Hey doodz, remember last year when we got our new fence installed? (Part 1, Part 2) Well today I wanted to share with you how it be lookin’ one year later. I’ve stained it since the last time we talked about it. I decided to go for a dark brown stain (semi-transparent chocolate by behr), and I really like it although staining was a total bear of a job. It took me 5 gallons of stain, many, many, M A N Y hours, and tons of slivers. It was worth it, although if I ever had to do it again I would seriously consider hiring it out.
What can I tell you about staining; it’s a pain, it’s hard, and slats are dumb. I used a brush because I wanted the color to look variegated and dimensional, so some of the slats had 3 heavy coats of stain and others had 2 lighter coats – it all took a lot of time and effort but I’m really happy with how it all turned out. Just to give you some idea, I began this staining project last fall and finished it at the end of April. It was a big project and took an enormous amount of time – I better like it.
To refresh your memory, we previously had a dated chain link fence with green plastic slats – not a pretty backdrop for the garden vibes we were going after. Last spring we had installed a horizontal cedar slatted fence. We had added a 4′ fence on one side of our yard, and a 6′ privacy fence on the other (can you tell which neighbor I don’t like?). We added gates to both sides of the house, and a big gate in the back opening up to a concrete slab on the side of our garage.
Now that the fence is installed and stained we seriously love everything about the fence! I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
Bros, I’m not gonna tip-toe around it, this is a sponsored post, and I’m proudly endorsing Fencein Deck, the company who built our fence. If you’re in the twin cities area and are looking to have a fence built, (custom or otherwise) please consider giving Dave a call (651-246-3176) or shoot him an e-mail, he is a good dude who has built a solid business (Fencein Deck) for himself here in Minnesota. He’s got years and years of experience, is friendly as hell, and will make sure you are getting exactly what you want. Look at me, I am crazy and came to him with very specific plans for my fence, he was happy to oblige and was easy to work with. When I proposed fencing in the back parking pad, adding a gate and drilling some holes through the concrete, he said “yeah, we can do that”! Not only was he easy to work with he took great care when it came to my yard and garden. Dave installed the Fence in the early spring, many of my perennials were barely showing and Dave made sure not to trample them, which I appreciated to no end.
Please feel free to shoot me any fence questions you may have – I’m happy to answer any of them :)
A few examples of Fencein Deck’s handy work.
Love your fence – great design. I live in the twin cities – in a beautiful old home in the city that is in need of a fence, and I admire the balance of privacy and not feeling too closed off that your stylish design brings. I dug up who did your fence in your original blog posts – and called Fencein Deck. I also submitted a request for an estimate via their website, and sent an email to the address listed on their website. I did not get a response, and have since hired another company to put our fence in. Love the fence, and appreciate the sponsored post, but it doesn’t seem like they are in the position to take on the business.
Nice job on the fence and stain.
I love the hammock in the yard it softens everything! Looking my T fine Ms. Scoops!
Thanks, Mom.
I’m in the Minneapolis area and definitely need a fence – both our neighbors have fences (ugh so jealous) but our front and back is exposed and we’d love to let our puppy run free in the back yard (without chasing bunnies out of the yard and down the alley at lightning fast pace while I have a heart attack that she’s going to get run over). I’ll give Dave a call – it’s a super small yard so hopefully it’d be affordable….Your perennials are looking beautiful and I’m loving that hammock!
Thanks, Melanie! Oh man, I’m obsessed with checking on the perennials every day – this cold weather though has been stunting their growth progress. Where you be at, spring?
Your fence looks so good.
I will make my own, seeing yours gives me ideas on layout of different width of wood sections. Mine is all from pallet wood.
When treating wood I will be careful not to damage plants.
Thank you john UK
I love the look of your fence. All things backyard here on your blog are inspirational. I’m curious, though, to see some shots of the part of your fence by your garage. And specifically the area near the parking pad. We have a similar set-up (I think) and am unsure how to deal with the parking pad when we decide to install a fence.
