How to build a wooden trellis

After we moved into our house we discovered a young grape vine growing in the back yard. Well, it wasn't growing when we moved in, at that point it really just looked like a stick in the ground, but before long it sprouted leaves, and vines and even a solitary little bunch of grapes. We're still waiting to find out what type of grapes we have, and whether they're good for eating (or making wine?). In the meantime I thought I'd better do something to support the vines that were getting ganglier by the day, and starting to lean out onto the ground.

I checked out trellises at my local hardware and garden stores, and was shocked to find that even basic wooden ones cost at least $30. Forget what you'd pay for a fancy wrought-iron one! The one I made cost about $6 in materials, and took me less than an hour to make. I used five 8' 1x2s, a hand saw, a drill and a handful of 1.5" screws. If you have any scraps of 1x2 around, this is a great opportunity to use them up, since this project requires some shorter pieces, and it doesn't really matter how long they are. Here's my setup:

I started by laying an 8' 1x2 that would be the center piece on the ground, and attached a short (about 1') cross piece to it about 18" from the bottom using two screws. If you want to be sure that the wood won't split, you can pre-drill the holes, but I just went ahead with the screws themselves and backed up and drilled if the wood looked like it was starting to split.

I then attached two more 8' 1x2s, one to each end of the cross piece, using only one screw each so that I would be able to adjust the angle between each of them and the cross piece. This is how you control how much wider your trellis is at the top than it is at the bottom. I just sort of looked at it and adjusted it until it seemed right.

I used a scrap piece of 12 that I had lying around for the next cross piece, attaching it where the vertical pieces were the same distance apart as it was long. I then cut one of the other 8' 1x2s into two pieces, one smaller and one bigger, and attached them lower down and higher up on the trellis, respectively. I attached each one to the center piece and each of the other vertical pieces with two screws. 

At that point I decided that the trellis had enough bars and vertical pieces for my purposes, but you could certainly add as many cross pieces as you want. If your outside vertical pieces were farther apart, or you wanted to build a very tall trellis (or a short wide one), you could add more vertical pieces. I would recommend attaching them to the second or third cross piece, so that more structure is added to the trellis as it gets wider. 

Here's how the trellis looks now that the grape vines have grown a bit more, and are used to being supported by it.

Grapes are, of course, far from the only type of plant that a trellis like this could be used for. It would be great for roses too, and you could use different sizes and widths of trellises for raspberries, cucumbers, pole beans or any kind of climbing vine. 

You could also paint or decorate this trellis in any number of ways (red, anyone?) to add a splash of extra colour and interest to your yard or garden. Do you have a home made or decorated trellis? I'd love to see what you've done, and hear your ideas for how I should jazz mine up a bit!

Makeover: From Back Patio to Outdoor Oasis

One of the spaces in our home that we have come to use the most since summer has arrived is our back patio, so I wanted to share with you how it came to be so nice and comfortable, since it wasn't that way at all when we moved in. Here is what the back patio looked like when we moved in:

Since then, it has come a very long way. The first addition was the cheap plastic greenhouse that we brought over from our old place. It was a set of poles and shelves with a clear plastic cover that goes over it. I won't recommend it here, since one of the zippers broke almost right away, and it kept falling over (which really isn't good for the plants). In any case, I managed to stabilize it by attaching a 1x2 diagonally across the back, so at least it doesn't fall over any more, and it now provides at least a little covered outdoor shelving for storing gardening and barbecue tools.

Early in the season we picked up a great table and chair set that we love, on sale for only $99. They're metal and really sturdy (although storing them will take up a bit of space in the winter), so we're hoping they'll last a long time. Next, we added a 8' x 8' canopy for shade, which we got at a steep discount because it was discontinued. We picked up a Weber charcoal barbecue and chimney starter (a must-have for any charcoal grill-master, which James is planning to post about soon), and then it was just a matter of adding a few finishing touches.

Our whimsical new door mat!

