When part II of installing a fence happens the day after part I, be prepared for some sore muscles. My shoulders are especially tight, so there were a couple of times I wasn’t sure I’d be able to lift the fence panels! But with my creepy neighbor watching us intently during the entire project yesterday and coming over to chat with us at least once, I was definitely looking forward to sealing up the fence today!
We started by checking the posts to make sure the concrete had set enough to install the panels. It was nice and strong, so we were ready to get started. This was when we learned that we hadn’t been as exact with installing the posts yesterday as we would have liked – two of the panels would be too short to hang between the posts. But before I get to how we solved that issue, I’ll start with how we installed the panel in the section that fit just right. First, we decided how high the panel should be installed. Since it was shorter than my neighbors’ fence, if we brought it in line with hers, it would leave a lot of space along the bottom for my puppy to stick his nose through. So we brought it a couple of inches down, and marked where the first bracket would go with a marker.
When I’d first seen the brackets, I couldn’t figure out how they were used to hold the fence, since they were much narrower than the fence posts. But with holes for screws on three sides, I soon learned that you line up the flat back of the bracket against the post, with the fully open side to the top (to slot the fence panel in) and the side with just a smaller opening to the bottom to act as a shelf for the fence panel.
The brackets get screwed to the posts first
Two brackets are used on each side, one at the top and one at the bottom. We started with the top brackets, screwing in the first one to one post and then slotting in the panel to level it and determine where the second bracket would sit. After marking that one, we moved the panel aside to screw the second bracket in. Then, the panel was set back in the two top brackets to determine where the two bottom brackets would go. When you slot the panel into the top two brackets, you might be tempted to screw them to the panel – but don’t jump the gun! You’ve still got to lift the panel one more time – after screwing the bottom two brackets in, we lifted the panel and slotted it into the four brackets. The way the bottom of the panel was designed, we had to squeeze the bottom of the panel to get it to sit properly in the brackets, so this really was a three person job.
Once the panel was slotted in correctly, we screwed the brackets to the panel itself on both side of the fence. That finished off the first panel!
Once the panel is installed, screw the bracket to the panel
Panel 1 is up!
For the second two panels, we had at least an 1 1/2 inches of extra space in each section. So my dad came up with the solution of cutting pieces of wood, screwing them to the posts, and then screwing the brackets to these and repeating the above process. Getting the fence put up was our main priority today, so next year, we’ll unscrew the panels and paint the wood white to blend in with the fence. This solution worked great, and added just enough bulk to secure the posts tightly.
Looks good - keeps the fence posts in tightly!
Finally, all of the brackets were installed and the panels secured and as I finished the side of the fence by my neighbors’ yard, he said “Goodbye” – because, of course, he’d come out just after we started and sat on his deck staring at us the whole time. My dad put it best – it’s very “off-putting!”
But the work wasn’t quite finished – I still had to attach the fence post tops to the posts – since they’re so light, they could come off easily in a strong wind (something we on the coast know a little bit about!) and as I said yesterday, I don’t need any projectiles in my yard! This was the easy part (and since it was easy, I was able to take a few more pictures, whereas with the first part of the day, I was busy working – hard to take a picture when you’re holding up a fence panel!). So first, I dry-fitted the post tops to make sure they would fit snugly on the top of the posts and then I cleaned both the top of the post and the inside of the post top.
I cleaned the inside of the post top with a damp paper towel before applying the glue
After wiping off any excess water, I wiped the glue along both the inside of the post top and the top of the post.
This is a case of do as I say, not as I do - it's good to spread the glue around, but not glop it onto the post!
Then, I put the post top onto the post and held it tightly for 10 seconds.
Post tops are glued!
Once the top was securely glued, I wiped up the excess glue so that it looks neater – I used a wet paper towel for this, because it cleaned up a little bit better than a dry one. Finally, my fence was complete!
Ah, how lovely.
After creating a little barrier between my fence and my neighbors’ fence (only attached to my fence), I was able to let my puppy out into the yard without his extended lead for the first time ever! He was definitely a little concerned that something was wrong because I “forgot” to secure him, but I think he’ll really like being able to spend more time exploring the yard!
But the saga with my creepy neighbor is far from over – while someday I hope to learn how best to handle a difficult neighbor, I haven’t figured it out yet. About an hour after we’d finished the project, my neighbor walked around the block and rang my doorbell, so that he could show me a survey of the property he’d had done 3 years ago, which says that my neighbors’ fence and my new fence both sit a couple of feet onto his property. According to my next door neighbor (the owner of the other offending fence) who came outside as we were talking, there was some confusion when the units were built in the 80′s, and so the neighbors actually each share a buffer of about 3 feet at the end of their properties. She said that every survey you get will be different because it depends on how it’s read, so both of our fences are legal. But the creepy neighbor said he had just come by to tell me that he and his wife “didn’t mind” the fence, and they thought we’d done a good job. I was very polite, but I did make sure to say that if we’d known at the beginning of the project (you know, when he was sitting on his deck, staring at us) or even once we’d started to dig the holes (when he came over to talk to us about the project) that the fence was too far back, we would have moved it further in. But I think he preferred to wait until the entire project was done, and my parents had left, to come over and tell me that it’s “okay” with him. So although I’d hoped that the fence would end my troubles, it seems it’s only made my neighbor’s work of tormenting me more challenging. But at least I don’t have to see him much anymore, thanks to my fence, and maybe I can spend more time enjoying my yard now!
