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Direct Cell: 310-717-2000

  
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Blog.WoodFenceExpert.com

Regular Wood Fence with Matching Gate

Recently finished a small, regular wood fence with a matching pedestrian gate here in Los Angeles.  It came out great.  Here's the video.










Double Swinger Wood Driveway Gates: Wrong vs. Right

I just had the opportunity to replace a two-week old horrible set of gates built by somebody else here in the Los Angeles area.  This is a great example of what you get when you choose the wrong builder to build your double swinger wood driveway gates, as well as what you get when you choose the right builder in Los Angeles: WoodFenceExpert.com.   Here's the video!




Call, text or email me for a quote so I can build it right. 

Roll the dice and only hope that you get an honest builder who will build it right!  Or take the easy way and let WoodFenceExpert.com build your wood fence, wood gates, patio cover or other outdoor project here in the Los Angeles area!



Let Me Help You Build It Right!

Get My Full, Undivided Attention on Your Project With a LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with Me!  


Step 1
Sign up for a Dwolla account, like PayPal but much better!
Set up Your Dwolla account and put enough money in it to
cover the time block that you want.
Here's the link!  https://www.dwolla.com/

Step 2
Email me a couple of photos and/or drawings if possible, send them to me at Stefan@WoodFenceExpert.com

Step 3
Purchase a Time Block for your LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with me.
15 (Fifteen) Minutes: $20.00
30 (Thirty) Minutes:  $40.00
60 (Sixty) Minutes:   $80.00
After you've got your Dwolla account you can pay here:
https://www.dwolla.com/hub/woodfenceexpert

Step 4
Call me on my cell at 310-717-2000 to schedule our LIVE consultation. 
Please remember I'm in Los Angeles, so I'm in the Pacific time zone. 
I'll need up to a day maybe two, to verify your payment and
review your photos and/or drawings.

Step 5
I will call you at our scheduled time with your photos and/or drawings right in front of me.  Please have a pen and paper ready so we can go fast and not waste your money.  It also may be best to be at your laptop or computer with a high-speed connection.   

Note 1:
If we don't use all of your time block on the call, I will note and track the unused portion for you to have on account with me for a future 1-on-1 consultation with me!  
Note 2:
I'm in construction, I'm not an accountant.  Please don't ask me to transfer an unused, left-over slice of your time block to somebody else.  Pizza?  Sure I'll take a left-over slice.  But let's not pass around slices of time blocks.
Note 3:
You early birds got it for free (You know who you are!).  No problem, I love to build them right; I also love to help other people build them right too!  But now this is part of my job so I've got to charge you like everybody else.  
Note 4:
I promise to do my very best with you!


________________________________________________________________  
              
_________________________________________________________________

You'd Like a Horizontal Wood Fence? Call Me!

February 3, 2012

So you'd like a horizontal wood fence?  I love to build them! 




Building a horizontal wood fence is a totally different deal than building your regular dog ear fence.  There is quite a bit more precision work involved.  There are more issues to address like alignment and maintenance thereof, level vs. grade parallel, cap or capless, what kind of wood, what kind of stain, and even where you get the wood can make a difference! 



Getting that spacing just right on a horizontal wood fence is a trick all by itself.  The wood likes to "play around", especially over time after the build is done.  I've seen horizontal wood fences where the wood has moved to a greater or lesser degree over time so the alignment goes out of parallel.  It is a shame to waste good money on a horizontal wood fence, especially built with more expensive, higher types and/or grades of wood, to have it lose it's precise and beautiful form due to inadequate or improper construction technique. 



The fancy, modern horizontal wood fences are considerably more expensive to build than your regular dog ear vertical board fences that you see everywhere.  There is more labor involved, the higher grades and types of wood can be much, much more expensive, and there is more time involved in finding and selecting wood that's just plain good enough to put my name on.  I swear lumber quality ain't what it used to be.  It seems like the mills up north (as far as redwood is concerned) just don't provide the grade quality like they did a decade or two or three ago.  And the local outlets don't seem willing to demand that the mills get it right like they used to do back in the 80s and 90s.  This makes picking out what every board in the pile should be, quite a challenge at times depending on where your builder shops for the lumber for your project. 

This horizontal wood fence near the swimming pool presented a unique challenge.  The posts are sitting right on top of that shorty concrete wall.  Lucky that wall was solid rather than hollow, the fence is nice and strong due to a specially engineered fastening system designed by yours truly for this project!  It is not attached at either end, only on the bottom, to the wall it rests upon.




If you don't have the budget for the fancy wood there are ways to get creative, to still get a great horizontal wood fence.  Check out this massive one, 2"x6" horizontals, 4"x6" posts, all along the front of a relatively big place, big for here in Los Angeles that is.




Different woods can be used.  Different styles can be created.  Thinking out of the box is always fun, especially when designing and building a nice horizontal wood fence. 




There are many variables of design in a horizontal wood fence.  Check out these custom 1"x3" horizontals that we made on-site just for this project!




Different spacing is appropriate for different circumstances depending on what's on the other side of your horizontal wood fence.  These are custom 1"x3" cedar horizontals that I made on-site just for this project.  Cedar likes to warp more when it's drying out than redwood does.  So it takes more measures built-in to defeat that warping.  You obviously cannot see those measures because they're on the other side.  When properly built the other side looks quite nice too.




A correctly designed and built horizontal wood fence can define your estate very nicely, as well as demand the admiration and compliments of your friends, neighbors and guests for years.



And just how nice is that to come home to every day?  Property value appreciation is yet another worthwhile reason to "Go for the gusto" with a very high quality, elegant horizontal wood fence.




