The Chicken Wire

So I finally got 8' wide (two 4' widths) of the chicken wire over the top of the garden enclosure frame...  It looked like this...

Up the side, across the top, and down the other side is about 45'.  Some there is some left over from the 50' roll.

 The black vinyl-coated wire looks good.   It's not tight yet.  That part will come later.  For now, it is just attached enough so as to not sag onto the garden.

It is temporarily affixed to the side PVC pipes with some overlap.  And the final steps will be to thread 100s of feet of galvanized wire sewing the edges of the rolls of chicken wire together tightly.  Otherwise the Evil Squirrels would wiggle in between.

The chicken wire rolls hang a foot or so long to spread out on the ground.  That will prevent groundhogs  and rabbits from going up the the chicken wire wall and digging in underneath.  If they manage that, I will just put down heavier mesh wire at ground level. 

But I don't think that will be necessary.  When critters decide on a place to dig at an edge, it seldom occurs to them to back off 2 feet and try again. 

After I have all the tops of the enclosure covered and tightened (and I have the frame supported in all directions by unstretchable nylon ropes until the wire is all installed - at which point the wire attached to the pipes will strngthen the structure sufficiently).

The next part will be to construct the door.  I think I have arranged that rather well.  I've built a 2x4" frame around the door that fits the hinge side and the door lock side and the top.  I will set 4x4" posts around where the door will attach.  And because the 2x4" door frame allows several inches of attachment "wiggle room", it should fit perfectly.

Not to say attaching the screen door will be simple.  Its heavy with the 2x4" boards surrounding it, and there will be some shimming required to make the door frame fit to the 4x4" posts so the door is level and swings easily not hitting the ground.  But I have some ideas on that too.

So many of the ideas for this project have come to me as I was trying to fall asleep.  I should try sleeping more often, LOL!

Next time:  The door installation...