When James' parents came to visit last week, his mom got us a great outdoor rug for under the table and chairs, and a whimsical bird-themed doormat (above), to help keep the mud from the garden from making it's way onto the kitchen floor. His dad helped us to replace the old outdoor light with a one with a motion sensor for security (and savings, since it won't get left on like the old one sometimes did.) And there you have it, our wonderful outdoor oasis!

Creating a Gravel Parking Pad

When we decided that we wanted to have a nice gravel parking pad, instead of a dirty, uneven, weed covered parking area off of our back lane, I had a number of questions, like where does a person buy gravel anyways? Not to mention how much do we need, what does it cost, and how do we get it home?

One reason we chose to put in a gravel parking pad, rather than paving, is that using a permeable surface for parking is more eco-friendly, since it reduces run-off. In case you're considering this relatively cheap but high-impact project, I will share some of my new-found insights here, along with some photos of our project. This is a before picture from when we were building the fence. (There were a lot less weeds then.)

We decided to put landscaping fabric down underneath the gravel to crush the existing weeds, and prevent more weeds from growing up through it. If you do this (particularly on a windy day), be sure to have lots of rocks, or better yet (as we discovered) some 2x4's on hand to weigh down the fabric until the gravel arrives.

When I was trying to figure out what type of stores I should be calling to compare prices on gravel, it seemed to me that in the old days, one would have just looked up "gravel" in the yellow pages. So, I tried it (on yellowpages.com, that is). This didn't turn up many places that looked promising to me, but it did set me on the path of the "building supply" store. That, my friends, is where you buy gravel.

Google maps led me to a number of building supply stores close to home (which, I reasoned, would make delivery cheaper). Now I know there are some hard core DIY'ers out there thinking to yourselves "Delivery, bah! I'll just pick up the gravel myself, shovel it into the back of my hatchback, and drive it home in a few small loads." (Okay, I'll admit it, I considered this.) Don't do it. Gravel is heavy. Really heavy. And the amount you will need is more than you think (I'll get to that in a minute). So if you can't avoid the delivery fee, how else can you save money on gravel?

James and the dump truck.

The best way to save money on gravel is to call around and ask about the cost of gravel (usually given per cubic yard), and also about the cost of delivery. I called five building supply stores. The cost of the gravel ranged from $37 to $50 per cubic yard, and the cost of delivery was between $25 and $70. So you can see that it is well worth taking the time to shop around. Fortunately for us, the place with the cheapest gravel also had the cheapest delivery, so calling around really did save us a bundle.

So, how many cubic yards do you need? I asked a number of people, both family friends with experience in this area, and the people at the building supply stores. The conclusion that I have come to is that, as a general rule, 1 cubic yard per 100 square feet that you want to cover is about right. If the ground that you are putting the gravel on is not very compacted, or if there is room for the gravel to spread at the edges (which there wasn't in our case), you might need a bit more. We got 4 cubic yards, and it was a big pile! Here it is:

Our other big tip for you, given our experience raking and shoveling the gravel to convert it from a giant pile of rocks into a nice, even parking area, is to have the dump truck dump it in the middle (rather than at the edge) of the area that you plan to cover with gravel. That way you can spread it out from the middle in all 4 directions, instead of having to spread it a farther distance in only 3 directions, like we did. Also, wear sunscreen and drink plenty of water.



And voila, a dazzling new parking area that's eco-friendly too!

James vs. The Stump

One of the first challenges that we discovered once we decided that we wanted to move the fence in the back yard to create two parking spaces off of the lane (besides, of course, how to remove the existing chain link fence) was that there was a medium-sized stump right where we wanted to put the new fence.

I suppose that we could have moved the fence a bit closer to the lane, or a bit closer to the house, but we wanted to line it up with the end of the neighbour's garage, since we felt that it would look nicer that way, while providing the right amount of space for parking. So, given that the stump was in the way, we had to figure out what to do about it.

One good solution for stump removal is to rent a stump grinder, and grind the stump down. I talked to the folks at our local hardware store (where they rent stump grinders) about this idea. It would have cost about $70 for the day, which we thought was a bit pricey, and the only grinder that they had would have been overkill for our (relatively) small 6-inch diameter stump.

