When we renovated this little house, I knew I wanted black windows. However, when we were ordering our windows, black ones were back-ordered by several months, so we installed the white windows and put it on my “list” to paint them black later. It has been over a year since we moved into this little home, and I finally made the time to paint my windows black using Rustoleum Semi-Gloss Black Enamel Spray paint and Scotch 33+ Pro Electrical Tape for the grids.
I am in love and cannot believe it took me this long to make this change. The black windows now burst off the walls and beautifully frame out the views of the outdoors. My heart sings when I look at them. I highly recommend this simple, and quick DIY if you are wanting a change.
Tips and Tricks:
Taping/tarping off will take more time than the actual painting does, but it is so important. I highly recommend using Frog Tape Multisurface painter’s tape to get the best edges. In my opinion, it is worth the extra couple of dollars per roll to have a crisp edge.
Clean your windows well with a de-greasing cleaner. I did not fully clean my windows and the paint did not stick as smoothly in some areas. It is not noticeable from far away, but it is “bumpy” in some spots.
If you do not want to see any original white window mullions (mine are in-between the glass) double your tape lines (make the mullions appear thicker).
Fully allow your windows to dry, then open them to spray the lip that is covered when closed to get full coverage. While this hack is amazing, you will not be able to get into every nook and cranny-If you want completely black windows, I’d budget to buy new ones.
Electrical tape is water and heat-proof: this trick will hold up over time and you can also use this on exterior sides of windows, which I plan on doing at a later time and will give more details once I do.
Hemming Tape: I will be the first to admit do not have sewing skills, so instead I use hemming tape to shorten all my curtains to float above the ground. I also cannot believe it took me a year to finally get my excess curtain material off the floor!
Kitchen Cabinet Color: Herb Bouquet By Benjamin Moore
To learn more about our DIY Coop, please click here.
Processed with Focos
Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay.
As you know, our barn project was recently completed, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean we are done in here yet! Now we turn our focus to finding all these items and tools homes inside their new shiny cabinets! Below I’ve listed some things I have found handy when it comes to organizing tools.
This can hold up to 180 batteries of various sizes. I was skeptical at first but after using it-I love it! The carrying case makes everything very convienant, and the case also comes equipped with a battery tester.
I found a lot of my pegboard accessories at a local garage/estate sale, then spray painted them gold to match. But these accessories are wonderful for a variety that allows flexible storage options. We hang our hammers, levels, screwdrivers…etc… on our peg wall.
I love this little label maker. It was competetively priced and utilizes an app to print off not only letters, but borders and clip-art to maximize personalization.
The storge containers we used have been discontiued, but I love the idea of a clear bin to be able to easily see what is inside each one! These 30L containers will also fit great on any 12″ tall shelf.
We store all our basic nails and screws inside these. They have customizable compartments and the latch/handle makes moving them from one location to the next is extremely useful.
There are some places that just turn into a “catch-all” mess. You know what types of places I’m talking about: those spots around your home that always end up as cluttered messes that no one makes time to organize. For you, it could be a closet, or a drawer. For us: our storage barn. It’s embarrassing how bad this space got, but I can tell you it wasn’t intentional. We never imagined that we would be using this barn for this long, and as the project to-do (and project completed) lists grew, so did the mess. We never made the time to fix the problem: until now. I am so excited to be able to take you on the journey that transformed our space, and let’s be honest, I’m so happy that it doesn’t take 15 minutes to find anything in here any more!
From the beginning, we knew we needed function. Previously we used a hodgepodge of old shelving units left here by last owners, but these shelves never provided us the true function and accessibility we desired. So I turned to the idea of installing cabinetry. I explored the option of buying pre-made cabinets from our hardware store, but I couldn’t find any with the dimensions of drawers I wanted, and couldn’t rationalize the cost for something that I didn’t love. And that is how I decided to build my own. I have never built any cabinets before, and I was honestly a little nervous about taking on such a large and overwhelming task, but thankfully, YouTuber Brad Rodriguez with Fix This Build That has amazing video tutorials that helped us conquer this large-scale project.
Along with our cabinets, we gave everything a new coat of paint, built a countertop, installed peg board, peg board hooks/accessories, shelving, lighting, and new flooring. (Ceiling: SW Iron Ore; Cabinets: SW Vogue Green; Peg Board: SW Pediment). You can learn more about that in my post: From Beast to Beauty-Our Transformed Barn Workshop.
