At long last, we've finally managed to get the perimeter fence completed, save for the main gate. There was a final section at the southeast corner of the fence line, right by the Dog Kennel Greenhouse, that needed to be filled in. This little section also left an opening at the back of the garden that had proven to be a problem for the ADHD dogs that would have a habit of running out through that opening into the greater yard area. Now, that problem is no more. I had to install one whole 8ft panel and would have to make a 6ft panel from scratch to close in the final gap.
Of course it wasn't completely easy to get this panel into position. First of all, the distance to cover between the main driveway and where the panel had to go was mostly sloppy muddy ground. I was able to get the trailer about 1/3 the way in before running out of graveled path and even then almost getting the Tracker stuck. I was able to pull the trailer by hand over another 1/3 the distance before getting bogged down on the soft ground. The final 1/3 was covered by the both of us walking the panel over to the site. Of course we also had to stand the panel upright and maneuver it between the fence line and the boat trailer, which is still unable to be moved due to the broken axle. Once we got the panel in place I was able to get to work. I had to tack up a couple 2x4's to the posts at both ends to be able to provide the surface to anchor the panel to. I would've used deck screws to hold everything up but ran out of them, only being able to use two screws to hold both ends of the panel up, one on either end. I had to use the nail gun to secure the rest of the panel. I also had to use the nail gun for the 2x4's that would make up the 6ft panel for the final section as well. I used the smaller nail gun to tack up the pickets as well. It was just as well, as it's a waste of small wood screws trying to secure 14 pickets to a panel with three screws per picket. Using a pack of thin nails is way more economical. With the pickets up, all the way to the corner, I used a final picket to overlap the small gap at the corner. With this covered, the perimeter fence is closed in. Save for the main gate, the compound is secured. We will start the work on the main gate as I start gathering materials. I will have to get a gate brace kit to use for making the actual sliding gate, then get a gate rail/trolley kit that will have to be anchored to a separate post. The separate post will have to be anchored in the ground along the main fence at a spacing to allow the panel to slide between the post and the main fence. Lastly, I will have to get a motor assembly that will be used for opening and closing the gate, which will roll on trolleys provided in the kit. I will have to build up the grounds around the area where the gate will slide, as well as the main driveway. I'll have to widen the main driveway due to the fact that I will have to narrow the gap of the main gate in order to be able to make a gate that won't end up being too big for any gate opener to handle. Widening the driveway will allow us to make the wide swing necessary to pull in large vehicles like the F250 into the narrower gate. On a lighter note, I did manage to close in the gap for the gravel path along the south fence line, linking to the main driveway, so now I can start making my push towards the east fence line. Of course the work on the main gate isn't going to begin immediately. Again, I still have to gather materials, but there are other projects I'm trying to close the book on before I take on the gate project. There's a matter of finishing Truckstang, along with the Lawn Mower Carb Conversion on Rustang, and the next real building project, finishing up the Dog Kennel Greenhouse. The greenhouse will be the next focal point for chucking money at, as this project has been at a standstill for almost a year. Stay tuned for some work on that project.
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