My New Fence...

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Willa
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My New Fence...

Post by Willa »

...is almost complete.

I scored a bunch of doors on Kijiji for cheap - all coming from the same house being demolished. Many of the doors needed an intensive TSP scrub, as they had lived with a smoker for decades. John the carpenter had to do a little fussing to trim some doors to make them appear level as they ranged in height from 77.75" - 81".

I had 6 x 6 posts set as I was concerned about the extra weight of the doors v.s. the constant wind here.

City bylaws state a residential fence cannot be taller than 7' (nope) and not made from corrugated metal (also nope). I am expecting hassles from a hostile neighbour but cannot imagine that this violates any building code, etc.

I have an older french door I will be using as a gate. It has textured glass, so it will be private but I will also be able to see if someone is at my gate, when I am in the back.

I am very pleased how this has turned out, so far.

We had some weather setbacks, which changed the focus of what was getting worked on when = yes, finishing a fence in Dec. in Canada = irregular.

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Greenwood
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Re: My New Fence...

Post by Greenwood »

What a great idea for a fence! And it looks great.
I was going to suggest you pop out some of the door panels for sunshine to your yard, but noted your comment about hostile neighbour.

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Mick_VT
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Re: My New Fence...

Post by Mick_VT »

If you want any hope of them lasting more than a couple of years, and if you have not already, put a top cap on them to stop the water soaking into the joints and grain from the top.
Mick...

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Re: My New Fence...

Post by 1918ColonialRevival »

Mick_VT wrote:If you want any hope of them lasting more than a couple of years, and if you have not already, put a top cap on them to stop the water soaking into the joints and grain from the top.


This.

That's the Achilles' heel of wood doors.

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Willa
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Re: My New Fence...

Post by Willa »

Mick_VT wrote:If you want any hope of them lasting more than a couple of years, and if you have not already, put a top cap on them to stop the water soaking into the joints and grain from the top.


They have two coats of oil based paint on the top and bottom of each door, PT posts are trimmed at an angle on the top to shed water.

All painted wood will age when exposed to the elements. Since only the gate will be functioning as a door, I am less concerned about the possibility of joints being loosened.

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Willa
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Re: My New Fence...

Post by Willa »

Greenwood wrote:What a great idea for a fence! And it looks great.
I was going to suggest you pop out some of the door panels for sunshine to your yard, but noted your comment about hostile neighbour.


Thanks, Greenwood.

I thought about making the fence from recycled french doors with privacy glass. When I started looking for them, ones with privacy glass were very few and far between. The ReStore's french doors with plain glass were
$50.00/each +, which was more than I wanted to spend. After painting the french door I am using, carefully cutting in around the textured glass(two coats on both sides, after filling and sanding), I was really grateful to not have to do this to 9 1/2 doors.

The front of the fence gets several hours of direct sunlight in the mid afternoon onwards. The closest adjacent room is the dining room, which doesn't feel any darker now. I am slightly concerned about plants in front of the fence getting fried with the extra radiating heat from the fence in the warmer months, but I will see how they do. That section of the garden is under development anyway, so I don't think I will lose any established treasures.

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Mick_VT
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Re: My New Fence...

Post by Mick_VT »

Willa wrote:
Mick_VT wrote:If you want any hope of them lasting more than a couple of years, and if you have not already, put a top cap on them to stop the water soaking into the joints and grain from the top.


They have two coats of oil based paint on the top and bottom of each door, PT posts are trimmed at an angle on the top to shed water.

All painted wood will age when exposed to the elements. Since only the gate will be functioning as a door, I am less concerned about the possibility of joints being loosened.


It's not case of the joints loosening, they will - it is a case of rot - unless you put a cap of some sort on, water will get into the grain and the joints, and as these are interior (likely deal) doors they will rot in a flash. A good painting will help - but you need to shed water from the top if you want them to last more than a handful of seasons. As they are a solid windbreak you will also need them to remain fairly strong all over
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Willa
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Re: My New Fence...

Post by Willa »

Here's some door fences and even a famous house in Liverpool covered with salvaged doors. The paint looks pretty weathered on some of the doors, which I assume were used as found (ie not re-painted). None look like mush - though I have no way of knowing if the pics were taken just after the doors were put up or 10 years later.

I'll take my chances, so as to not have to endure a pressure treated fence.

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Re: My New Fence...

Post by Greenwood »

That house is priceless.

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Re: My New Fence...

Post by Mick_VT »

If you don't want the look of a wooden cap, consider just adding some metal flashing, you can buy it on the roll from home places. You would only need to overlap the sides by 1/4-1/2"
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