Chain Link Fence

First Jeff weed whacked so we could see what the ground was doing. Pretty uneven. Pretty steep. Pretty much a pain in the ass. We shot a line following the old fence line (barbed wire with part chain link) and tried to stick with it as best we could. The fence kicks out a little in one spot, and we made a diagonal on a problem area into our property and left the old chain link doing the straight line as a double dog prevention obstacle!


Jeff pounded and pounded with the post hole digger to make holes for the posts and then had to haul cement down the slope after mixing it on the sloping driveway. Oh, we also don't have water down there or electricity and need lots of extension cords to cut the posts to height. So the posts are in!


The rolls of 50 foot chain link have to be attached and then hung on the top rail and then stretched with the come-along. Then the posts trimmed, the chain link reattached in its new taut position and the tighteners put in. Lots of finger work.

Wuu hoo! The first stretch is in!

Here's a view through the vetiver grass which is holding the slope in place pretty well so far. I'm going to take the old chain link and drape it over the debris/slope between the vetiver and chain link to help stabilize it.

Looks good, huh! Mostly it will keep the nasty Boxer from next door out. Behind this the land sinks down around a large palm and a couple other trees. I put old chain link half on the ground and half up the tree trunks so there is a double barrier. Next stop? short chain link up the driveway side. We are trying to encourage the kitties to stay in and trying to keep wandering dogs out. We haven't had problems in a long time, but still don't know if poison or dogs killed our two cats. So we are doing what we can.  The short chain link will also be a prime parcha growing structure. This next stretch of fence will be much much easier. The posts are there (in cement as well) and we will leave the barbed wire there. The only thing that needs doing is that Jeff will move Amparo's water line over to her side of the fence (currently runs up half way on our side). This way we can't hit it with the mower or trimmer (again). Amparo loves parcha so we will plant loads of it and be in parcha heaven! We are going to put a little gate in too so when we chat we don't have to crawl under/through barbed wire anymore! I betcha the cats will walk around the fence to Amparo's and then wait for us to open the gate for them! Chain link is the best kind of fence to put in - it really blocks animals from coming in or out and is sturdy and holds up well. Barbed wire is really nasty stuff but is cheap. We can't chain link our whole property, so some barbed wire will remain to keep horses out. Chain link itself doesn't cost that much - it is the fasteners, caps, posts, stiffeners etc. For some areas if you can tack up chain link on wooden posts it is a great solution to keep worrisome plant eaters or cat killers out! What a project!

Always Another Project...but This One is Big

This is the bottom of our property alongside the driveway where we have papayas and guineos and assorted native trees and such growing. It was a forest of bad trees and over-the-head grass when we moved here and the remnants of a five string barbed wire part cyclone fence ran across the bottom near the neighbor's house. This is the house where Hamilton (previous owner) and his family lived while they built our house. Paco lived there with his wife and couple kids until he died a year and a half ago. He unfortunately was the one who kept the place up and did all the household chores. Now that he is gone it has gone to hell since his wife in not quite right in her ceiling. She's got a couple nasty dogs that she doesn't always feed who run around and kill chickens and who knows what. A bad dog (I used to think there were no bad dogs only bad owners but I believe differently now) uses this route as well. After having a missing and a dead cat it is time for a real fence.

First Jeff weed whacked the previous fence line and even whacked the neighbors entire yard (didn't get a thank you even) in preparation for the big job. My part was to remove the five lines of barbed wire and pull old chain link out of the dirt and clear the area for pole holes.

This is where I whine about my wrists. But I can whine - I've had carpal tunnel surgery in both and a cyst removed twice - wonder why? My fingers were sore too and I of course got many cuts - barbed wire is nasty (another reason to get it out).

This area was at one time a nice cut but has since eroded and the slope makes things very difficult. There is one big hole up where Jeff is that we fill with debris since it is eroding. I'll put the old chain link over the pile and grow things through it I think to help stabilize. I've already planted vetiver grass which is doing a great job of preventing more loss.

Here's a pretty good view of the terrain. Very difficult. Plus we don't have water down there. We have to mix cement (for the posts) on the very steep driveway and haul it down the slippery slope. It is very steep and uneven. Jeff decided to mix the cement up top and wheel it down. I heard a slipping sound and had barely enough time to hop into the truck before it careened down the driveway on its own! Emergency brake was on, It was in park. We had a lot of cement and other weighty thing in the back and maybe when we took that stuff out it decided to slip - freaked me out! Now we have wheels turned (duh) toward the harmless side and blocks under the wheels. Oh the terror - as if the project weren't horrid enough.

We went with 6 feet fencing. It is a little high on the driveway side but won't be much above ground level toward the middle, then we can drop to 5 foot stuff as the slope levels out. Lots of pole cutting and way to much thinking. This is the most difficult thing we've done by far and is taking some time - thanks to the kings Jeff has some time off. Thanks to crappy weather diving isn't really a good plan either and there isn't a caving opportunity so here we are doing fencing. This fence won't be going anywhere for 20 or more years. Nice deep holes, thick poles and all the expensive braces and brackets and such. We figure it will be about $10 a linear foot for the deal and it is 115 feet long in this spot. There are plans for a short one on the side all the stray cats come from. Not that it will stop them, but will stop dogs and be a cat deterrent. Can't fence it all, but there doesn't seem to be a threat from above - it is forest land and there isn't access.

Here Jeff is dwarfed on the neighbor's side getting poles in and figuring out how thing will hang. It is requiring far more thought than we anticipated. We are pretty good at doing things but this one is hard!