A nice horizontal wood fence can raise the bar for the neighborhood.  I have seen neighbors of customers turn different shades of green, when we are finishing up a nice horizontal wood fence.  Is it fun to make your neighbors jealous with an awesome horizontal wood fence?  I will say that it is fun to build a really nice horizontal wood fence for my customer, that becomes the envy of my customer's neighbors!  Isn't it politically correct to "go green" now-a-days anyway?



This horizontal wood fence was so much fun to just look at when it was done!



1"x2"s with 1/4" spacing plus a cap really make an elegant horizontal wood fence.  I agree.  Hide the neighbor's ugly chain link with something of your own much more beautiful to look at!




Another horizontal wood fence that raises the bar for the neighborhood while establishing boundaries for dog-walkers' semi-attended pets.  It not only raises this property's value but the neighbors' property values as well. 



Wide boards such as these 1"x6"s look great for a horizontal wood fence too!  Let's have some wonderful wood double swinger driveway gates while we're at it!  I love to build driveway gates like this too! 



So what's in front at your house?  Isn't it time for a beautiful and strong horizontal wood fence?  Throw in some matching driveway gates?  If you want something nice, built right, then call, text or email me for a quote.  And let's see your neighbors "go green"!  310-717-2000 is my direct cell.


Let Me Help You Build It Right!

Get My Full, Undivided Attention on Your Project With a LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with Me!  


Step 1
Sign up for a Dwolla account, like PayPal but much better!
Set up Your Dwolla account and put enough money in it to
cover the time block that you want.
Here's the link!  https://www.dwolla.com/

Step 2
Email me a couple of photos and/or drawings if possible, send them to me at Stefan@WoodFenceExpert.com

Step 3
Purchase a Time Block for your LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with me.
15 (Fifteen) Minutes: $20.00
30 (Thirty) Minutes:  $40.00
60 (Sixty) Minutes:   $80.00
After you've got your Dwolla account you can pay here:
https://www.dwolla.com/hub/woodfenceexpert

Step 4
Call me on my cell at 310-717-2000 to schedule our LIVE consultation. 
Please remember I'm in Los Angeles, so I'm in the Pacific time zone. 
I'll need up to a day maybe two, to verify your payment and
review your photos and/or drawings.

Step 5
I will call you at our scheduled time with your photos and/or drawings right in front of me.  Please have a pen and paper ready so we can go fast and not waste your money.  It also may be best to be at your laptop or computer with a high-speed connection.   

Note 1:
If we don't use all of your time block on the call, I will note and track the unused portion for you to have on account with me for a future 1-on-1 consultation with me!  
Note 2:
I'm in construction, I'm not an accountant.  Please don't ask me to transfer an unused, left-over slice of your time block to somebody else.  Pizza?  Sure I'll take a left-over slice.  But let's not pass around slices of time blocks.
Note 3:
You early birds got it for free (You know who you are!).  No problem, I love to build them right; I also love to help other people build them right too!  But now this is part of my job so I've got to charge you like everybody else.  
Note 4:
I promise to do my very best with you!

_________________________________________________________________

Wood Yard Fencing in Los Angeles? Of Course!

February 2, 2012

Wood yard fencing in and around Los Angeles?  Plenty! 

This was a satisfying build.  It's not your average yard fence, but this custom stained redwood horizontal yard fencing and gates project in Sherman Oaks with impromptu vestibule for pet control came out great!  We moved the steel and glass gate to it's new location from where the current wood pedestrian gate is now, during the first phase of the project.



Yard fencing is interesting because of the functions that it serves.  You want a financial improvement to the property, of course.  You also want a specific degree of security unique to usually every project we build.  You want strength plus something nice to look at.  This front yard wood fence is a custom stained redwood horizontal design.  The light, the camera lens and the Internet are playing tricks with the visual image you see.  The front looks just like the side, all those curves are the result of modern electronics misbehaving!  But what an elegant front yard fencing project in Mar Vista this was.  This nice lady now easily has the best front yard fence in the whole neighborhood.  The cap really finishes it off nicely.





Wood yard fencing, especially when built for the front yard, needs to show off the residence.  This custom redwood horizontal front yard fence and pedestrian gate was built to also enclose a subsequent vegetable garden!




Yard fencing also can provide privacy and seclusion.  Your residence should be your personal sanctuary and retreat from the rat-race work-a-day city life world.  This front yard fencing project in Altadena was an exciting build in between the rain clouds!  




Yard fencing defines the space, enumerates the boundaries and helps to create your yard.  Back yard fencing often travels over differences in grade, so execution needs to be somewhat precise when you're dealing with different slopes of terrain such as this.  Here is a regular cedar dog ear back yard fence that was completed just in time for a gathering of friends the following weekend in La Crescenta. 




This custom stained horizontal redwood front yard fence and gate in Palos Verdes raised the bar for the neighborhood!  It came out perfect and was a fun and satisfying build.  Now this is yard fencing!   




Here's an example of one type of regular yard fencing.  It's 6' tall con-common grade rough redwood dog ear (top corners cut off) with dark brown pressure treated douglas fir posts and rails.  Note the elevated concrete foundations which isolate the wood posts from soil to inhibit rot and infestation.  Note the even and pleasing framing.




Let's compare a pleasing yard fence framing side that I built right next to something built by somebody else!  I know it's small but you can see the uneven framing lengths and the ugly blocking used to provide support for the framing rails because that builder didn't know how to frame and conceal the fasteners while still building strong!  It's really a great example for this blog of wood yard fencing built by WoodFenceExpert.com (Me) vs. wood yard fencing built by somebody else! 