Hey – I’ll try and take some pics and post them to your comment later today. I don’t share it cause it’s full of toys and not that pretty, but I suppose that isn’t be really honest with you guys, is it ;) I’ll get back to you soon.
I literally direct our fence guy to your blog on the daily when he needs reminding of my biggest inspiration. This fence is gorgeous! We won’t be doing horiztonal, but still cedar shadowbox.
Also! Where did you get the copper bowl lookin’ bird feeder? I’ve been looking for one that wasn’t too “Grandma’s House”, but have not had any luck thus far.
Eh hem. Not bird feeder, bird BATH.
Oh sounds so pretty, Tina. The birdbath was from Bellacor: http://www.bellacor.com/productdetail/achla-designs-bbhc-01t-s-hammered-copper-bowl-with-stand-825034.htm
Your fence looks fantastic! We did a horizontal fence too (a couple of years ago) in Linden Hills and while the company hadn’t done one before, they did a great job. They have since gone out of business so if we need any fencing in the future we’ll try Dave!
Sounds so pretty – glad to hear you still like it after a few years, and yes call Dave if you need anything in the future.
The fence looks great. It’s so hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel on a loooong project.
I can’t imagine laying all the bricks that line your beds. That seems like it would be brutal and difficult to get right (it looks great, too)
I am wondering how you feel now, that the fence has been in for 1.5 years, about the height difference on the two sides. Is it awkward at all? We are in a similar situation with neighbors – but our pleasant neighbor is likely to be listing in the next year or so…. I am trying to decide if I should go 6 ft all around.
Love the fence. Where can I get the plans and supply list for this fence?
Late to this… but have had your blog bookmarked for a long time. Love so many projects in here. I had a Japanese maple growing up in my childhood home in California and have been dying to have one in my garden in MN. I think that is one I spotted in your yard. Do you have any special care tips for it? I thought they weren’t hardy enough except for in protected pots in MN.
I see you haven’t responded to previous comments, but I was wondering is you could update us on your fence. Have you had any issues with boards warping over time? Have you needed to restain the fence? 4 years later and your fence is still a favourite of mine!
Hey Carolyn, It is hard to keep up with old post comments. The fence is great! No issues, no warping, no board replacement. I just re-stain it every once in awhile because I’m obsessive.
Amazing! Such good news. Wish we were local so we could have FenceIn build one for us. So glad you’re still happy with it. Thank you for the update.
That fence is so awesome, my mother in law wants me to copy it for her.
She appreciates the varying widths as well as, what appears to be, varying space between the planks. Did you plan those or were they left up to the builder?
I’m looking to build a similar style of fence and I was curious as to the framing for your fence. Is the top rail made of cedar 2 x 4s sistered together? Are there any screws involved or is it all nails? Did they end up routing a channel in each post or are the slats held in place by the furring strips?
Finally, are your posts PT pine or are they cedar as well?
Sorry for all of the questions! The fence looks incredible and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your blog.
What is the stain color .
Thank you
The stain colour is in the first paragraph
Hi, really hoping you can help and praying for a fairly quick answer so I can start my fence. In regards to your fence which looks to have around 4ft sections, are they actually 4 feet between the posts? Also what are the 3 slat sizes please? I say 3 as there seems to be a random one that is different to the rest. Also how big is the gap between each slat as I was thinking of going with either 1/4 or 1/2 inch as dont want them too large. Thank you.
Your fence is beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing the plans! Do you have the details for the half gate with the Tall trellis look?
Thank you,
Ed
Hi, First, I love your blog and look at it all the time. I have gotten so many inspirations.
We (my husband and I) are building your fence around our property and are loving it. I do have a couple of questions.
1. Did you add 2 x 4’s to the back side to the fence (inside not street side) at the bottom and at the top below the cap?
2. We are using pressure treated lumber instead of cedar. How long did you wait to stain? It’s October here in Missouri and we are wondering if we can wait til spring to stain or if we should try and do it before winter.
I know its late but your fence are so beautiful . Someday I will make it to my fence garden with the help of fencing townsville