If you are willing to spend the time, building your own cabinets can be cost-effective and more beneficial to your space/needs given the ability to customize them. I am not claiming to be a professional, quite the opposite as building drawers proved to be extremely difficult for us, and I would prefer to not ever do it again. But here are the materials, tools, and basic steps that can help you determine if building your own cabinets will be right for you.
I followed a YouTube video tutorial by Brad Rodriguez with Fix This Build That to learn how to build my cabinet bases with drawers. He also has building plans (complete with measurements and cut lists) available for purchase, but I decided to “wing-it” after watching his video about 20 times over. Here’s the basics:
Cabinets with Drawers:
Build base carcasses (frame)
Cut down all your sheets to measurements prior to assembly. This makes the process much simpler. You can have your material cut down at the hardware store you purchase from, or cut at home yourself using a table/hand saw.
Use the kreg jig (set to ¾” setting) to drill your holes. I used my PORTER CABLE impact drill with the kreg jig tip (set to ¾” setting).
Apply wood glue to the egged prior to securing with screws, this will give your carcass a more secure hold.
Ensure your carcass is square to avoid difficulties in later assembly
Attach your ¼ ” plywood to the back with screws (or a brad nailer)
Build your drawers
Follow the steps in the video, and use a PORTER CABLE impact drill, kreg jig, and wood glue, to assemble the drawers, beginning with the frame.
Check to make sure your frame is square by measuring the diagonal distance between corners
Once you have made sure your frame is square, insert and secure the bottom of the drawer
Following the directions that come with your drawer slides, attach to the drawers and inside the cabinet carcass. (We purchased a drawer jig to help level the drawer slide mechanisms and I found that very useful.)
Finishing touches:
Level your cabinets and secure to the wall
Insert drawers
Attach drawer fronts
Using ½” MDF, use wood glue and clamps to attach drawer fronts
Secure with ½” screws, attaching from the inside (avoid poking the screws through the front for a seamless finish
Attach drawer handles
Cabinets with Shelves:
Build base carcasses (frame)
Cut down all your sheets to measurements prior to assembly. This makes the process much simpler. You can have your material cut down at the hardware store you purchase from, or cut at home yourself using a table/hand saw.
Use the kreg jig (set to ¾” setting) to drill your holes. I used my PORTER CABLE impact drill with the kreg jig tip (set to ¾” setting).
Apply wood glue to the egged prior to securing with screws, this will give your carcass a more secure hold.
Ensure your carcass is square to avoid difficulties in later assembly
Attach your ¼ ” plywood to the back with screws (or a brad nailer)
Attach shelves
Mark and level the height you want your shelves to sit, the attach with kreg jig holes and wood glue
Secure shelving unit to the wall by drilling screws into studs
Build Cabinet doors
Using ½” MDF and cut to door width
Attach hinges and hang cabinet doors
If screws poke through, you can use ½” MDF and a brad nailer to create a “frame” for your doors and hide any screw holes.
Prime, paint, and enjoy all your new storage!
Lessons Learned
Building cabinets can be tough, and drawers are finicky if you haven’t built any before; be patient with yourself and give yourself room to learn.
Use ¾” MDF board. We accidentally picked up ½” MDF for parts of this project and it really made kreg-jigging difficult because the screws would blow through the MDF.
SQUARE YOUR DRAWERS. SQUARE THEM. Click HERE to learn how.
Get at least a “mid-grade” kreg jig like this one if you are planning on making cabinets. The basic model is frustrating to use when making so many holes.
Have fun with it, and know that you are capable of doing difficult things!
There are some places that just turn into a “catch-all” mess. You know what types of places I’m talking about: those spots around your home that always end up as cluttered messes that no one makes time to organize. For you, it could be a closet, or a drawer. For us: our storage barn. It’s embarrassing how bad this space got, but I can tell you it wasn’t intentional. We never imagined that we would be using this barn for this long, and as the project to-do (and project completed) lists grew, so did the mess. We never made the time to fix the problem: until now. I am so excited to be able to take you on the journey that transformed our space, and let’s be honest, I’m so happy that it doesn’t take 15 minutes to find anything in here any more!
If you want more information on how I built my cabinets, please click HERE: How I Built Our Beautiful Barn Workshop Cabinets. That post highlights the ins-and outs of the cabinet building process, as well as has hyperlinks to how-to videos that I followed to build our cabinetry.