Wood yard fencing can be built to many different designs.  Here's a nice perpendicular lattice top cedar dog ear yard fence. 




Here is an elegant, custom design yard fence that's a show piece build!  This was a fun, exciting and satisfying build also.  There were a couple of huge (2.5' in diameter) rocks we had to dig out for two of the posts on this project.




Here's an elegant double-thick lattice top custom redwood yard fence that I built in 2009!  Cap & Trim with lattice on top and finials (post caps) is another industry description of this style.





Here's a rural yard fence that I built in 2008.  Three rail 2"x6" with horse fencing on the inside and a single strand of barbed wire near the top.  Heavy duty framing screws PLUS lag bolts and mal (malleable iron) washers ensure these rails won't come off the posts!  If you look closely you might notice the custom cut semi-pyramid tops of the posts!  This was practically a vacation build since it was somewhat far away from the big city, in Arroyo Grande!



If you need wood yard fencing call, text or email me for a quote.  I will build it right!
310-717-2000


Let Me Help You Build It Right!

Get My Full, Undivided Attention on Your Project With a LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with Me!  


Step 1
Sign up for a Dwolla account, like PayPal but much better!
Set up Your Dwolla account and put enough money in it to
cover the time block that you want.
Here's the link!  https://www.dwolla.com/

Step 2
Email me a couple of photos and/or drawings if possible, send them to me at Stefan@WoodFenceExpert.com

Step 3
Purchase a Time Block for your LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with me.
15 (Fifteen) Minutes: $20.00
30 (Thirty) Minutes:  $40.00
60 (Sixty) Minutes:   $80.00
After you've got your Dwolla account you can pay here:
https://www.dwolla.com/hub/woodfenceexpert

Step 4
Call me on my cell at 310-717-2000 to schedule our LIVE consultation. 
Please remember I'm in Los Angeles, so I'm in the Pacific time zone. 
I'll need up to a day maybe two, to verify your payment and
review your photos and/or drawings.

Step 5
I will call you at our scheduled time with your photos and/or drawings right in front of me.  Please have a pen and paper ready so we can go fast and not waste your money.  It also may be best to be at your laptop or computer with a high-speed connection.   

Note 1:
If we don't use all of your time block on the call, I will note and track the unused portion for you to have on account with me for a future 1-on-1 consultation with me!  
Note 2:
I'm in construction, I'm not an accountant.  Please don't ask me to transfer an unused, left-over slice of your time block to somebody else.  Pizza?  Sure I'll take a left-over slice.  But let's not pass around slices of time blocks.
Note 3:
You early birds got it for free (You know who you are!).  No problem, I love to build them right; I also love to help other people build them right too!  But now this is part of my job so I've got to charge you like everybody else.  
Note 4:
I promise to do my very best with you!

_________________________________________________________________

Best Wood Fence Gates in Los Angeles?

January 22, 2012

Best wood fence gates in Los Angeles?  That would be an unreserved, non-hesitating yes!  Why?  How is it that WoodFenceExpert.com builds the best wood fence gates in the greater Los Angeles area?  Because of our attitude towards designing and building these fence gates as they're so often called.  I prefer to call them pedestrian gates; but lots of people refer to them as fence gates.  So be it.  We build them to last.  I've personally made it my mission to solve the design and construction challenges of wood fence gates.  As a builder I always have to consider, "What if it was my gate?" 



Unlike most (if not all but one or two) of the other wood fence builders serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, I refused to build them the status quo way.  You KNOW what they're thinking when they build these inferior wood fence gates, right?  If you don't I'll share just exactly what in all likelihood goes through their minds. 



Let's see how many sound familiar:  "Oh that's just the way it is...";  "They always sag, you just have to lift it up a little bit to close it in the latch, the other side holds it up...";  "The posts always bend a little bit...";  "The only other choice is to get a thick steel post...";  "These are the best hinges available..."; etc., etc., etc.



Really?  Am I the first person around here to care enough to solve the wood fence gate challenges?  Sure I'd love a $1M prize but let's get real.  My prize is knowing without a shadow of a doubt that I have designed and built the best wood fence gate, that I am honest and capable enough to design and build, as if it were for somebody famous or myself, notwithstanding the budget and design parameters of a given project.  But even given these lastly mentioned parameters, certain elementary components of design and construction just should not be compromised, so I don't compromise on those basic components.  Sure it costs a little bit more but the difference between a wood fence gate that's built to fail or last a long time is certainly worth the difference!  Right?  Which would you rather have?



Elegant or ordinary, it really doesn't matter.  Building the best wood fence gates in the Los Angeles Area is not a problem!  Every builder should always be striving to discover the next improvement in design and construction like I am!  The status quo is usually old and much overdue for improvement.  Wood fence gates can always be improved upon, that's my attitude anyway!



Certain parts of the wood fence gate equation are actually critical and make the difference between a fence gate that's built to fail and one that's built to last! 



I'm simply posting some photos of a few wood fence gates that I've built.  Every build is a custom build because every situation is different.  So I take design rules that I've discovered and/or created and apply them to the design and construction of every different situation to build the optimum fence gate to solve that specific challenge. 



Even lattice top wood fence gates can be built to last, strong and beautiful.



This was an extraordinary build that just came out so perfect!  Nice front porch and patio enclosure with built-in mailbox, which of course had to have a matching wood fence gate.  Electric deadbolt with wireless doorbell moves the front door outside providing a beautiful yet additional barrier to entering the residence! 



I've become most comfortable with a few design rules as these photos show.  Doesn't mean they're the best, there are always opportunities to improve. 



And very often there are special circumstances where pulling off the right wood fence gate is more of a challenge than other times.



