Archive for the ‘exterior’ Category

Frankenfence

Friday, January 16th, 2009

Hello BRAND NEW FENCE…

…oh hold the phone…I mean half of a brand new fence…

at least our side is the “nice” side. I could have the neighbors problem…

Yup, this is the other side. Love that weird patch job in the middle, oh and how the new wood just sort of peters out to nowhere.

Check out this close-up of the lovely craftsmanship. I’m glad they saved that sliver of fence and nailed it up to cover the wonky gap. GREAT JOB! You just barely got that nail to fit.

I know. Its a free fence – but dude. Talk about HALF ASS. They pulled up all of the rotted and termite destroyed wood scattered around and just sort of slap together half of a fence with actual scraps.

The kicker is this : we have been saving to build a new fence and would have gladly chipped in some cash to just finish off the other half – no problem. If someone would have given us a heads up about what the plan was. Instead, no one contacted us (you know we only share the fence and I guess guys were all over our property without permission) and came home to find a surprise half fence and half mess.

Dammit. Now what…

I guess we wait for the neighbors to move in to discuss the options.

The Fence Situation

Wednesday, January 14th, 2009

I know it really has been awhile…but remember the fence situation?

The aesthetic and security issues brought on by the above monstrosity?

and then the eventual demise and collapse. I believe the fence died of ugliness.

The “fence hole” has been present since I blogged about it in – WOW – October. We have been living in a certified dump for over three months. No wonder I’ve been so depressed…

There were rumors and murmurs around the ‘hood about the possibility of a new fence being paid for by the REO bank to sell the empty neighbor house. One night – like a fairy tale – we came home and saw the posts installed and the skeleton of our brand new fence! Hooray!

I couldn’t have been more psyched…until the next day. It became clear how the bank planned on saving some money on this little adventure and what happened can best be described as “frankenfence”.

I need to grab some shots of it in the daylight in order to express its profound strangeness. More to come…

Ground cover…and the Santa Anas

Friday, October 17th, 2008

Economic times are pretty bad and the Brick House is falling apart…no money and mo’ problems.

Hello cheap mulch!

I cleaned up the grapefruit tree and spread out a few 3 dollar bags of “decorative ground cover”. The next morning a massive wind hit So Cal and the Santa Anas ruined my pretty new bark bits as well as…

They huffed and puffed and blew down the fence! Oh my.

Before…bad shape yes, but after – hello neighbors.

Well times are assuredly tough, my city is THE premiere REO capital, and the neighbors just lost their house last week. That gray and white house is vacant – so at least no awkward conversation about the ghetto roped together fence and new gaping hole.

I searched around for some quotes for a new fence and the cheapest bid was $3000. YES $3000 for 108 feet.
Even DIY is going to cost around $1000 in materials if I use the cheapest pre-made wood fence sections at the Home Depot.

POOP.

I’m at a loss for cheap ideas or solutions. I guess we are going to have a lovely view of the vacant house next door for some time to come.

Damn you Brick House.