Nov 27, 2020
The problems we had were addressed and completed by end of day yesterday. I needed today to get myself back together. Will post soon with photos and the story.
Meanwhile the numbers here are going up everyday. Please stay safe.
Nov 24, 2020
Yesterday, Monday, we had chiropractic appointments in Vernon. Afterwards we returned our Charlie Brown tree to Canadian Tire. We never even took it out of the box but by accident last Friday ( we had a quick 20 minute stop at Walmart ) we found a much better one and taller for the same great price of $39.99. After Canadian Tire we did our large biweekly shop at the Vernon Superstore, so very much larger, newer and with lots of space within each aisle than our local Kelowna store. Next stop was a big wine stock up and fuel top up as the gas prices are cheaper there. So after a long day ( we were gone close to 5 hours ) and a very full car we came home. As Colin was backing in, I said, “what happened to our landscape rocks”?
This is what we saw. I felt violated. Why would someone do this to us?
I asked him to call the front office and security while I ran over to a neighbour to see if they knew what had happened. Sadly they did. We have been having drain problems which have become much worse the past few years. Maintenance tried to fix it a few weeks ago to no avail. Actually they have tried for several years to get this sorted out. Yesterday they brought in a huge truck which sent a miniature camera down the drain and along its length.
There is darker square about 1/3 down from the top right, in the middle of that dark triangular patch. The dark square is the drain underwater. From that drain you can see two parallel lines that run to the bottom left of the photo.
Those two parallel lines end up at our property and is marked by the orange paint.
Apparently the remote camera only got as far as halfway up our area in front of the new fence where it saw a collapsed pipe. They could not find out where that pipe led. They think that is comes under our yard and empties into the lake. Maintenance came by to speak with us and that is how we discovered this much. At that point we explained that there was no exit from our property to the lake. Were we sure, yes we were certain. We explained that in the 17 years we have lived here ( in both homes on opposite sides of the road ) that we always were told that this drain went over to the neighbours ( the ones close to the fence ) and drained out to the lake behind their home. Apparently the mini camera was used from the drain on the road side of our neighbours near our fence and also from the lake to the road and that pipe was clear with no obstructions.
The tiny remote camera also had some sort of GPS or something ( we were not here so don’t really know ) that shows above ground the area where the pipe collapsed. So someone painted where they need to dig. Yes dig!
So it appears that from the road to the fence it will all be dug up. They may even have to go under the fence or move the fence. We don’t know. No one knows until the digging starts.
We got to enjoy our completed fence, properly placed landscape cloth and new rocks for exactly one full day. Can you imagine how upset we were? So sometime within the next week our front area will be dug up, we will be dealing with a huge mess and likely lots of mud from the rain. Management came to see us today ( at our request ) and promised to put everything back as it was. Have you ever seen anything put back correctly when something like this is done? In fact I could not figure out why our gate was full of mud. Apparently several people were traipsing through our yard look for a place to see where the drain ran into the lake. So if they make a mess of our gate I can only image what is coming next.
One of the most upsetting parts was was seeing the neon orange paint splattered up onto our four day old fence.
Maintenance came this morning and removed most of the sprayed rocks ( they can’t be cleaned ) but still many remain as was seen by management when they came by closer to noon today. Most of the paint came off the fence with a special cleaner but not all of it is gone. You can see a larger grey stone placed near the fence to mark ‘the’ spot. A much neater and less destructive method of making a mark.
We were extremely upset when we returned home yesterday afternoon. There was not enough wine to cope. Today we remain disappointed that so much of our hard work is going to be dug up. We have no choice but to get this done but we don’t have to like it. As you know we are perfectionists and we know that it will never be the same. We have requested that we be given at least a days notice so that we can be here to supervise. The last thing we need is to have a backhoe damage the fence. Next week I have my final vein treatment, a chiro treatment and a massage but I can cancel the last two if needed. Likely they would prefer us to not be here, but if we can we will be.
Nov 23, 2020
Now that the fence was complete and the landscape rocks were in place, it was time to begin with some Christmas magic.