We decided that for our purposes, it would be fine to leave the underground part of the stump intact, if we could just cut it down so that it was level with the ground, or a little lower. We would have to avoid it when it came time to dig the post holes, but other than that, the fence would go over it just fine, and it seemed like a lot less work than actually trying to dig up the whole stump (especially since we don't know how big the tree was, so it's very hard to know how big the below-ground part of the stump is).

We began this project by using our new shovel to dig down around the stump, so that we would have access to where we needed to cut for it to end up shorter than ground level. Here you can see another much smaller stump that is also in our yard. (This is as far as we've got with it at this point though.)

Once we had dug a nice moat around the stump, James got out the axe and our little hacksaw, and started experimenting with different techniques for demolishing the stump. The axe proved to be less effective than we had thought, since it was hard to get a good swing in and hit the stump parallel to the ground, which is what we really needed.

He was better, but still slow, progress with the saw when our friendly Italian neighbour (whose name I really must ask again) came out to help. He and his elderly wife have surely been living in the neighbourhood for on the order of 40 years, and she has managed to conduct her business entirely in Italian! (You can read more about them, and about our neighbourhood in my first post.) He offered us his axe, which was heavier than ours,  his wood saw, which worked much better than a hacksaw for this job. Our neighbour even climbed over the low fence separating our yards to bring the tools, and offer his support. Here is a picture of James in his ferocious battle with the stump.

The best technique for removing the stump was to use the saw to cut a 1 inch groove parallel with the ground along one side of the stump, and then use the axe to chip off that section of the stump. James worked his way around the stump this way in ever-decreasing circles (an age-old technique that can also be used to find your way to a destination when you're lost).

We did eventually emerge victorious from the Battle of the Stump, but it took a lot of patience, and having the right (or at least better) tools certainly helped. We hope that this advice will save you some time the next time you need to level a stump. 

If you have any tips or suggestions to add, we'd love to hear them, since we still have one more stump to go! Here is a picture of the ground after the stump was removed, and we had leveled the ground in preparation for putting up the fence.

Building a Fence - Part II

Today we set out to finish our fence project (for Building a Fence - Part I, click here). We left off last time having dug the post holes, leveled the 4x4 posts, and anchored them in concrete. After it had cured a bit, we filled in the holes with dirt, and left the concrete to harden overnight.

In the meantime, James prepared two fence sections to fit between the 4x4 posts. To make them, we used 2x4s for the horizontal pieces at the top and bottom, and pre-cut 48" 2x2 posts, spaced 3.5" apart. He started with a 2x4, pre-drilled each vertical post and the 2x4, and anchored each 4x4 post to the 2x4 with a black construction screw. We decided to use these screws because they will look good as the wood weathers, and provide an interesting design detail.

Once both horizontal pieces had all of their vertical pieces attached, it was time to measure the distance between the 4x4 posts carefully, and cut the 2x4s to fit. In retrospect, it probably would have been better to attach the top 2x4 to the 4x4 posts first, and then attach the vertical 2x2s. At the time it seemed easier to attach the verticals to the 2x4 with it lying flat on the Workmate, but that did make it more difficult to cut the 2x4s to the right size.

We then worked together to hold the fence segment to the right height, placed a long level on top of it to make sure it was level, pre-drilled and screwed the 2x4 to each 4x4 fence post. We attached one screw on each side, checking the level as we went, and then went back for a second screw on each side.

We then lined up the bottom 2x4 with the bottom of the vertical posts, and screwed it to the 4x4 posts using the level again to make sure it was straight.

And this is how it looked once it was done! We still have to screw each vertical piece into the bottom 2x4, but that and building the gate will have to wait for another day.

Finding a Mummified Squirrel

Today we dug holes for our new fence posts, and in the process (although not underground), I found a mummified squirrel. Well, it wasn't actually wrapped in cloth or anything, but it was a very well-preserved squirrel specimen.

