Spring has arrived in the Napa Valley. I know some readers are still slugging it out with -yuck- snow and to those who are, I used to feel your pain! You can feel little pity for me as it has been raining the past two days – much needed!
The past few months have entailed making a list of the last projects we wanted to complete on the house as well as adding a couple of new ones that we really didn’t anticipate (does anyone?!?) but will be great in the long run.
Front Gate
Our property is now fully enclosed. You hear that deer? Oh wait, you CAN’T because you can’t come in!
A lot of behind the scenes work went into installing the gate. A line had to be dug from the house down to the front of the driveway for electricity for the gate.
Some of the driveway had to be cut up in order for the sensors to be installed on either side of the gate.
Also, the keypad entry had to be installed. Everything had to be inspected by the city and fire dept. Gate has to be 20 ft from the road, apparently. Then we had to wait for the gate to be built.
I researched a lot of gates in the area to see what other people had done, and I fell in love with one outside a private home upvalley. It looked like it was Cor-Ten steel and was in between 2 stone pillars – like ours would be, except that rather than a center opening, it would be one single gate. We took pictures of it and showed it to our welding person (On Spot Welding in Novato) and they said they could do it.
Here is the gate that we saw:
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| Cor-ten steel gate in between stone pillars, nicely rusted up |
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| Close-up detail |
And here is how ours turned out. It’s still got a lot of rusting up to do, but they did a damn fine job!
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| It’s going to look a lot more filled in once the vines grow on the deer fencing! |
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| Closeup of the design |
It’s going to be an exciting year of planting and not having to worry about anything being munched by deer. I may even take down my rose enclosure.
New Planter Box
Our original landscape plans had a built in planter in the front and we finally had it installed. It is Cor-Ten Steel to match our other planters, and is rusting up nicely. Shawn filled all the dirt in himself and planted all the laurels. He is becoming quite the landscaper!
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| Right after the asphalt was dug up in October |
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| Taken 2 weeks ago |
Deck Flashing
The exterior lattice around the decks didn’t really last a summer. I never really liked it but it was a temporary solution as we put money into more important things.
Before
Finally, we could afford to put in what I really wanted – 1×6 boards. The wood is clear red cedar
After
Much nicer, don’t you think?
In Progress
We are putting up a solid fence on one side of our property. This will allow us the privacy and sanctuary type feel that we have always craved without having to wait for all the plants to grow.
But I will save that for another post as well as interior updates!
WOW! WOW! WOW! The gate is magnificent. It will be rusted in no time. I am very glad you won’t have to worry about deer eating your garden. I really like the deck as well and the rail. Super nice. Thanks for a peek and I will look forward to seeing the inside.
Thanks so much, Rebecca. We just love how the cor-ten steel blends in with the outside landscape. And spraying it with vinegar and water makes it rust faster! I have done a lot of posts about the exterior but finally we are moving forward with some of the interior and I am looking forward to posting!
I love everything you’ve done. The gate is beautiful, and so is the cedar around the deck. I’m amazed at all you’ve been able to accomplish since you bought your home. It’s spectacular!
Thanks Dana, it has been a lot of work and fun at the same time!
Really well done! Perhaps your new fence could match the horizontal 1×6 boards under the deck? Something different looking than vertical boards?
Way ahead of you, John! Will do a new post on the fence soon!
I really dig those cedar boards – the way it draws out the horizontal lines is awesome. Draws everything downward visually, and the color looks great too! That was a very smart switch!