This post will highlight everything else we did to transform this clutterd, unsightly space. Below you will find links to products used, more detail on finishing touches, and a bit more information about how I transformed my floor using paint!
Overall changes and additions made:
What exaclty all went into this space over the past month?:
Originally I was going to use left-over laminate flooring from our little house renovations, but after seeing it against everything in the barn I decided to paint the floor instead. I used a similar method that Liz Galvan used in her Garden Greenhouse Floor Painting. I absolutely adored the look and decied to use the same colors we had on hand: SW Iron Ore and SW Pediment to tie the whole look together. Our tape ended up pulling up some of the paint, but honestly this only made me love it more, and I only hope you love it as much as I do. I will be using a clear sealant to protect these and make cleaning easier in the future.
I’m so excited to have this space in some form of order, and cannot wait to start getting our tools into thier new “home”.
I currently do not have plans for sale on our coop. We modified purchased plans from Twelve On Main and as of right now I still point to Sara’s plans if you are looking to build a coop design similar to ours.
“What are the dimensions of your coop/run?“
The enclosed coop is divided into two parts: one for the chickens and one for storage. The entire area inside the coop is 10’x10′. The enclosed run is 12’x8′.
“How much did the coop cost to build?“
We did not keep perfect records of the receipts for the coop-bad practice on our side. But, after tallying it up we roughly spent $6000 on our coop, (give or take) not including any decorative lighting or electrical runs. We saved on a lot of costs by doing a majority of the labor ourselves, and most of the cost came from our cement base and the standing seam metal roof.
“What does maintenance look like?“
Personally, I think chickens are extremely low maintenance as long as you are able to keep their coop clean of dampness, most bacteria or fumes won’t accumulate. While everyone’s cleaning schedule will vary based on flock needs-you can find a more detailed outline of my cleaning schedule HERE!
Why chicken wire and not hardware cloth?
My chicken wire is extremely sentimental to me: it was on the chicken barns of my family farm. My father and grandfather were commercial chicken farmers; and when my father passed, my sister and I decided to liquidate the barns. I salvaged the rolls of wire from the debris and to me, it feels like a piece of home.
If you have large predators, yes hardware cloth will be a more secure option. We do not have large predators and I have found that on the rare occasion we have had a snake (once) they prefer to enter through the open chicken door.
Thompson WaterSeal Timberoil in Transparent Teak. This is a waterproofing seal that is used on outdoor decks and fencing for maximum protection on our run.
“What color is on the exterior of the coop?“
SW Pure White
“What type of roofing material did you use?“
Our roof is a black standing seam roof that we hired out to be installed.
“What “bedding” do you use inside the coop?“
I use a variation of the deep litter method with sand and pine shavings
“What “bedding” do you use in the run?“
We use untreated wood mulch and it is amazing. Highly recommend it because the poop will filter down underneath and compost itself pretty easily.
“How many nesting boxes do you have?“
A: We have 6 total, but they really only use 4.
“Where did you find your light fixtures-are they hardwired?”
Our exterior lights are the Arnette Outdoor lights (similar item linked here) from Lamps Plus and are hard-wired and set up on a smart system that connects to my phone.
What are your favorite coop features?
I absolutely love our coop, so it is hard to pick just one! My personal favorite features are:
the walk-in ability for easy cleaning
cement floors (easy cleaning)
storage space
electricity for lights and fan
easy access to nesting boxes
AUTO CHICKEN DOOR
If you had to change/add anything, what would you do differently?
One of my biggest regrets was not finishing the ceiling-which I recently completed. My hens would roost in the rafters and poo into the storage side-making it difficult to touch anything without getting flakey poo on myself. That problem is now solved!
If I had to “change” anything, I would have made the run even larger. But now that we have the lama crew, my chickens are safe to free-range with added protection.
I began my gardening journey like everyone else does: scouring the internet for the “best” soil recipe. And I stumbled upon Mel’s Mix.
Here’s what Mel’s Mix™ does for you and your garden that amended native soil has no chance of doing:
It conserves water. You want your plants to have just the amount of water they need — no more, no less. And Mel’s Mix™ does an amazing job at both retaining valuable moisture while allowing for excellent drainage so your plants don’t rot.
It precisely feeds your plants. The addition of blended compost means that your plants get the nutrition they need without having to mix, measure and add fertilizers.