Of course everything here is a first for decorating, both outside and inside. So last Saturday was the day. It wasn’t raining nor snowing and the sun was out. Some would’ve called it warmish. I wore a pair of long johns under my pants and was warm enough.
First we put up three strings of icicle lights. It actually was a challenge to get them to stay tight. Colin used bungie cords to secure them to each of the fence post tops. The awesome thing is that these three sets of lights are exactly the length we needed. Even more amazing is that we found these in a bin under the house the that we packed up 20 years ago. Neither of us have any recollection of having used these lights in the past.
Next up was setting up our new outdoor tree.
Thanks to a very special fellow blogger who has become a very good online friend in the past years and in particular these past months. She mentioned this particular tree on a recent blog post. Her blog can be found here. The tree is everything we hoped it would be and super easy to set up. The third step of our outdoor set up required us to somehow attach three sets of lights on the inside our windows. Easier to do from the inside ( less damage ) but much more trying on the nerves, but we did get it done.
Certainly not a good photo but you get the idea. My only complaint is that the new coloured lights we purchased for inside the windows are a different colour than the tree lights. However in the whole picture of life this is nothing. Bottom line is that it all looks great and festive.
The lights on the two trees on this side of the fence. Isn’t it great having that slice of moon up there?
There is a reason we are all being locked down yet again!
Nov 22, 2020
We have gained close to three feet of yard. As you can see that area is a mess of old landscape cloth and a mix of pea gravel and other stuff. The plan was to wait until spring but Colin wanted to fix it right now.
So even as Frank was finishing the fence on Wednesday, Colin started to lay fresh landscape cloth. This way nothing will grow up out of the ground.
He worked tirelessly. It was so cold that the best I could do was pop out onto the landing and take a few photos.
We had made arrangements for Oyama pink shale to be delivered first thing Thursday morning.
We wanted 5 yards and ended up with 5.84 metric tonnes.
A lot of shovelling involved which neither of us were going to do. I went online Wednesday morning and found a handyman to come and fill the wheelbarrow and to move the rock where we asked. And repeat and repeat.
All together we have 142 linear feet of new fencing. That bit to the left is a mini garden area for ‘things’. We will cover that with fresh Oyama pink shale as well. Too windy to grow any flowers. We tried over and over and gave up. So I have put my Dad’s fossils there and a few other things there.
It was so cold that I never ventured out to get photos. Yes I am a wimp, while these two are out there working so hard. Tony, my handyman, did the hard part. Colin raked the stone where needed, added more landscape cloth and also shovelled shale as needed. All I had to do was open the door and say, more there or rake that area higher. So you can see we three all worked hard, I was the warmest though:)
We were out most of the day Friday. So yesterday was the first opportunity to take photos of the completed project.
The lawn ornament is covering the spike that comes out of the ground that our piece of art sits on in the summer. Knowing me, Colin decided to cover it with this guy, so I did not trip.
A cool Saturday but what a wonderful blue sky. So we have an 8′ height from left to right. Then we drop down for one section to 7′ and the last section ( in the shadow because we angled the fence at that point ) down to 6′. As per our revised arrangement with the neighbours ( giving them 2.5 feet of our property ) we can move that last section up to 7′. Even then they can see into our home. But every inch helps. We would love 8′ the last two sections but felt it only fair to give them more of a view from their home. As per our agreement, they wanted more of a wide view and did not care about the height.
From inside the yard next to the shed ( which will be moved in the spring ) and the gate.
We like the look, 8′ high along the side and then down to 6’6″ in front plus the 3′ high, 8′ long mini fence, just to complete the project.
From the driveway going into our yard. Definitely a doxie proof gate.
From the front steps looking down the yard to the lake. Neat that you see both rain chains and the back steps.
The pink shale looked white. Likely from the crushing. Once washed by the rain and snow it will all look like the top four pieces. I love the colour, it looks so alive.
Many of you have expressed concern as to how close our fence is to the neighbours home. They only purchased in June and they always planned to build a new home in the large part of their lot. Only recently they have decided to move this older house and place it in the wider part of their lot and have it renovated. So please don’t worry, this has all been done with their approval and all the official checks. Not our fault that the previous owners somehow managed to get more space towards our property. We were not living here then. Not only did we give the new owners the extra 2.5 feet lakeside, they also received an extra 4 inches the entire length of the fence. They are doing well because of this fence.
