Fence replacement preparation steps. One of the first concerns with any project prep is being able to handle the cost of getting all of the necessary supplies. But, luckily Pete had already thought ahead by stacking a deck of logs to dry that we could use to make new fenceposts with. Thank goodness, the man is always thinking.
A couple of years ago, wild turkeys decided our garden was a local delicatessen, so we installed new wire then. We knew our material costs will be low if we are careful with the demo. Hopefully, we will be able to reuse a lot of the wire. It is going to be a lot of sweat equity.
We are well aware that it is not going to be an easy task!
But, what the heck. What else are we going to do with the hours at the home front during quarantine?
Prep
Pete and I set a corner post at the southeast corner discovering obstacles at the southwest corner. Two large trees with broken tops and a large rock which are removed.
Next, The logs are cut into 14-foot lengths and peeled. Then Peter began to split the larger logs by using 3 simple tools. A maul and two wedges, combined with lots of strength (sweat) and determination produced our 50+ fenceposts. Splitting fenceposts (an informative article), used to be a common yearly deed for Peter on his family dairy farm, but I found it to be an amazing thing to see in modern-day life.
Truthfully, old age is not for wimps. Increased energy expense requires aspirin consumption at night. Honestly, we both have had to make use of our jetted bathtub to ease sore muscles during the evenings of this project.
Preserving Fencepost Bases
I mixed all of the enamel paints we had leftover from house constrution together. It produced a real yucky purplish-brown mix. Luckily, it blends in well with the color of dirt. Painting the post bases helps provide some protection for the wood. As the logs were split, they were moved to the painting area (pictured above). Afterward, they were again stacked to dry and await being put into the ground when we were ready.
Pete is amazing to watch as he moves the posts from one area to the other. He also alternates between removed top rails of the old fence line and clearing and/or leveling the grade where we want to put the new fence. We are both quite busy.
Our goal was to do the best job we could. After all, we don’t want to be doing this fencing replacement project on a yearly basis, just because we were too lazy to do it right.