It requires no digging or double-digging. Mel’s Mix™ ingredients create an unbelievably loose soil texture that allows plant roots to grow and expand, without the need to bust your ground up and dig, dig, dig. It’s easy from the beginning!
It takes the cumbersome science out of your gardening experience. Ever heard gardening friends who talk about soil pH and enzymes and such? Do your eyes start to cross and glaze over? We hear you. That’s why Mel’s Mix™ is so easy — the ingredients are perfectly balanced so there’s no need to get an advanced horticulture degree to understand if your growing conditions are right. With Mel’s Mix™, they are.
And let me tell you, this soil is perfectly fluffy and wonderful to work with. However, I have begun to vary the recipe just a bit depending on what I can find, and the expense of filling my Raised Garden Boxes.
So how much does it take to fill my 4′ x 6’x approx 24″ deep boxes? Here’s the math:
Roughly 48 cubic feet total:
24 cubic ft of garden soil (flower and vegetable garden soil)
8 cubic ft of compost (I mix some general compost and Black Cow Manure)
8 cubic ft of peat moss (Magestic Earth)
8 cubic ft of course vermiculite/ cotton burr compost
Add bits in at a time and mix until everything is evenly distrubuted! We bought most of our soil components at Lowes. While this soil mixture can be costly, you only need to buy in bulk once and then amend afterwards by season, so I think it’s worth it!
Welcome back to my garden informational series! If you are new, hello! I have been going over some FAQ and general information regarding our garden project. When we last spoke about the garden, I discussed our garden fence– If you’ve missed any previous post, feel free to click the links below to visit them and learn more about how we built up our garden so far!
I honestly love the journey that the decision to build up a garden has taken us on. I find so much peace and comfort in being able to tend to a brand new veggie sprout, and yet have learned so much from the loss of one too. Being in the garden is teaching me to be flexible, and I’m learning to roll with the punches, because even if a growing season goes perfectly, we aren’t guaranteed the same results next year, and I think that reflects a lot of life. I’m thankful for each lesson my growing garden has presented to me, and the ability I have to choose learn every day.
“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.”
Gertrude Jekyll
Last year, I built two raised garden beds to get my garden started (my first season being spring of 2021), but for the fall, I wanted to be able to experiement with more fall vegetables. So, I doubled our garden by adding in two more raised garden boxes, and I’m so happy with how much fuller the garden area is now. I’ve left some space to add more boxes later on, but right now I’m extremely happy with the four boxes I have. Scroll down for a material list and instructions.
Manageability: Raised beds offer a manageable way to garden a smaller space intensively.
Prevention of soil compaction and plant damage: One of the greatest advantages of raised beds comes from the protection the structure provides from foot traffic, especially from children working in a garden area. Since people work on the paths and don’t walk in well-designed raised beds, the soil does not get compacted and plants are less likely to be damaged.
Longer growing season: Raised beds warm up more quickly in the spring and drain better (assuming the soil is properly prepared), allowing for a longer growing season and better growing conditions. Particularly in the South, a properly prepared raised bed allows plant roots to breathe.
Less weeding and maintenance: Once the soil in a raised bed has stabilized, compaction is almost non-existent so the need for seasonal tilling is minimal. Weed populations decrease over time in a raised bed that is well cared for and mulched.
Better drainage: A well-prepared raised bed allows the soil to drain better than in an in-ground garden. In some areas of Georgia, the soil drains so poorly that raised beds enable gardening of crops that would not otherwise grow.
Easier soil amendments: A raised bed can enable crop growth in an area that otherwise would not support gardening. On steep slopes, raised beds can act as a form of terracing. Raised beds can be built on parking lots and other compacted, difficult-to-garden urban soils. For specific crops that thrive in particular soils, raised beds can be amended appropriately.
Material conservation: Because the gardening space is concentrated, the management of water, fertilizer, mulch and soil amendments can be more carefully controlled, leading to less waste.
Access for gardeners with disabilities: Raised beds, at the proper height, can improve access for wheelchairs, or for gardeners who have a hard time bending over.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What are the dimensions?
4′ X 6′ X 27.5″
Why so tall?
Because I like them tall!
What kind of lumber?
Whitewood
Does the stain affect the soil?
Nope! My beds are lined, therefore the stain never comes in contact with the soil
Why line your beds?
Adding a liner protects my wood from water damage, adds insulation, and helps retain moisture!
