Although almost too tired to utter the words, we have indeed finished (there's one last section to do after we put in our entry walkway) building our picket fence. It was hard work and it took longer than we would have imagined but we are both in agreement that we couldn't of hired anyone to do a better job. Well, we couldn't have 'afforded' to hire anyone to do a job as meticulous as us.
I say us as both hubby and I are each meticulous in our own unique ways. His primary focus is mathematical harmony, precision, and durability, all of which include a calculator, a tape measure, lots of math and a level. These things are foreign to me.
For me, meticulous comes in the form of aesthetics. If you remember, it was I who prolonged this project by insisting that we sand each (there were over 300) picket to create a uniform finish. It was also I who felt compelled to hand-pick each picket based on its aesthetic rating. Best pickets go to areas most visible, second-grade pickets go to areas of fence least visible.
Also, in effort to achieve an old-fashioned look, we were once again required to go against the grain. Something we've had to do a lot during our old house remodel. In regards to the picket fence, it meant going with regular cedar posts (which are naturally weather resistant), instead of the recommended chemically treated posts (with their awful pitted finish). We also opted to attach the rails of the fence to each post with screws, spackling and painting all of the screw holes, instead of using the highly visible metal brackets they insisted upon.
The fence offers a wonderful sanctuary to our property. Our farmhouse sits on 7-acres, three of which consist of open fields surrounding the house. The fence provides a separate space around the yard that almost feels like an extension of the house itself.
I say us as both hubby and I are each meticulous in our own unique ways. His primary focus is mathematical harmony, precision, and durability, all of which include a calculator, a tape measure, lots of math and a level. These things are foreign to me.
For me, meticulous comes in the form of aesthetics. If you remember, it was I who prolonged this project by insisting that we sand each (there were over 300) picket to create a uniform finish. It was also I who felt compelled to hand-pick each picket based on its aesthetic rating. Best pickets go to areas most visible, second-grade pickets go to areas of fence least visible.
Also, in effort to achieve an old-fashioned look, we were once again required to go against the grain. Something we've had to do a lot during our old house remodel. In regards to the picket fence, it meant going with regular cedar posts (which are naturally weather resistant), instead of the recommended chemically treated posts (with their awful pitted finish). We also opted to attach the rails of the fence to each post with screws, spackling and painting all of the screw holes, instead of using the highly visible metal brackets they insisted upon.
The fence offers a wonderful sanctuary to our property. Our farmhouse sits on 7-acres, three of which consist of open fields surrounding the house. The fence provides a separate space around the yard that almost feels like an extension of the house itself.
I'll post more pictures of the fence once we use up the rest of the pavers we have camped out in our yard. The pavers will be used to create an entry walkway and also to create the floor to our outdoor dining patio, projects that have been on hold while we've been building our fence.
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