It startled me when I first realized what it was, and then my scientific curiosity took over. It was actually very cool, although I did feel bad for the little guy, because he apparently did not get a proper burial. The most interesting part of it, I think, was that this was not just a squirrel skeleton (not that you see those every day...), but the skin and whiskers were preserved as well.

Here is a photo for those with a healthy scientific curiosity. You can't see it that well, but I wanted to include the trowel for scale.

Tomorrow (when I have my good camera with me) I will take another photo, and then we will give this poor little guy the proper burial that he deserves.

Have you ever found the remains of an animal, an interesting fossil, feather or something like this when you were digging in your yard? I'd love to hear your stories of interesting finds!


Update: Here are some better photos of the mummified squirrel:

The squirrel has now had a proper burial in our back garden.

Building a Fence - Part I

Today we started building the fence that will go along the back of our yard, and separate the garden area from the parking area. There was a chain link fence at the back of the lot before, but we had that removed last week, and we're keen to get the fence up and restore the separation of our space from the public space that is the lane.

To say that this is Part I of Building a Fence is a bit of a misnomer. Today was the first day that we actually started putting the fence in place, but it is actually the third or fourth day of the fence project. A few weeks ago I read a book called "Fences and Gates: Plan, Design, Build" that I got from the Toronto Public Library (yes, I will plug the library!). That book was very useful in deciding what type of fence to build, and what materials to get. Here it is:

  

Once we had decided on a style of fence, we spent a fair bit of time choosing materials (cedar or pressure treated?), hardware (construction screws) and accessories (a post level, sealant for below-ground parts of posts, etc). I will probably write another post about these tools and materials soon. The folks at our hardware store were a great resource. We also bought and transported the materials to the house a bit at a time, since we have a small car and they probably would't have fit all at once.

So here we are, on day 3 (or 4?) of the fence project, finally ready to start digging the holes for the fence. Yesterday we leveled the ground that will be below the fence, and prepped the below-ground end of the posts so that we would be all set to install the fence today. We rented a manual post-hole digger for 24 hours ($16), which made the job easier.

We decided to dig our holes 18" deep, since our fence will only be 18 feet long and 4' high, so the posts don't have too much to support. The post-hole digger was most useful for the last 6" or so of each hole, but James says it was "most definitely" worth having. Our main challenge with the digging was the number of tennis ball sized (and larger) rocks that slowed us down. It took us a little over 2 hours to dig four 18" deep holes, working side-by-side (aww) with a shovel and post-hole digger. Luckily the weather was fairly nice, and it didn't rain on us.

Some of the folks who we talked to about how to build a fence recommended putting gravel in the bottom of each post hole, to help water drain away and prevent the posts from rotting, so we did this next. We just gathered small-ish rocks from around our yard, and used those, since we have lots.

To prepare for pouring the concrete that would hold the posts in place, we put a post in each hole, used the handy dandy post level (which cost about $8) to make sure it was straight.

We used two 4' 1x2's to hold each post in place once it was level, while we poured the concrete and let it set. (I'll add a photo soon.) This is an idea that I got from the fence and gate book. We nailed one end of each 1x2 to one side of the post, and stuck the other end into the ground, 2 or 3 inches deep, and put a rock on top. That was enough to keep the post from tipping in one direction. We did the same for the other direction, and we were all set.

Today was the first time either of us had worked with concrete, so we were flying by the seats of our pants, so to speak. We got a 30kg bag of pre-mixed concrete (the standard size), which contains rocks, sand and cement already mixed together. We used a large bucket, and mixed about half the bag with water according to the directions, and it worked pretty well. In retrospect, it would have been better to mix 1/4 of the bag at a time, just because it was hard to stir it properly in a bucket that was taller than it was wide. (We were using another piece of 1x2 as a stir stick.) Putting about 6 inches of concrete around each of the four posts used up about 2/3 of the bag in total.