Are they filled from the bottom?
Nope! There is a wire “hammock” about 12″ from the ground to reduce the amount of soil it takes to fill these.
What color stain did you use?
I used Thompson WaterSeal in Transparent Teak for the base. This provides and excellent seal and water protection for my wood. When that color turned out too orange on my whitewood, I used briarsmoke and early american over the top to give a “weathered” look that matched the older boxes.
How much did this cost to build?
Since I was able to repurpose some extra 2×4’s, and we already had our screws and stain on hand, I can only give a rough estimate. As of August 2021, if you bought all the materials at once once box will cost you (very rough math) $250-$275.
There are so many ways that someone can build a raised bed, and not every method will be a good fit for everyone. But I’m here to share with you how I built mine and the lessons I learned so that you can put this insight into your arsenal to use if you choose. I am not claiming to be an expert, and I am sure there are alternatives/additions to include to get the most out of your boxes. But these are what work for me and my garden. I also will add now, that I chose to line my boxes, so this method is not 100% “organic”, and you should seek out other wood materials (cedar) should you not wish to line your boxes.
Materials
Below are the materials for O N E 4′ X 6′ X 27″ raised garden box using my building designs. I chose to stain my boards after lining the interior to preserve the integrity of the wood, but if you prefer to not use stain, opt for a wood with more reputable longevity, like cedar.
12– 1″x 6″ x 4′ white wood board
12– 1″ x 6″ x 6′ white wood board
6– 2″ x 4″ x 6′ (for corner supports and wire “hammock” frame)
Hardware cloth
Landscape fabric
16 washers
2″ wood screws
4″ wood screws
Exterior stain of choice (preferably a waterseal)
Method
Cut down 6 of your 2×4’s to the height of your box. (For my boxes, stacking 5-1″x 6″ came out to 27.5″ tall.) We then started at the bottom, and began attaching the boards from the outside to the four corner 2×4’s using 2″ screws. Stack your sides and continue around until you have reached your desired height. Then, add the last 2×4’s that were cut to height in the center.
Next, add your liner to the inside of your box, covering all the sides, but leaving the bottom open for drainage. Secure with staples.
Once your liner is attached, It is now time to go in and build your frame that the mesh hammock will attach to. Using remaining 2×4’s attach a middle support using 4″ screws in the middle of your box, then along the sides in between the 4 corners. Attach from the outside and use 4″ screws to prevent collapse. It is ok if the screws poke through on the inside, these will be covered. Attach your wire using staples, and secure with washers and 2″ screws. (Just for scale, I can easily fit under these boxes…apologies for the strange photo…this is the only one I managed to get that shows this finished step…)
Next, lay your landscape fabric over the mesh and secure with staples. This is the final step of the “hammock”.
Lastly, attach your top shelve boards. I used 2″ screws to secure on the corners and in the middle, giving about 2″ of overhang. These are super helpful when resting on the boxes, or having a place to set your shears/seeds down!
Last, apply your stain. Choose a water-sealant as your base and then build any other color variations from there. You want to protect your wood, anda sealant is the most important part in that. I used Thompson Water Seal in Transparent Teak (the same that is on my Coop) and when it took more orange on the white wood, I went over top with some briar smoke and early american to give a more “weathered” look that matched the older boxes.
That’s pretty much all there is to these. The wire has held up great, even after filling with soil and water retention. You can opt to completely fill your boxes, but this method reduces the amount of material needed to fill a box. You can find my soil “recipe” here. (It’s a variation of Mel’s Mix that gives light, fluffly, well-draining soil)!
Taking a break from our garden series to highlight one of my favorite little corners (currently) of our little home which sits in our guest bedroom with the Murphy Bed we built several months ago. This room screams functionality. We only have 2 bedrooms in this 750 sq ft temporary home of ours, so this second room has become a second closet, a place for storage, occasionally guests, and now a place I can go to get ready for the day.
I don’t know about you, but I am not particularly fond of getting ready in the mornings. I spend a lot of my days covered in sawdust, sweat, or dirt (most the time a combination of all three), so sometimes even brushing my hair out feels like a pointless task, let alone fixing it.
I’ve actually been meaning to turn the drab little corner of this spare room into a vanity for a couple of months now, but it wasn’t a priority because I kept telling myself “we’ll be in the big house soon, I won’t bother”. Plus we’ve been pouring our hearts into our garden projects, so it fell on the back burner. But when Frame It Easy came to me wanting to partner up on a project, I knew it was a sign that this corner didn’t need to wait any longer, and that it was time to create a space that I would enjoy sitting down in.