How do you like this floating wood fence gate with matching wood fence?  Write as I love, I cannot provide my competitors with all of the fruits of my hard labor and engineering talent.  Many of the hidden nuances will remain so without enumeration via text by me here on this blog article.  However, I know that some builders have an eye just as good as mine; and that much expertise will inevitably be gleaned from these photos of wood fence gates built by WoodFenceExpert.com! 

If you're in or around LA and want the best wood fence gates for your property-call, text or email me for a quote.  I would love to built it right!


Let Me Help You Build It Right!

Get My Full, Undivided Attention on Your Project With a LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with Me!  


Step 1
Sign up for a Dwolla account, like PayPal but much better!
Set up Your Dwolla account and put enough money in it to
cover the time block that you want.
Here's the link!  https://www.dwolla.com/

Step 2
Email me a couple of photos and/or drawings if possible, send them to me at Stefan@WoodFenceExpert.com

Step 3
Purchase a Time Block for your LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with me.
15 (Fifteen) Minutes: $20.00
30 (Thirty) Minutes:  $40.00
60 (Sixty) Minutes:   $80.00
After you've got your Dwolla account you can pay here:
https://www.dwolla.com/hub/woodfenceexpert

Step 4
Call me on my cell at 310-717-2000 to schedule our LIVE consultation. 
Please remember I'm in Los Angeles, so I'm in the Pacific time zone. 
I'll need up to a day maybe two, to verify your payment and
review your photos and/or drawings.

Step 5
I will call you at our scheduled time with your photos and/or drawings right in front of me.  Please have a pen and paper ready so we can go fast and not waste your money.  It also may be best to be at your laptop or computer with a high-speed connection.   

Note 1:
If we don't use all of your time block on the call, I will note and track the unused portion for you to have on account with me for a future 1-on-1 consultation with me!  
Note 2:
I'm in construction, I'm not an accountant.  Please don't ask me to transfer an unused, left-over slice of your time block to somebody else.  Pizza?  Sure I'll take a left-over slice.  But let's not pass around slices of time blocks.
Note 3:
You early birds got it for free (You know who you are!).  No problem, I love to build them right; I also love to help other people build them right too!  But now this is part of my job so I've got to charge you like everybody else.  
Note 4:
I promise to do my very best with you!

_________________________________________________________________

Wood Privacy Fences in Los Angeles? Many!

December 24, 2011

Wood privacy fences in Los Angeles?  You bet, I've built many.  The number of different styles is refreshing.  Here are some to check out.

A very nice couple wanted something strong and unique here!  This was a fun build!



This was a neat little build.  Had to build off a solid concrete wall immediately below so this wood privacy fence is actually floating!  You can't see the nice and strong steel supports behind the fence which I custom engineered for this application.  It was a simple solution actually.



The rain finally left to let us build this one.  We boxed around the trees but left an open side for landscape maintenance access.  If you look closely you can see it's a standard board-on-board overlapping dog ear fence.  The overlapping boards maintain 100% visual privacy after the wood shrinks from moisture evaporation.  Otherwise this wood privacy fence would have spaces between the boards after they dry out,



This was a nice little custom job.  This fence is 9.5' tall and has overlapping boards, but arranged in what I like to call a "one-way-overlap" exactly like mini-blinds when they're closed!



This was a much more custom job and of a larger length than most residential wood privacy fences here in the Los Angeles Area.  Note the perfect alignments and grade parallel.  This baby is a show piece for sure, check out the scalloped top rails and the finials.



Here's the front of that same fence!  Even the staining part of the job was custom.



This also was a custom wood privacy fence I built.  It's got 2-layer lattice for more privacy and the finials give it a classy, rather elegant look. 



Here's another custom wood privacy fence I built.  It's also a front yard enclosure!



This one is a regular dog ear cedar wood privacy fence on the side of a yard with a fancy pool and patio.  This was a fun build too!




This is a regular dog ear redwood privacy fence atop a 1' kicker.  I built this to box around the big palm that grew into the previous fence.  The very nice couple wanted to save the tree, but still needed pet control.



This nice customer wanted a custom and unique horizontal wood privacy fence with a matching porch enclosure.  This was a fun build.  In case you're wondering it's cedar.




This was a fun little build too.  Another very nice customer got this regular redwood dog ear privacy fence.  I often hear a preference for the good side of the fence.  This is the framing side, what's not good about this?  There are other things to consider about the framing side vs. the plain side  and which of those is best to face your residence.  For example intruders and peeping Toms don't have the ladder of the frame to help themselves over your fence more easily, it's a security issue!  Secondly I feel the frame adds a handy, built-in little ledge that's perfect for coffee cups, ashtrays and Martini glasses!  Thirdly if your fence is long and you're into science, you could put a nice little linear accelerator there and show it off to your friends!




This was an interesting little custom build.  The concrete wall could not be trusted to support a fence.  Having the fence raised allows easy maintenance around it; this will greatly extend its lifespan!




This is what happens when you don't do the simple and easy steps to maintain your wood privacy fence.  A 40 or 50-year fence turns into a 10-year fence.  When it gets windy the fences blow over and the people go running to their insurance companies because they never maintained their fences.  Is that really honest?  I have found that it's more an issue of lack of education about how to make your wood fence last a long time with proper maintenance.  This is why I wrote a little blog article about it earlier in this blog, and why I tell every customer to please read it for this reason!  Now how many wood privacy fence builders go that far?  So who are you going to call to build your new wood fence?  310-717-2000 is my direct cell number!  I build 'em year round every week.  Call me now to get on my list!




