the top rails. I kept them level with the same top rails that are on the existing fence. The plan will be to connect them later in the project.

After the top rails, I moved on to the bottom rails. I am not using rolled bamboo on these panels. Instead, I will be using solid cedar panels (similar to the ones on the gate). Often, you can see through the gaps in the bamboo. Using solid panels should solve that problem. However, the weight will require additional support to stop sagging. So, I am using two 2 x 4s, one vertical, and the other horizontal. This process worked well on the Moon Window in the garden and I am hopeful it will work here as well.

I did eventually run into a major problem. I did not realize that the ground actually changes in elevation as I moved from the garden fence towards the street. It never looked as if it did, so I was caught off guard. As seen in the picture below, I had to start removing soil so that the bottom rail was not sitting on solid ground. I want at least a couple inch gap. However, after the first three panels slowly changed elevation, It now appears that the change is going to be more dramatic as I continue to move towards the street end.

The image below shows where I have left off. I can make adjustments to this portion of the stroll garden, but the remaining three panels will require a major alteration.

I want to keep the top rails level, so my plan is to raise the lower rails up in height about 5 inches. Instead of 36 inch panels, I will have to shorten them to 31 inches. I think most people will not notice since that change is at the bottom only. Once plants are well established, it should help to hide the change. Over the next few days I will tackle this adjustment. Overall, it feels good to get this far in one day.