Staycation Project: Fence Conversion

We have been thinking about converting our chainlink fence to a privacy fence for a while.  There were a lot of trees and bushes growing in it which were very annoying and required continual trimming.  I was hoping to find a way to utilize the existing posts so I wouldn't have to remove them and install new ones.  After a lot of research and a couple different plans, I found these brackets.  They fit around standard 2-3/8" chain link terminal posts to adapt them for wood.  All we needed for this project was the brackets, 6' terminal posts, 10' treated 2 x 4s, 6' dog-ear fence pickets, and screws.

By Thursday, the weather has turned much more temperWe started with the north fence since it was a shorter run.  Our goal was to work out the kinks in the first 40', making the 70' run quicker.  We knew the growth in to the fence would be a pain, but my dad did a great job cutting it out with the chainsaw.

The post brackets worked perfecting and we had the first run of 2 x 4s installed by lunch time.

The ground is very uneven, so using individual pickets was the best option, but also involved a lot of drilling and screwing.  Each picket required 6 screws and we probably used a little over 220 for the whole project.  We had to trim some of them at first to get over the stumps.  We started planning for the changes in elevation on were able to proceed without cutting.  That really increased the speed with which we could install.

We finished this section by about 5:30.  My dad celebrated with a Strongbow cider and Jimmy and I split meatloaf from Cheesecake Factory.

We started on the east side early Friday morning.  There were some smaller trees to cut out and a little jog in the corner to work around.  We finished 50' more before calling it quits on Friday.  Just 20' to go.

The final section had a tricky tree to remove because there is a small wood retaining wall on our side of the fence.  We were able to dig down a little to cut it out and finish.

The final screw went in at 11:32 AM on Saturday.  I put in somewhere around 2500 screws (that were all pre-drilled) this week.  The hands and arms are killing me, but the final results are well worth it.  Both neighbors are really pleased with the results too.  Now I need a vacation from the vacation...