Frame it Easy is exactly what it sounds like: custom framing made extremely easy! They have a great selection of frames to choose from as well as customizable mattes and glass finishes, and you can upload your art/photos directly on their site where they print out high-quality framed images shipped right to your door!
To paint the desk, I used Sherwin Williams Emerald paint after sanding with a light sandpaper. I am planning on adding a piece of glass over the top of the vanity desk, but if you are not going to do this and anticipate heavy use (or kids) I would prime with B-I-N Primer prior to painting for best results.
Gallery Wall
To hang my gallery wall, I use painters tape and “trace” the oultine of my frame, as well as add a piece to mark where the hanger sits. I then stick the “tape frame” on the wall and am able to move them around. The tape may fight you a little bit, so you can also use paper to trace out your frame sizes and play with placement on the wall.
Windows
Honestly, the windows make. this. space. glow. To tranform boring white windows, all you need is some black spray paint, and electrical tape. Clean your windows really well, then tape off all the glass and spray paint your windows. Once they have dried, use the electrical tape to make a paned grid, or to go over existing grids! It that easy. Electrical tape is black on both sides, so rest assured that these look great on the outside as well (if it is a front facing window, be sure to paint the frame of the exterior window as well. (You can also go over the white existing panes on the exterior since electrical tape is waterproof as well!)
And just like that, my drab little corner is like Cinderella ready to go to a ball. I can just hear the birds chirping now. I’ve got some additional tweaking and clean up to do still, but wow. What a transformation!
Wow! I cannot believe we are over halfway through this garden informational series! If you are new, welcome! Over the past couple of weeks I have been going over some FAQ and general information regarding our garden project. Last week, I discussed our garden groundcover and gravel, as well as the reasons behind our choices- If you’ve missed any previous post, feel free to click the links below to visit them and learn more about how we built up our garden so far!
Like most everything around here, I don’t choose to do things the easy way, or the way that everyone else has done it before. I want my space to be uniquely “me” and therefore I am constantly pulling my inspiration from everywhere I go! I actually saw a similar chevron fence from a designer on Instagram (I wish I could remember who it was) and while I could tell their’s was done professionally, I was determined to incorporate this beautiful zagged pattern into my life at home!
I will also be the first to note that this was NOT done by a professional, it was done by me, with help from the hubby when he was home. We are not professionals and I have no desire to ever claim to be one. The fenceline is not perfectly straight nor are the angles 100% perfect, but I am 10000% okay with that. I learn a lot by doing and making mistakes first hand, and love that I can then share my mistakes with you so that you (hopefully) don’t make the same ones I do. At the end of the day, I love our fence so stinking much, and cannot wait to watch the vines grow and see how the plants will look with the black background—so. stinking. stoked.
So, with that disclaimer, let me tell you how we did it.
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Materials:
2×4’s for fence panel frames
1×3’s for chevrons
4’x4’x6′ treated posts
4’x4’x10′ treated posts (if doing a gate arbor)
Concrete bags (60lb is much more managable than the 80lb-ers)
If you have it in budget, RENT AN AUGER. And not just one of those hand held ones—a big one. It’s worth it – especially if you are a 5’2″ 135 pound lady. And where we rent our machinery tools from the pricing was not that large of a diffference, and like I said, totally worth it. This one could be pulled behind a vehicle with a hitch, and rolled around to each hole by the operator, making it…easier…I say easier because I fought with the slope and constant pull of the auger to roll down the hill. But I did it, and you can too!
I will note that if you want a straight fence line, use the string method and measure out your holes real time while you are augering. (click on the link to watch a video) Had I had another body (or more patience) when I did this, I probably would have done the more sure-proof method for a straight fence.
Because I pre-measured all my holes and marked with spraypaint prior to starting, I did not get the cohesive 8-foot distance in between each post that I was shooting for, nor is my fenceline perfectly straight…rookie mistake…but it’s okay.
Time for a two-person job: use a post hole digger to remove any leftover dirt, and to get a cohesive depth. (We set ours 2′ down). Then set the TREATED posts in the hole (it is important that you spend the extra $$$ on treated posts, this keeps your lumber from rotting over time). I highly suggest two people because it makes life easier. One mans the concrete, the other levels and holds the post while the concrete is being poured.
