Dog Run Fun

Over the period of a couple months, our back yard has gone from this,

to this!

And while all that was going on, these poor little turds were shunned to the basement for 8 hours a day for a whole month! :(

Hubs and I decided that it was time we made a space for the boys to hang out during the day where they can be outside but also have access to the inside for dryness and warmth.  We chose to build them a dog run on the right side of the back yard along the existing fence. 

Not only would they have the entire fence line to run up and down but they also had a nice area between our and our neighbors houses.

First we moved the bushes to the back fence line (don't worry mom, I moved the flower pot too), dug the post holes, placed them in and added cement and made sure they were level.

Here are the main tools we used...

We used a chop saw to make our cuts, basic fencing brackets to hold everything in place and galvanized screws to make sure everything didn't topple over.  We also used some galvanized U shaped hook nails to keep our meshing in place (more on that later).

Next, we put the baseboards in place. We followed the natural slant of the ground and were a little worried at how it might look since it wont exactly match the slant of the existing fence behind it but it ended up looking great!

We ran a string along the tops of the posts and made sure they were level.  We used the string as a guide to make sure we put the boards in the correct alignment.

After we had all the boards secured along the top, we started hammering in the wire mesh. We rolled it out and nailed it on as we went.  The 50 ft roll ended up being the perfect amount! I love it when when things go right like that.

Here it is with the meshing on.  It's hard to see but it's there!

The next step is the gate, getting gravel in there and finishing the covered portion.  Can't wait for it to be 100% complete!!

Stay tuned!!