Fencing Started

Took most of the fencing material I milled in Leesburg last week to the property and got a good start on the fencing. We're doing a 4 board, paddock style fence with a wire mesh applied to the poles first. The mesh is 2"x4" square so makes a great barrier to keep the dogs inside.

First picture is an area where the mesh can be seen under the deck, I'm using 3 of the deck support posts for the fence as well so the fence can connect to the house. The next picture is the same area from the opposite side after the first sections of fence were completed.

I hired a local WV company, Bland Fencing, to set the poles as I was concerned how hard this was going to be given the shale rock in the yard. They did a great job and told me that they had quite a bit of effort for every pole and had to move a couple to get around really hard spots. This means some of the fencing sections will vary from 6' to over 8'. I left the fence boards at log length when I milled them last week rather than cutting them all to one size so I have a good selection of lengths to work from, none shorter than 8'.

The other pictures show the fences and gates, I completed a bit over half of the run and used all of the lumber I brought with me. Will load the rest on the trailer next week to finish the job. Tried to show a few views of the fencing to give an idea of the terrain and how the poles and fencing are set to follow the hillside.

We also have 3 six foot wide gates that had to be built. Wanted them to all be wide enough to be able to drive my small tractor in to the yard from any entry point. The gates are made in two sections, each about 3' wide. Each of the gates was built in place on 2x4's attached to the fence posts and then cut free and trimmed to size after the hinges are added. I only had 3 sets of hinges so will have to finish the gates as well next week, hopefully more will come in at Home Depot this week. In the last picture, you can see that the hinges are only on one side of the gate but it's secured in place with screws.

So far, pleased with how it's turning out, as it sets now, with the mesh and the gates in place, we should be okay for the dogs to join us at the house and have a place to play outside.