New Fence

I am so excited to show the pictures of our new fence. It has been quite a process! I got estimates from three fence companies back in April. I couldn't believe how much it was going to cost, so I thought I would try going through State Farm since the west fence had been damaged by wind on more than one occasion. I should have had State Farm come out first. There was a recent hailstorm, so it took about two weeks for him to come out and take a look. He said that they would pay to replace the fence posts along the west fence, but that was all. The damage didn't reach our deductible so that was a complete and total waste of time. I think that it actually hurt us that Lorne had been doing repairs along the way, because it was in much better shape than it would have been otherwise.

The next huge step was getting four signatures from our affected neighbors for the Homeowner's Association Architectural Change form. How difficult is it to get four signatures? I'm so glad that you asked, because it is a HUGE PAIN!!!! It took me about six weeks!! It's amazing how busy people get when you start asking them for money! It didn't help matters that the house along the north fence was on the market. The original owners wouldn't sign the form even though I kept telling them it was just for the HOA. Lorne did the math and split the cost in half for our part, and then the remaining balance three ways for our neighbors' contribution. I finally started telling them that it was okay if they didn't pay (none of them did; the losers!), so that we could get our fence! The fence guy said that what he sees happen is that they won't pay us, but they'll call a fence company to construct a new fence for them and they only have to replace two sides instead of three...nice!

I was hoping to get the new fence in May because Rosie spent the month with Larry and Velma since we'd traveled so much. It saved her time in the car and the cost of boarding for us. That obviously didn't happen, but it wasn't too bad having to take her outside on the leash. I was afraid that I would forget at 4:30 in the morning and she would get loose, but I just left the leash right in front of the patio door as a visual.

They came on Wednesday and removed the old fence and posts and set the new posts. We now have metal posts which should help tremendously with sustaining wind damage. It started to rain about thirty minutes after they left. I was worried that it would change their schedule, but the owner said it would be fine. They didn't come Thursday because they were allowing the posts to set. They didn't get here Friday until after 10:00, so I was worried that they wouldn't finish, but the new fence was up by 5:00 that same day. We now have cedar instead of spruce, so the backyard smells so great! This fence also has a cap along the top, so it makes for a cleaner and sleeker look which I really like.

The street view of the original east gate.

The street view of the new east gate.

The yard view of the original east gate. We have been double checking the latch for years, always fearing that Rosie would escape.

This gate had been damaged since we got Rosie in September of 2001. She was only an outside dog for a short time, but she did a lot of damage as a puppy. I was very happy to see it go!

The yard view of the new east gate. What an improvement!

The before shot of the north fence.

The new north fence. We were also able to pay the guys to haul off some concrete that had been in that back corner since Lorne updated the patio back in 2002. I was almost as excited about that as I was about the fence!

The before shot of the west fence. This stretch sustained the most wind damage and wear and tear. Lorne replaced fence posts and bracketed the rails many times after we had 70+ mph winds on a few occasions.

The after shot of the west fence.

The before shot of the south fence.

The after shot of the south fence.

The before shot of the remainder of the east side.

The after shot of the east gate. They were running a "special," so now we have two gates. I like how the new gates are level unlike the original ones.

Lorne's not happy about the Blackwell Fence sign. He doesn't believe in free advertising for someone after you've paid them. That's why we always take the dealership names off of our cars, for example. This sign probably won't last long either.

The kids were happy to get back in their sandbox.