Here's another floating wood privacy fence with a pedestrian gate that I built for a nice apartment building.  There are engineering and therefore building details here that the untrained eye, and most of my competitors will miss!  The previous build which was infested was a design joke!  You just don't know that my competitors still build them to fail as if they were in an indoor environment.  I see them newly built that old failing way all the time, all over LA!  Are they dum-dums or do they just not care to build it right for the customer?  Should I charge a fee to access this blog?




Here's another custom design wood privacy fence I built.  Perpendicular rather than diagonal lattice atop a regular cedar dog ear fence, I like this design!




This custom 3-rail plus cap wood privacy fence project was a blast!  The customers did the staining and I must say it looks great! 




This alternating sections wood privacy fence I built is the perfect solution for neighbors that fight over who gets to have the framing side!  As the builder I consider the framing side even more beautiful and interesting.  I consider the finish side to be the plain side, and the framing side to be the detail side!  This way each neighbor gets their share of both so it's totally fair.  These neighbors were very nice and no they weren't fighting!




This was a very satisfying build!  It's a porch and front patio enclosure with all the goodies!  Check out the dvault brand built-in secure mailbox+parcel delivery box!  The electric deadbolt above the thumb latch on the pedestrian gate-this one is another show piece job!



310-717-2000 is my direct cell. 
Call, text or email me for a quote; I will build it right!
 

There are plenty of design options for your new wood privacy fence.  Above are just a few. 

And just more thing I believe you'd like to know.  I have noticed more than one competitor using the web content of others, even mine, on their own wood fence websites!  As a customer how do you know who to trust?  Yes I know it's a challenging question.  Dishonesty is a trait--if it's on their website it will be present in the details of construction of your new wood fence.

Let me be on the record about this issue!  There is not one single lie or misrepresentation on any single part of my website, blog, etc.  Every single photo here on this blog, on my website, and linked to my website is of a wood fence or other outdoor project that I personally built.  I personally wrote every single word within the same parameters, in addition to personally authoring the cute little titles, sayings and slogans.  Furthermore every single customer testimonial is honestly written for me by that customer! 

To most of you this is of course normal and understood; and yes I agree with you.  But you should know that relative honesty is lacking in some people in this field, just like any other field.  As a builder I know that honestly building to stated specifications is not always done by some builders.  During rebuilds I run across the building shortcuts and shortcomings of previous builders quite often. 

This is another reason why you should not cheap-out when it comes to your new wood privacy fence.  I know that you expect it to be built right as specified.  I know you want a 40 or 50-year fence instead of a 10-year fence.  I want you to know that I cannot be proud or motivated to build unless I build it right!

Therefore there is only one choice for your builder if you're in the Los Angeles Area.  That choice is WoodFenceExpert.com!


Let Me Help You Build It Right!

Get My Full, Undivided Attention on Your Project With a LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with Me!  


Step 1
Sign up for a Dwolla account, like PayPal but much better!
Set up Your Dwolla account and put enough money in it to
cover the time block that you want.
Here's the link!  https://www.dwolla.com/

Step 2
Email me a couple of photos and/or drawings if possible, send them to me at Stefan@WoodFenceExpert.com

Step 3
Purchase a Time Block for your LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with me.
15 (Fifteen) Minutes: $20.00
30 (Thirty) Minutes:  $40.00
60 (Sixty) Minutes:   $80.00
After you've got your Dwolla account you can pay here:
https://www.dwolla.com/hub/woodfenceexpert

Step 4
Call me on my cell at 310-717-2000 to schedule our LIVE consultation. 
Please remember I'm in Los Angeles, so I'm in the Pacific time zone. 
I'll need up to a day maybe two, to verify your payment and
review your photos and/or drawings.

Step 5
I will call you at our scheduled time with your photos and/or drawings right in front of me.  Please have a pen and paper ready so we can go fast and not waste your money.  It also may be best to be at your laptop or computer with a high-speed connection.   

Note 1:
If we don't use all of your time block on the call, I will note and track the unused portion for you to have on account with me for a future 1-on-1 consultation with me!  
Note 2:
I'm in construction, I'm not an accountant.  Please don't ask me to transfer an unused, left-over slice of your time block to somebody else.  Pizza?  Sure I'll take a left-over slice.  But let's not pass around slices of time blocks.
Note 3:
You early birds got it for free (You know who you are!).  No problem, I love to build them right; I also love to help other people build them right too!  But now this is part of my job so I've got to charge you like everybody else.  
Note 4:
I promise to do my very best with you!

_________________________________________________________________

Demand SPAX Brand Fasteners

December 21, 2011

SPAX brand?  Oh yes!  I'm a bit embarrassed to admit I hadn't known of SPAX until Home Depot started carrying a few of their products.  Once I tried them it was over, they are the best.  Probably at least 90% of what's available in the marketplace is just lousy crap compared to SPAX brand fasteners. 

The big-box home improvement stores as well as the small-box home improvement stores have isles of fasteners of various types and sizes that are manufactured cheaply in China to make a buck at the retail as well as corporate levels.  "Screw the end user (pun intended), they'll never know the difference."  Well there is a very big difference and this end user has decided to let everybody know about it. 

What happened to quality, honestly caring and making sure you're delivering the best quality to your customers?  Huh?  Well SPAX didn't fall prey to the oh-too-common lazy+greed combo plummeting work ethic.  It's disgusting how some companies sell you products of a bad quality, as they smile to you and accept your money. 

SPAX is awesome!  What a pleasure it is to purchase and use their products.  When I buy their screws and lags they ALWAYS exceed my expectations.  If you are a builder reading this, heads-up!  Make a big fuss with your supplier to make them carry SPAX brand fasteners!  Spell it for them since they're probably falling into the lazy+greed combo mode that too much of the deteriorating U.S. workforce has become infected with! 