At that point, all we had to do was wait 2.5 hours for the cement to set, before we could fill in the holes. Fortunately, we had lots of other things to do, like try to figure out a way to anchor the new posts for the side gate in the holes that were left behind in the existing concrete by the chain link fence posts. But that's a story for another day.

By the time we came back to check on the posts and make sure the concrete had set, it was dark outside. We removed the supports, filled in the holes above the concrete with dirt, and called it a night. And that's the end of Part I of building a fence.

Have you ever built a fence? What resources did you use to help decide what kind of fence to build? Did you find that the planning and shopping took way longer than the actual building, like I did, or was it the other way around for you? Do you have any advice or tips for others who are planning a project like this? For us discovering the post level was key!

How to get rid of a chain link fence

When we first visited our new home, one of the things that we knew we wanted to update right away was the fence around the back yard. There was a practical reason for this, namely, that if we moved the fence we would be able to turn a small part of our yard into a parking space (a much sought-after commodity in Toronto, since street parking is neither easy nor cheap). In addition, the existing chain link fence was unattractive, and since we're planning to hang our in our yard a fair bit this summer, we wanted something nice to look at.

Challenge number one was that the gate between our back yard and the fence was chained and padlocked shut. Once we discovered this, we called our realtor to find out whether the previous owners had the keys, since that seemed like the easiest solution. Unfortunately, the previous owners said that it had been "years since anyone had the keys to those locks". So much for that plan.

Our next idea was to use our handy hacksaw and cut through the chain (since heavy chain is easier to cut through than even a cheap padlock). So, we got some new safety goggles--a necessity for a job like this if you want to be sure you won't get a metal splinter in your eye--and waited for a sunny day.

In the meantime, I decided to do some online research into the best way to remove a chain link fence. I came across a great tip I thought would be worth sharing here.

The first and most important step in removing a chain link fence is posting an ad on Freecycle, Craigslist, Kijiji, or a similar list or site offering your fence for free to someone who is willing to come and remove it. This is what we did, and is how we managed to get our fence removed without having to dig out the posts ourselves. Be aware, in preparing your ad, that when you post something for free people are quick to reply and say that they want it, without really thinking it through. I ended up refining my ad a few times, so that I would only get replies from people who were serious, and who had the tools necessary to complete the job.

Here is the final version of my ad:

Free Chain Link Fence & 2 Gates - 50ft long. 

Date: 2012-03-27, 10:24PM EDT
Reply to: your anonymous craigslist address will appear here

We have a chain link fence in our back yard that we will be replacing with a wooden fence. It is in fairly good condition, and the mesh does not have any holes. If you would like to come and take it away, you can have it for free.

The fence has not yet been dismantled, and the poles are still in the ground. I have not dug in the dirt around the poles, but I can only assume that the poles are held in place with concrete blocks, which I've heard can be removed from the poles with a chisel or a jackhammer. (They will be hard to transport without removing the concrete first.) The mesh is also still attached to the poles, so you will need to take the mesh off of the poles before digging them up.

This offer is only open to people who want to remove and re-use the whole fence, including the poles. The fence is approximately 70 feet long, and there are two gates included as well. I would like it removed within the next week or so.

**BEFORE YOU REPLY please carefully consider whether you have the tools, time and ability necessary to remove the fence and posts, and transport them to their new home.

Thanks for your interest.

----

Sure enough, once it was refined, our ad worked like a charm. Well, it did take two tries to schedule the removal, and require us being at the house for the afternoon while the fence was removed, but in the end some nice folks who needed a fence to keep their rottweilers out of their neighbour's yard came and did the heavy lifting, and took the fence home to re-use as their reward.

They were happy, we were happy, and now we're ready to start building our new fence!

Here is a photo of the nice folks who came to take away our fence, hard at work.

Have you ever participated in a win-win exchange like this one? Here in Toronto there is a web site for people who want to swap their skills called Swapsity.ca. It's amazing how often we can get what we need from our friends and communities, in a way that benefits everyone. I would love to hear about you experiences finding that your trash is someone else's treasure (or vice-versa)!