Anticipating Rasputin's eventual move to the outdoors, I have begun construction of his outdoor enclosure. The idea is that this will last him until such time as he is given free reign of the backyard. The garden will then be used as a varied food source and shelter.
The materials used in construction include:
- 34+ ft of metal fencing (w/ gate)
- Rustoleum to help protect/maintain fencing
- black hardware cloth (partial sight barrier and extra security)
- black zip ties
- bricks (left over from home construction and buried to prevent digging out of enclosure)
Materials laid out in the garage:
Some challenges I anticipated prior to starting:
- North facing location limits sun, but this will be nice in the summer when temps are 100F+ for multiple months. Even in the winter, a good portion of the garden receives good morning and midday sun.
- Sprinkler system requires careful digging. Until the last couple posts, this was not an issue.
- Ends of fence (next to house/foundation) leave a small gap. I think this can easily be mitigated w/ a large rock obstruction and one end is quite flush anyway.
- I will need to restore proper grading of the lawn to facilitate drainage. Our clay-rich soil and minimal slope can be unforgiving. This will be an ongoing challenge.
- The hardware cloth may not block Rasputin's LoS sufficiently. I will monitor this and add additional barricades as necessary.
A couple pictures of the location:
I break ground and add the first section:
The rear border is added. You can see where the brick "foundation" has been added and the fence has been adjusted for the slight slope:
Just a few more pictures of the various trenches and fencing. I actually got the entire border up, but without the sun I couldn't get pictures of the "final" result.
There is still a lot of work to be done, including completing the brick barrier, securing the gate and fence edges, not to mention grading, planting, and landscaping. I will continue to post here throughout the process.
Please feel free to offer your opinions and critcisms of the project as it develops. I appreciate your input. Thank you!
The materials used in construction include:
- 34+ ft of metal fencing (w/ gate)
- Rustoleum to help protect/maintain fencing
- black hardware cloth (partial sight barrier and extra security)
- black zip ties
- bricks (left over from home construction and buried to prevent digging out of enclosure)
Materials laid out in the garage:
Some challenges I anticipated prior to starting:
- North facing location limits sun, but this will be nice in the summer when temps are 100F+ for multiple months. Even in the winter, a good portion of the garden receives good morning and midday sun.
- Sprinkler system requires careful digging. Until the last couple posts, this was not an issue.
- Ends of fence (next to house/foundation) leave a small gap. I think this can easily be mitigated w/ a large rock obstruction and one end is quite flush anyway.
- I will need to restore proper grading of the lawn to facilitate drainage. Our clay-rich soil and minimal slope can be unforgiving. This will be an ongoing challenge.
- The hardware cloth may not block Rasputin's LoS sufficiently. I will monitor this and add additional barricades as necessary.
A couple pictures of the location:
I break ground and add the first section:
The rear border is added. You can see where the brick "foundation" has been added and the fence has been adjusted for the slight slope:
Just a few more pictures of the various trenches and fencing. I actually got the entire border up, but without the sun I couldn't get pictures of the "final" result.
There is still a lot of work to be done, including completing the brick barrier, securing the gate and fence edges, not to mention grading, planting, and landscaping. I will continue to post here throughout the process.
Please feel free to offer your opinions and critcisms of the project as it develops. I appreciate your input. Thank you!