Build The Wall

If the date on the video is correct, I had the wall built in the mid-90s. At the time property lines and privacy seem to become imperative. As with any large project cost was also essential and funds were not available so instead of applying for another bank loan, Sears, who was our best friend at the time for appliances and tools, offered a payment plan to cover our project. Plans were drawn and a sub-contractor hired from North Carolina. A truck with a trailer full of timber arrived and I went to work.

Picket fence around the front and wooden privacy fence around the back was the plan. Additional gates on both sides and an indention for the trash cans in back was mapped out even with the spray markers to give the placement of the underground power line.

The two tar heels didn’t anticipate was my wife standing next to them inspecting every move and approving or disapproving every board. Even I knew the basics of installing a fence, but I never saw any sand, gravel or concrete.

After a week, my wall was assembled and it eased the crisis of the moment. It was the first on the block but not the last.

After a few storms and fierce winds the boards swayed but didn’t not buckle. Barn new shiny pine turned dark but kept peering eyes out.

One Saturday after work I came home to find my wife taking every other board off the privacy fence. When asked she explained she needed some wood for a project she was doing upstairs. That turned the privacy fence into a tall picket fence which was unacceptable to my neighbor. After some legal threats and some shouting my wife cut a 5’ fence down to a 3’ picket fence filling in the gaps. It is always an adventure.

The upset neighbor installed a privacy fence and then moved. On the other side the neighbor with the property line problem installed a 6’ chain linked fence. After she died the next neighbor decided to install a privacy fence so I had both sides covered again.

The back held up but the gates were a bit ornery and started bothering me in my later years. Half of the back had been cut down to the picket fence and was obviously easy for the folks who came by and saw my bikes in the yard to procure them. Privacy does have awards.

So I decided to stop being frustrated with something I had to deal with everyday and bite the bullet. Replacing the back fence was on my ‘to-do’ list. The obligatory research on the Internet and an email got me an inspector and an estimate.

The old decrepit fence was removed and a bright shiny wooden wall properly installed to my specifications. After a few monsoons and questions a week went by and another ‘to-do’ check off. One check and a six-pack and now I’ve got a new wall.

Am I fencing myself in or keeping others out? Time will tell.

I did pay for it with pesos.