Landscape & Gardening

Finally! After a Four-Year Wait.

Please click on the photo for a larger version and notice the lacy details of the chain-link fabric. The silver spray paint on the poles around the hinges and fittings will have to be removed. Ggggrrrr...
Please click on the photo for a larger version and notice the lacy details of the chain-link fabric. The silver spray paint on the poles around the hinges and fittings will have to be removed. Ggggrrrr…

My custom designed front gate has finally been installed. It’s been an extremely time consuming and difficult project that began in 2011 with the original sloppy installation. Because it is the front gate, a custom solution was necessary. Since chain-link fencing is no longer as popular as it once was, I could not find a fencing contractor who would give me the time of day on the phone, much less show up for a meeting. They didn’t care if I had created detailed drawings with specifications. The word “custom” caused them too much brain pain. Plus using the traditional galvanized pipes and fittings would make the panels too heavy, causing them sag in the middle. So my architect Charley McKenney took my drawings to the metal artist who had created my fire screen and worked out how to create the two gate panels. It was critical that each frame corner be a sharp 90 degrees and each lace fabric panel be completely inset to the inside of the frame—not merely attached to the frame itself. Eighteen months later, January 2015, the completed gate panels were finally delivered. I had aged considerably since this whole thing started. But wait! There’s more!

Landscape & Gardening

Backyard Progress (days 14 and 16)

This detail view of the fence was taken in the afternoon.
This detail view of the fence was taken in the afternoon.

Day 14. Preparation for the lace fence installation. The fence contractor, Bryan Warrick of Allen Fence Company, is a full time firefighter who does this on his days off. On Tuesday, he had installed all but 3 fence posts when the University Park’s code enforcement swung by and shut us down because no permit had been issued. DRAT! I had warned all of them that a permit was needed, but they chose to fly under the radar. My landscape contractor thought that since we were replacing an old chin link with a newer one that the city’s approval wouldn’t be needed. Who would think that UP would be desperate for the cash? After all the Park Cities has some of the wealthiest folks living here who pay hefty property taxes. Go figure. Bryan then drove to the code enforcement offices, filed the drawings, requested a permit, and then called it a day. Thursday, his next day off, he would continue after picking up the permit.

Landscape & Gardening

The Perfect Chain-Link Fence

fence-01

Demakersvan’s Lace Fence. Someday in the future, my backyard will be regraded and landscaped into a sun garden. And at that time, I will have to decide on a fence type. I’ve ruled out the typical wood stockade, because it’s ugly, hostile, blocks breezes, and keeps my dogs from seeing out and my neighbors from seeing in. I would like to share my garden visually with those who walk or drive by. Decorative iron fencing is not an option, because of the expense and the lack of interesting design options. “Boring” is a good word for this type.