Once you use SPAX brand fasteners you'll never go back!  Sure they're a little bit more expensive, but you get what you pay for.  Get the cheap garbage lags and screws from China and let your conscience know without a doubt that you're giving your customers crap that's designed and manufactured to fail prematurely.  That's the truth.  We all claim to want the truth right?  Well there it is!  Tell your supplier to get full of plenty of SPAX brand lags and screws, and don't forget to spell it for them!

Then never settle for anything less than SPAX brand lags and screws.  You can use it as leverage to sell your jobs.  Specify SPAX brand screws and/or lags in your job proposals.  Show them a sample and point out to them that they're made in Germany!  Then they'll get it, since they will remember BMW and Mercedes are made in Germany and they're about top of the line in their fields too.  Isn't it just too odd that the land of Hitler is now finally setting a good example?  And that Autobahn concept just rocks if you ask me!  Too bad the U.S. is too screwed up for us to get our own autobahn, right?

Here's a specific fact!  SPAX brand lag bolts are at least ten-times stronger than the made-in-China garbage lag bolts of the same and even slightly larger size, that your big-box and small-box home improvement store happily sells you with a smile!  Don't buy 'em.  I've had to be careful not to break those garbage lag bolts during installation for years, what an unnecessary pain!  I just freely sink those SPAX brand lags all the way until they bottom!  They never break!  And they're much harder to make strip out the wood cavity than the garbage crappy ones too!  What a huge difference!

I see the need to clarify something here.  I like China and I love Chinese people.  Many products from China are great.  It's the individual circumstances and details thereof that you must discern.  Certainly China has companies that manufacture screws and lag bolts of high quality steel.  They're just not generally on most of the shelves here where most of us shop. 

If you're a builder then bypass your supplier until they carry enough SPAX brand products for your jobs, and let them know it! 

If you're a supplier, well, it's time to give your customers an honest product as far as lag bolts and screws are concerned.  You are not trapped into only carrying just the crappy garbage lag bolts and screws from China, sold to you with a smile, right?

And if you're a customer, the understanding now should be firmly established.  Call me and I will build it right!


Let Me Help You Build It Right!

Get My Full, Undivided Attention on Your Project With a LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with Me!  


Step 1
Sign up for a Dwolla account, like PayPal but much better!
Set up Your Dwolla account and put enough money in it to
cover the time block that you want.
Here's the link!  https://www.dwolla.com/

Step 2
Email me a couple of photos and/or drawings if possible, send them to me at Stefan@WoodFenceExpert.com

Step 3
Purchase a Time Block for your LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with me.
15 (Fifteen) Minutes: $20.00
30 (Thirty) Minutes:  $40.00
60 (Sixty) Minutes:   $80.00
After you've got your Dwolla account you can pay here:
https://www.dwolla.com/hub/woodfenceexpert

Step 4
Call me on my cell at 310-717-2000 to schedule our LIVE consultation. 
Please remember I'm in Los Angeles, so I'm in the Pacific time zone. 
I'll need up to a day maybe two, to verify your payment and
review your photos and/or drawings.

Step 5
I will call you at our scheduled time with your photos and/or drawings right in front of me.  Please have a pen and paper ready so we can go fast and not waste your money.  It also may be best to be at your laptop or computer with a high-speed connection.   

Note 1:
If we don't use all of your time block on the call, I will note and track the unused portion for you to have on account with me for a future 1-on-1 consultation with me!  
Note 2:
I'm in construction, I'm not an accountant.  Please don't ask me to transfer an unused, left-over slice of your time block to somebody else.  Pizza?  Sure I'll take a left-over slice.  But let's not pass around slices of time blocks.
Note 3:
You early birds got it for free (You know who you are!).  No problem, I love to build them right; I also love to help other people build them right too!  But now this is part of my job so I've got to charge you like everybody else.  
Note 4:
I promise to do my very best with you!

_________________________________________________________________

Awesome Wood Driveway Gates

December 21, 2011

There's a set we built not too long ago right there!



This was a beautiful, satisfying build!  1"x6" redwood horizontals which we stained at the end.  Perfect alignment, perfect frame, perfect WoodFenceExpert.com "Neverbend Steel Reinforced Hinge Posts", SPAX brand hinge fasteners, alignment, even the latch and drop-down cane bolts; everything came out wunderbar!  This set of driveway gates has made our customer's neighbors a little jealous I might say! 

Here's another view of this set of wood driveway gates.



I know our customer loves these because I love them! 

Bolt to the house?  You're kidding right?  We dropped those steel reinforced 6"x6" hinge posts plenty deep in concrete!  You'd like a pair for your driveway?  No problem, call, text or email me for a quote!  We will build them just right.  Prefer 1"x4" horizontals, perhaps 1"x2" horizotals?  Piece of cake, call me!  Just be careful not to cheap out and get a lousy builder because you'll get lousy gates that sag, and look like they were a rush job from a third world country!  You think I'm kidding?  I will be posting an article in the not too distant future right here, showing photos of some customers' projects where they DID cheap out and use somebody else!  You will be surprised, just wait!  For superb wood driveway gates in the Los Angeles area you really have two choices.  Those are: WoodFenceExpert.com, or somebody else.



What a perfect pair of double swinger wood driveway gates this is, built by ourselves here in the Los Angeles area!  Support wheels?  Ha ha, that's funny!  Overhead beam/brace holding the posts apart?  Not by this builder!  And for the record, just three of these heavy duty commercial hinges on each side would have been enough.  Sometimes enough is NOT enough!  Five of these hinges on each side make it stronger and able to last much longer; probably doubled the lifespan of these wood driveway gates by doing so. 

