Building a T-Post Fence

I built a fence on Saturday and Sunday, while dh was cutting in a driveway.

We took down 190 feet of field fencing from another property that SIL owns and made a small fenced area at that same property and then brought the rest with us to this job, to make another small fenced area. SIL feels having at least a small fenced area is a selling point, especially if the new owners have a small dog or children and don't want them wandering about the entire acreage.

I used a tool called a post driver to drive the t-posts into the ground. Since the dirt is so soft in this area, it was rather easy for me to do this task. Once I had the post driver in position, it was just a matter of lifting and dropping 6-10 times for each post. The post driver weighs about 40 pounds and is awkward to handle. I'm always afraid I'm going to drop it wrong and hurt myself somehow. The picture actually shows the tool upside down from the way it is used. There is an opening at the end that is closer to the handles. I have to slide the t-post into the pole driver while it's lying on the ground, then hoist it upright and then start banging. Taller and stronger people (most men) position the t-post in place, then pick the post driver up into the air high enough to put it over the top of the t-post.

I measured out my area using an antique tape measure, it's one that you have to use a little handle to roll it back inside itself. It is really cool though, because it measures as long as 50 feet and then you just roll it back together. As seems to be the trend, newer tape measures aren't made very well and they don't want to roll back into themselves after they've been used a few dozen times.

Anyway, I digress. I measured out the area and put t-poles in at each corner. Then I tied this long orange string from one t-pole to the next one, so I would have a guide as to where to pound in the t-posts in a straight line. I measured my distance and divided the number of poles equally into the distance so the fence will look somewhat symmetrical.

I used a tool called a cat's paw (although I keep referring to it as a cat's claw) to hook the fence and pull it tight against each t-post. I used bailing wire to tie the fence to the t-posts. Finally I used a pair of pliers to twist the bailing wire tightly.

It is a lot of up and down work. I used the milk crate to sit on, and hold my tools. The dirt is really powdery and it's similar to walking on a sandy beach, but there are fist-sized round boulders hidden in the powder which when walked on cause one's ankle to twist right over. I did this so many times, I'm surprised I didn't end up with a twisted ankle.

The way birthday cake candles are lit at our house... with a blow torch. The cake is German Chocolate (cake made from scratch by ds2) with store bought coconut pecan frosting, and hot fudge topping. Dinner was shredded beef and cheese enchiladas, restaurant-style with a side of refried beans.

Until next time.