Front Fence Fiasco

It's wasn't really a fiasco, but "Front Fence Problem" doesn't really have the same alliteration now does it?

Yesterday our awesome stair and metal fabricator, Alex, was over to install the pulls and catches on our trash unit and front fence. He put our new railings for the front steps in place and tied them to our existing railings. We left them like that overnight (I was shocked no one tried to steal them but I guess they are a bit too beefy to take surreptitiously) so Alex could come back today and weld them into place.

For comparisons sake, here is the new railing next to the old railing

Close up!

The today Alex was back bright and early to install the railing and then catch a plane to head out on vacation. But because Alex stumbling into the vortex that is my home renovation, nothing could go smoothly and soon we were having all sorts of installation issues—fun!

When removing the old railing, installed sometime in the mid to late 1950's, the bottom step completely broke apart. Unfortunately this was in the exact spot that the new railing was supposed to bolt in, the main support point and there was no other option of where to attach it. Awesome!

A quick phone call ensued and 15 minutes later Tim has dropped everything and ran over to help out—super Tim to the rescue! We came up with a plan to re-cement the stair in place and simply spot weld the railing to the trash container temporarily. Luckily we had cement mixture and sand here so Tim whipped up a batch and fixed the bottom step. When Alex is back in two weeks, the concrete will be set and he can attach the railing the right way. The new step will never be as strong as the old step, but his plan is to drill down deeper than the crack went, which should hopefully work.

Here are the new railings! From the front door…

The left side, facing the neighbors we like

The right side, facing the neighbor we don't like…boo!

Then Alex installed the fancy pulls and catches he designed for us to easily move the trash cans in and out. They still need a bit of work—the doors don't sit quiet flush and the pulls are a bit uneven. Earlier, for making the door sit flush I suggested magnets and Tim said the same thing when he saw them today—great minds, you know…but at least this is much more functional than it was before…Alex will revisit this when he gets back as well.

Alex also installed a rail for the bottom two stairs

And a hatch cover for our shoot to the basement

The finish on the older sections of the fence is wearing already, something that made us very sad. Alex used a clear automotive paint so it makes no sense why it would be changing colors already. He will research and probably refinish everything when he gets back in a couple of weeks. Until then, this is our fence—snazzy!

The nicer the façade and the fence looks, the crappier the two front doors look…luckily that is coming up soon on the agenda…maybe that will be done in a couple of weeks…

Comments

[John Locke]

You have a hatch?!?!?

[Tim]

I dunno, those doors are really starting to grow on me...