***NOTE: You can mix your concrete in the hole by filling halfway with water, then adding dry concrete and mixing with a stick, then repeating until your hole is full. Don’t over saturate your concrete or your post may become unlevel/not flush.***
The Build:
Next, we gonna make a fence panel frame, so take the 2×4’s and cut them to desired length. (We designed ours so that each panel will be attached to the outside of one post, so each panel will meet halfway on the post width. You can also attach them in between the posts, but for me that math made my head hurt and made the process more difficult, so we attached the panels to one side.)
Basically, we are making a (roughly) 8’x4′ rectangle with a supporting verticle piece in the middle out of 2’x4’s. Adust for the width of the 2’x4’s when making cuts, and assemble them all with kreg jig screws (AKA the best invention ever).
Using the staple gun, attach your wire to the frame on one side. We had to cut the wire to fit our frame even though our panels were 4-foot tall, and the wire claimed it was 4-foot wide…I’m confused too but we made it work and cut everything down. This step isn’t necessary, but I wanted to minimize the chances of critters coming in the garden via the ground. If they were going to get in, they have to work for it.
We then attached each panel to the post with wood screws. This will ensure that the frames are extremely sturdy and secure. You can also see below that we staggered our fence with the natural slope, setting the bottom corner about 1/2″-1″ from the ground and leveling the top before securing the other side. Here’s what the panels look like before adding the chevron pattern:
Now, for the chevrons I wish I could give a more guided direction that is easy to replicate…but honestly…the whole process was a guess and check game. Because the panels are not squares, nor are they even, my angles could not all be 45 degrees.
Here you will use a nail gun and nails: I chose a starting point (I wanted the points to meet at a diagonal point on the shorter ended of the panel) and did all my cross bars at once. On the end pieces and on the middle “halfway” mark of the support beam, I did try to do 45 degrees so that the points would line up together…
Then I measured 8″ from each “tip” for the start of the next one. As I said, these edge cuts were 45 degrees and I let them end up where they wanted on top.
I know that makes absolutely no sense, but the best advice I have (if you are like me and not math-brained) is to cut as you go, and find a method that works for you. I had to do each piece at a time because no two panels were the same size (SMH and my lack of patience for the string method). Here you can see how the chevron pattern ended up working out.
The Finish:
I went back and forth on my decision to stain the fence to match the coop, or to paint it black. But at the end of the day, I chose to do neither- and I stained the fence black. This gave a softer, more natural black and allows the grain to peep through, and gives the perfect contrast to this area.
Using my Wagner SprayTech Flexio 570 Handheld sprayer, I braved putting my beloved little sprayer through the true test and STAINED MY FENCE via a sprayer! This is something I was terrified of trying, but I’m so glad I did because hand staining was going to be a pain in the booty. I was dissapointed when I could not find a black exterior stain, but instead used Minwax Wood Finish Oil-Based Interior Stain in True Black . After carefully researching, I found it best to dilute your stain in a 3:1 ratio (stain:mineral spirits) as to avoid clogging your sprayer. This method worked like a dream and within no time my fence (and I) were covered in black stain (reminder to cover anything you dont want stain on– overspray is no joke!)
Once the stain had plenty of time to dry, we coated everything in a clear exterior deck sealant.
Final Touches
If you follow me on Instagram, you know that the gate arbor was a toughie. I couldn’t decide with the style I wanted but ultimately ended up with a simple straight arbor (made out of 2 8″x2″ boards (cut to length) screwed to the top of the posts)and simple cross beams made from leftover wood.
I then added some fence toppers to my posts and stained+sealed them in the same fashion as the rest of the fence. Easy peasy way to take these posts from drab to fab, and add a little feminitiy to all the harsh lines. Pretend that “porch” sign says garden because one day I’ll change it- the style was just too perfect to pass up! I can’t wait to get to planting when the weather cools down and watch how the addition of greenery will transform this space even further!
“Creativity doesn’t wait for that perfect moment. It fashions its own perfect moments out of ordinary ones.”
Bruce Garrabrandt
Thank you for sticking with me as I went through the “clear-as-mud” process of our fence. Because most of the projects we do are curated from visions in my mind, trial and error is apart of everything. But I think that is what is so stinking fun about it all! Check in soon to learn how I make my raised garden beds!
