Sunday, July 22, 2007

De-Fence





This year marks the 30th year that Jan and I have lived in our home on Campbell Street. We have had many changes to our home over all these years. We added vinyl siding, replaced the roof, installed new windows, and replaced several hot water heaters. We also poured a concrete driveway so four vehicles can park next to the house due to very little street parking. One improvement we have put off all these years is the chain link fence that surrounds 75% of our yard. The fence has taken a beating over the past 30 years. It is rusted, the bottom of the fence is curling up and the posts are barely standing. In other words, if the fence was a person it would be on life support. Jan and I have decided to pull the plug and put the fence out of its misery. We came up with a plan that will require 3 phases.




The first phase is the removal of the present fence and bushes along the fence. The next part of phase 1 is installing some 88 feet of guard rail attached to H-beams. This is an expensive but necessary step to protect the vinyl privacy fence that will be installed in Phase 2. You see, our fence is along an alley. Many people have garages down the alley and sometimes garbage trucks use it to pick up trash. The current fence has been beaten, battered, and run into by vehicles many, many times. We figure the best DEFENSE is to install the guardrail and damage people's vehicles rather than our fence. We've had it and can't take it any longer.




Okay, enough of my rant--on to Phase 2. Phase 2 consists of erecting a 6 foot vinyl privacy fence inside the guardrail. I called the City Zoning Board and told them that our house was located on an alley. They told me that if the alley is BEHIND the house that a 6 foot fence is okay, but if the alley is on the SIDE of the house the maximum allowable height is 4 foot. Yeah, right, whatever. Somehow we will get our way on this one. Stay tuned.
The 3rd and final phase is the removal of the rear and south side fence, and installation of the privacy in these areas. In addition, the front fence and gate will also be erected at the front of the driveway.
Both Jan and I are anxious to get this project started (and completed). The enclosed yard will provide a secure area for our dog Sloopy and grandchildren to play for many years to come.








5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy Fencing and good luck with the new fence. Now is the time to do it. When did the tree come down? Guess I never noticed it gone before because the cars were probably blocking the view.

MOM

Anonymous said...

An addendum to your phase is, a grande' increase in your property value!
:0)
Sita

Anonymous said...

In response to Sita's comment...ya can't increase property value when you live in the "ghetto" !!!

Anonymous said...

Location, Location, Location

BananaBuzzbomb said...

I think it's time to post some more pics....