Eleven 4×4s, twenty-two 2×4s, 165 1×6 dog-ear fence panels, nine bags of concrete, three pounds of screws, and random lag and concrete screws later, and the yard is fenced. We’ve wanted to finish fencing off the third length of the yard ever since we got Murphy, but it wasn’t until this spring that we finally got the time and resources to finish the job. Well, technically I didn’t have the time, but I did it anyway.
When we originally planned on building the fence, we were going to use chain link since we thought it would be cheaper. This was partially based on the assumption that if we used wood, we would buy the pre-made 6×8 foot fence panels, and that we had around 83 feet to fence. In the end we ended up doing everything manually (i.e. no pre-made sections of fence) and only had 67 feet to fence. Since chain link is sold in 50-foot increments, that meant we were paying for around 30 feet of wasted fencing. After pricing everything out, wood was $3 cheaper.
Was is cheaper in the end? No. First, I forgot that lumber companies, like hard drive companies, are fond is mislabeling dimensions. I know my father explained why a 2×4 is only 3.5 inches wide once, but in my mind, this is no different than GB v. GiB. Half an inch times 140+ boards and suddenly you’re around 16 short. Oh, and I forgot to add in the cost of screws.
The fence building process was actually fun in the end. I got to play with all of my “Big-Boy Toys” like my miter saw, circular saw, and hammering drill. It took a lot longer than I expected, but that’s because the weather here has been bipolar. It went from blue and sunny to thunderstorms and back about six times in one day.
The biggest problem was actually putting the gate in, since my shed is off-square by about 10 degrees. I had to add a 2×4, ripped to 3 inches and attached to the frame of the shed with lag screws. Even after all of that, the gate frame is slightly off-square and I have no idea why, but it swings smoothly on its hinges.
In the end, all of the work was worth it when we get to watch Murphy run laps around the yard.