Go ahead and try to copy these wood driveway gates.  There are hidden features built in to them which make them so right, and so strong!  Sorry but I can't teach my competitors everything, especially when I personally spent the time to engineer this myself, c'mon! 



Yes these wood driveway gates match the wood fence that we built for this happy customer. 

If you'd like a pair of wood driveway gates something like this, we'll build it all on-site and you will love it!  Call, text or email me for a quote if you're in the Los Angeles area.  I will build it right!


Let Me Help You Build It Right!

Get My Full, Undivided Attention on Your Project With a LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with Me!  


Step 1
Sign up for a Dwolla account, like PayPal but much better!
Set up Your Dwolla account and put enough money in it to
cover the time block that you want.
Here's the link!  https://www.dwolla.com/

Step 2
Email me a couple of photos and/or drawings if possible, send them to me at Stefan@WoodFenceExpert.com

Step 3
Purchase a Time Block for your LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with me.
15 (Fifteen) Minutes: $20.00
30 (Thirty) Minutes:  $40.00
60 (Sixty) Minutes:   $80.00
After you've got your Dwolla account you can pay here:
https://www.dwolla.com/hub/woodfenceexpert

Step 4
Call me on my cell at 310-717-2000 to schedule our LIVE consultation. 
Please remember I'm in Los Angeles, so I'm in the Pacific time zone. 
I'll need up to a day maybe two, to verify your payment and
review your photos and/or drawings.

Step 5
I will call you at our scheduled time with your photos and/or drawings right in front of me.  Please have a pen and paper ready so we can go fast and not waste your money.  It also may be best to be at your laptop or computer with a high-speed connection.   

Note 1:
If we don't use all of your time block on the call, I will note and track the unused portion for you to have on account with me for a future 1-on-1 consultation with me!  
Note 2:
I'm in construction, I'm not an accountant.  Please don't ask me to transfer an unused, left-over slice of your time block to somebody else.  Pizza?  Sure I'll take a left-over slice.  But let's not pass around slices of time blocks.
Note 3:
You early birds got it for free (You know who you are!).  No problem, I love to build them right; I also love to help other people build them right too!  But now this is part of my job so I've got to charge you like everybody else.  
Note 4:
I promise to do my very best with you!

_________________________________________________________________

A Better Patio Cover Ledger Board Concept

December 20, 2011

It's been a while since my last post, so much to do!  So many fences to build, only 24 hours in a day! 

So here's a good one!  Patio cover ledgers!  Yes I build patio covers too.  The fancy people use the fancy name of pergolas.  "Why yes, I certainly do construct pergolas!"

If the patio cover is attached to the house you've got to tie in with a ledger board and go from there.  It's not the prettiest or the strongest way and I've known this for some time.  But the status quo often remains when few are up to the challenge to make it better. 

I've had a great new concept for patio cover ledgers for some time.  A wonderful customer over in Pasadena tells me her neighbor's patio cover is about to fall down.  Therefore won't I build them a new one and paint it to match hers and the nice condo complex there?  Built it better than the rest of course and painted to match!

So getting back to ledger boards, the ugly and not as strong as possible status quo way to attach and hang wood beams just would not do for me.  Before we go any further here's a shot as we're wrapping up!



I had to place the two beams on the outside edges to match everybody else's patio covers there.  But wait!  What's that ledger configuration up against the house?  Nice, brief and clean right?  Those ugly joist hangers or beam hangers on a big board are too much mess for not enough strength in my opinion.  Status quo, there you go, bye-bye!  I was going to build the best patio cover in the complex, or forget it!

Another WoodFenceExpert.com first I suppose!  My design if you have the patience to keep reading, seemed too obvious.  But I cannot remember ever seeing it before!  What am I going to call it?  Call it what it is-angle iron ledger, with a 1"x cushion up against the stucco!

3"x3"x1/4" thick angle iron (steel in other words), primed three times, yeah we can't have any rust streaks.  It does rain sometimes here in Southern California, just not too often!  We primed it twice with spray can primer "formulated for rusty steel".  Then the whole project got got primed and then painted to match the theme of the complex after we let the wood dry out a few weeks! 

Please excuse the over-paint on the stucco before the touch-ups.  But there it is!  SPAX brand massive heavy duty lags bolting to the frame of the house.  And 1/2" diameter hex bolts going all the way through each beam and through the steel, bolted together under pressure!  There are three washers on top of each beam for the hex bolts to grab as much of the beam as possible: biggest on the wood (on the bottom), middle in the middle, and smallest at the top.  Didn't get a photo of that, sorry.  And by positioning the steel angle in that position plus having the 1"x cushion up against the stucco, we've got more beam to bite and hold onto with the 1/2" hex bolt since we slid the beam right up to the stucco!  Now that's my kind of patio cover ledger!  It's nice and strong and simple! 



So forget ledger boards and beam hangers.  Isn't this stronger and easier to admire?  That ugly mess of a big ledger board, beam hangers with all the little joist hanger nails are gone!  Status quo, there you go, bye-bye!  This is a much better patio cover ledger board concept!  Simple and strong! 

So if you're in or near Los Angeles and need a patio cover that requires a ledger board attachment to the house, or a free standing patio cover or pergola: call, text or email me for a quote!  I will build it right! 


Let Me Help You Build It Right!

Get My Full, Undivided Attention on Your Project With a LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with Me!  