Stayed tuned for the next project. Christmas may be involved 😉
Nov 20, 2020
It will be the only fence we ever build as it is vinyl. It certainly will outlast us, but they are certainly expensive. This only happened because we did not go to Mexico this winter. Each time we look at this fence in the years to come we will remember Covid 19 and the winter we were forced to stay home.
The first thing that our fence builder, Frank, did on Monday was to cover the cemented steel posts with the vinyl posts. As you can see our neighbours view of the lake from their their pie shaped lot is the narrow end of the pie.
He was ever so careful and kept measuring and checking with his level. You can see how this home has been misplaced on their lot. Our fence will be just a few inches away from this home. Colin actually gave up four inches of our property, the entire length of the fence, so that there was space from their house but is is still very very close. You can’t walk between the house and our property.
It was very cold as you can see and was snowing up in the hills. Mid afternoon it started to rain.
Frank said that our fence incorporates five different fencing styles. He did this corner for us to see how it would look so that we could make any changes before he got too far. This was his first ever two tone fence and he really loves it. I could not have designed a fence any other way. Doesn’t it look great.
We returned home on Tuesday from the vein clinic to this first view of our fence from the street.
While we were gone he completed the side from the street to the lake end of the fence. The first thing we both saw was not acceptable to us. We really should have stayed home but I booked the vein treatment months ago and I could not change it. So we asked him if he could please redo the last three panels and offered to pay him for that. He said no, that we would do it as it was part of the job. It was even colder Tuesday than Monday as you can see by his increased layers of clothing. Of course we compensated him for this as it was partly our fault. We had mentioned that the property dipped down towards the lake but wanted to keep the fence looking level. At some point we also mentioned that we wanted the fence to be as close to the ground as possible so that any future puppies could not get out.
So Frank went with keeping the fence lower to the ground. We came home to the third panel from the end dropping down to the right about three inches and was very visible. He had said that it would not be noticeable but it certainly was. I neglected to take a photo of the before ( ( I was upset ) and this is the after. He fixed the entire problem within 30 minutes. The rail at the bottom of the arrow was sloping down the three inches to the right and perhaps because it was a lighter colour was very noticeable. As I said, this was the repaired photo. It looks perfect.
This photo shows our neighbours enhanced view. Our property actually cuts into their deck by at least two inches. The string line for the fence came onto their deck. The first fence post that was cemented in was touching this deck. Of course the neighbours were upset, they had just purchased this lot in June. Perhaps they did not do their due diligence. All the survey pins were in our favour. By moving that post and by turning out our last fence section to the right, we gave them an additional 2.5 feet of view. In return I asked if I could increase the height of that last fence section from 6′ to 7′. They were so happy to have the view, the height was not an issue. For me, privacy is everything. We had an 8′ plus hedge there and I had total privacy. Even with the increase to 7′ they can still stand on their deck and see directly into our home. I think we made good compromise, not perfect but everyone is happy ( well mostly ). We now have to wait for the materials to increase the height to seven feet.
By raising the fence to keep it even, left us with too many inches between the ground and the bottom of the fence panels.
Colin was already working on it with some smaller rail ties that we had. Both panels are the same colour, the camera was being cheeky.
Frank ran out of time to complete the fence Tuesday. He tends to get a late start in the day so we didn’t see him until shortly after 10AM on Wednesday. Another bitterly cold day and it wasn’t long before the wind started to blow hard off the lake and the rain begins to fall. In fact it rained so hard that our street was flooded. Because of extreme water conditions I did not take any photos. Frank insisted on finishing the install which he did shortly after 3PM.
Sadly I never took any photos of the completed fence on Wednesday due to the wet cold weather.
So tomorrow promises sunshine and we will make a point of getting some completed fence photos. Those photos plus what happened on Thursday ( yesterday ) will complete the install of our fence. Hard to believe that this all started just three weeks ago on October 3oth with the hedge removal and now it is all complete.
