The Garden Gate

The project "dujour" is to install a two door garden gate and replace the "pedestrian" gate in the front fence next to the garage.  I say garden gate because it is not wide enough for a car but will allow access for a small trailer to be stored in the back yard.  As you can see on the left, the old fence has been removed already.  The dark brown fence is belongs to the neighbor who is also half way through a project.  On the left, you can see a temporary fence set back in the yard so the dachsies can be outside, can see, but can't get in the way.

Looking out toward the cul-de-sac, Steve sets the new post in place while Dad supervises.  Isn't it absolutely great to have a son who comes to visit and helps with projects?

There was much supervision going on here as the furkids were also very interested in the project.  Harley gave some serious thought as to whether he could get through the bars but, in the end, made the wise choice not to try.  He could have probably wiggled around enough with that weinie loose skin to do it but the temporary fence is just propped up.

This is DH's version of a french drain.  Everyone in the subdivision has to be very careful not to disturb the land contours for water flow.  They did a really good job of that when the subdivision was planned.

Bricks replaced and ground cleaned in prep for beginning the gate hanging and fence replacement.

The garden gate frames are already hung.  I missed getting a picture of that part but you will see the frames later on.

The gate won't even be visible from the outside as the hardware is all hidden on the inside.  Steve takes a break to talk to his honey.

See how well hidden things are.  The garden gate is in the middle on the right side.  The pedestrian gate is partway open on the left.  That is the only hardware that shows.

Here things are all opened up.  The last step today will be to lay sod in front of the garden gate.

Inside view of the gates.  Slide bolts will also be added to the garden gate on this side.  The metal frames that are used to build the gate frame were $30 for each gate but they appear to be well worth it.  They are more than just the angle iron you can see--the metal continues between the 2x4s.  These gates will not be sagging for many years, much better than the typical z-frame usually used.

Thanks, Steve, for helping your Dad with a project he has wanted to do for a while.  Just had to wait for the temps to go below 100 degrees.  These gates were built on retiree time--three days with lots of relaxing in between!