Step 1
Sign up for a Dwolla account, like PayPal but much better!
Set up Your Dwolla account and put enough money in it to
cover the time block that you want.
Here's the link!  https://www.dwolla.com/

Step 2
Email me a couple of photos and/or drawings if possible, send them to me at Stefan@WoodFenceExpert.com

Step 3
Purchase a Time Block for your LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with me.
15 (Fifteen) Minutes: $20.00
30 (Thirty) Minutes:  $40.00
60 (Sixty) Minutes:   $80.00
After you've got your Dwolla account you can pay here:
https://www.dwolla.com/hub/woodfenceexpert

Step 4
Call me on my cell at 310-717-2000 to schedule our LIVE consultation. 
Please remember I'm in Los Angeles, so I'm in the Pacific time zone. 
I'll need up to a day maybe two, to verify your payment and
review your photos and/or drawings.

Step 5
I will call you at our scheduled time with your photos and/or drawings right in front of me.  Please have a pen and paper ready so we can go fast and not waste your money.  It also may be best to be at your laptop or computer with a high-speed connection.   

Note 1:
If we don't use all of your time block on the call, I will note and track the unused portion for you to have on account with me for a future 1-on-1 consultation with me!  
Note 2:
I'm in construction, I'm not an accountant.  Please don't ask me to transfer an unused, left-over slice of your time block to somebody else.  Pizza?  Sure I'll take a left-over slice.  But let's not pass around slices of time blocks.
Note 3:
You early birds got it for free (You know who you are!).  No problem, I love to build them right; I also love to help other people build them right too!  But now this is part of my job so I've got to charge you like everybody else.  
Note 4:
I promise to do my very best with you!

_________________________________________________________________

Is Redwood Really Resistant To Termites?

August 15, 2011

Is Redwood really resistant to termites?  It depends on which part of the redwood tree the wood came from.  Is redwood termite-proof?  Let's examine this more closely to really see this.

There are several grades of redwood.  These can be distinguished by size and quantity of knots, smooth or rough surface, grain characteristics, and the relevant characteristic to this post which is all heart or not. 

Redwood that is two-colored is a mix of heartwood (which comes from the center of the tree and the area closer to the center), and sapwood (which comes from the outer part of the tree and the area closer to the protective bark of the tree).

The heartwood of redwood is pink when it's freshly cut compared to the sapwood which is almost white.  It's the heartwood of redwood that is where its name is derived.  As the heartwood ages with weather it very soon changes to a dark reddish-orange-brown sort of color.  Eventually it will weather to a grey as does the sapwood and most other woods for that matter.

It's the heartwood of redwood which is resistant to termites and rot.  It is not termite-proof, but, it is very resistant to termites and rot. 

Our latest project is the demo and replacement of a termite infested redwood fence!  Sounds like an oxymoron right?  In the photos below you'll see cross-sections of some of the 2"x4"s from this old fence.  The 2"x4"s are redwood but not an all heart, heartwood grade.  Just look and see for yourself what the termites ate and what they did not!



And another!



And another!



One more!



As you can see the termites had plenty of the white sapwood to eat.  You can also see they almost never ate the heartwood.  Proper maintenance would have prevented most if not all of this termite infestation on this fence which is only about 12 years old.  This is why all heart redwood is the proper redwood to use for fence posts.  It's of course more expensive than other grades but this is out of context.  There are heartwood grades of redwood and there are grades that contain sapwood.

So there it is accurately photographed for your viewing pleasure and information!

When I build a redwood fence with redwood posts, I specify and use all heart redwood posts.  This is why!

So who do you trust to build your new wood fence or other outdoor wood project?  Call, text or email me for a free quote.  I will build it right!



Let Me Help You Build It Right!

Get My Full, Undivided Attention on Your Project With a LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with Me!  


Step 1
Sign up for a Dwolla account, like PayPal but much better!
Set up Your Dwolla account and put enough money in it to
cover the time block that you want.
Here's the link!  https://www.dwolla.com/

Step 2
Email me a couple of photos and/or drawings if possible, send them to me at Stefan@WoodFenceExpert.com

Step 3
Purchase a Time Block for your LIVE 1-on-1 Phone Consultation with me.
15 (Fifteen) Minutes: $20.00
30 (Thirty) Minutes:  $40.00
60 (Sixty) Minutes:   $80.00
After you've got your Dwolla account you can pay here:
https://www.dwolla.com/hub/woodfenceexpert

Step 4
Call me on my cell at 310-717-2000 to schedule our LIVE consultation. 
Please remember I'm in Los Angeles, so I'm in the Pacific time zone. 
I'll need up to a day maybe two, to verify your payment and
review your photos and/or drawings.

Step 5
I will call you at our scheduled time with your photos and/or drawings right in front of me.  Please have a pen and paper ready so we can go fast and not waste your money.  It also may be best to be at your laptop or computer with a high-speed connection.   

Note 1:
If we don't use all of your time block on the call, I will note and track the unused portion for you to have on account with me for a future 1-on-1 consultation with me!  
Note 2:
I'm in construction, I'm not an accountant.  Please don't ask me to transfer an unused, left-over slice of your time block to somebody else.  Pizza?  Sure I'll take a left-over slice.  But let's not pass around slices of time blocks.
Note 3:
You early birds got it for free (You know who you are!).  No problem, I love to build them right; I also love to help other people build them right too!  But now this is part of my job so I've got to charge you like everybody else.  
Note 4:
I promise to do my very best with you!

_________________________________________________________________

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    Wednesday, December 21, 2011
  9. A Better Patio Cover Ledger Board Concept
    Tuesday, December 20, 2011
  10. Is Redwood Really Resistant To Termites?
    Tuesday, August 16, 2011

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