Mending (horse) fences

So I got home yesterday and I was really tired. It was Tuesday after a long Monday of work plus the Atlanta Xojo Users Group meeting that night. I was torn between taking a nap or fixing the fence between our neighbors and our property. My wife persuaded me to fix the fence.

Our neighbor already had his fence up when we bought our house about 5 years ago, and let us tie into his fence when we fenced in a good portion of our yard for the dog(s). By using his existing fence, it probably saved us a couple of thousand dollars. I'm not kidding. So, in exchange, I maintain that portion of the fence. When boards break, I mend them with more boards. Our neighbor has horses in his paddock, and they're itchy. They love to scratch themselves on the fence and sometimes they break boards.

So, this past weekend I took two decking planks and cut each in half. I then painted the boards black with exterior paint and let them dry. So yesterday, I loaded our wagon up with the boards, clamps, a hand drill, decking screws and a screwdriver. I only used two boards so I still have two spare painted boards. The clamps are key in getting the existing boards lined up (as much as I can) and then holding the boards while I drill and screw the mending boards into place. I fixed another mended board up that was pulling loose. The whole process took about 45 minutes including setting up and putting everything away.

Hopefully the fence is set for a few months now. Unless the horses get all scratchy again. Fences make for good neighbors, after all.