Friday, April 01, 2016

A is for Architect!

The A to Z blog challenge begins today.  So, here is my A post!

A is for Architect.

I am one, as of today.  And yesterday.

I built that darn fence.  Thought I would die yesterday, digging five fence post holes with a post hole digger.

I designed the fence first in the architectural section of my brain.  Which is a small section.

Here's the fence!

The birds are happy it is done.  I had some angry birds out there protesting today.  That's their play and feed area.






A is for the Architectural marvel of my new fence!  And for my Aching muscles!

22 comments:

  1. Wow! Well done. You have more skills in one hand than I have in my entire body. So glad you joined the challenge! I'm so grateful not only for what you achieve for felines but to have found your blog last April. Best wishes, my dear.

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    1. This is my first fence that I've built. I've watched others build them, however. I'm glad you're doing the challenge too, Darla. It's how I met you!

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  2. Anonymous10:35 PM

    That's terrific and not something I would take on at my age. Do you write blog posts in your head too before writing them?

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    1. I don't write them in my head first, I just start typing and babble on. I do lots in my head though, like calculate costs. I usually know to the penny what items cost when I shop, by adding everything in my head and many a clerk has been shocked when I am overcharged to find out its all in my head and I don't let it go, when something is advertised as one price and I get charged something higher. But it happens all the time. It's a habit garnered from moving so often, to keep records in my brain.

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  3. Wow, that's beautiful. Five post holes is a lot. We have four to dig to repair out split rail fence and both my husband and I are dreading it. I show him this post for inspiration.

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    1. I love my new fence. When I got the hang of the post hole digger, the holes went fast. I hope you get your four new holes dug and survive it.

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  4. Well done! What's next? Cats need cat posts and other tower-like structures.

    Love the tone of this piece--very humorous.

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    1. Thank you Glenda. My place is like the Winchester House, I never stop building runs and play structures for my cats, most of free items I've found along the road or in piles. I'll visit your blog right now. Assume you are an A to Z'er.

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  5. A is also for Awesome. Well done.

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  6. A is also for Admirable; which you are in so many ways.

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  7. I think I'll move onto B for best. That does look awfully good. I've never built a chain-link fence. Did you use stretchers of some kind?

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    1. I didn't build chain link, built the wood one in front of the existing chain link.

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    2. Oh, I see said the blind man! That fence looks much like the one I’ve been building each summer for the past two years. This year, I’ll finish it.

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  8. P.S. I have looked and looked and looked for a screw-type posthole auger, but the only ones I can find (other than gasoline augers) are in other countries. I used one once, and it was ever so easier that the clamshell diggers.

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    1. That sounds much easier than the post hole clam shell digger, but the clam digger did make it fairly quick and easy. Now I've got a call into some friends with the equipment to drill through the concrete, to set the posts around that section.

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    2. They can drill through the concrete! I had no idea. I’ve been removing the concrete, which, as you can imagine is quite a job.

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    3. I am a bit skeptical of a drill hole half inch in diameter goes down 3 inches. A wedge anchor is driven in and a post base bolted to that. Does not seem very secure sounding.

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    4. So, it's not so good a deal as I thought. I agree that it wouldn't be as strong that way. I bought an anchor that you set in concrete. First, you pour the concrete, and then you insert a rod into the concrete. The rod is attached to the bottom of a metal two-sided sleeve that sets atop the concrete. You set the post into the sleeve and screw the sleeve into said post with a bolt that goes into the sleeve on one side, comes out the other side, and is tightened with a nut. Because the sleeve only goes maybe three inches up the post, I can put my hand of the top of the fence where that post sets and move the top of the fence back and forth. If I had a whole row of posts that were set into such anchors, I should think that a high wind could blow my fence over. On my current project, I did a hole all around the concrete that the posts set in, pull the post out of the ground, and, if I'm really lucky, get most of the concrete with them. If I'm not lucky, I have to break up the concrete with a long handled star drill.

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    5. Yes, I was rather shocked that he came over today and drilled just a 3 inch long by 1/2 hole down into the concrete then pounded in a screw (anchor) that extends then up through a hole in the metal two sided post base and you tighten down a nut. Then attach the post to the two sides of the post base. That's it. that won't hold up a fence across concrete.

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  9. I don’t know what you could do at this point, but I too would have been shocked. It actually sounds like what I have only I poured the concrete myself instead of attaching the base to existing concrete. I do believe, though, that my rod goes down a good bit further than the three inches that your screw goes. I don’t even understand what he drilled into since the post would have been in the middle of the concrete, which wouldn’t have left a solid base but rather a concrete shell.

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    1. He drilled a three inch long hole into the flat concrete of the back. Into that he pounded what is called an angle anchor, that has a bolt that screws onto the top. You take off that bolt, slip the hole of the post base over the end of the angle anchor, and then tighten the bolt down. So the post base has the bottom, that sits flat on the concrete bolted to the screw that goes 3 inches down. Then it has two sides that stick up about five or six inches and you screw, nail or bolt the fence 4x4 to that.

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