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Buy a fixer upper, they said. It'll be fun, they said. 😂


Well... ok so some of it's fun.


But mostly, it's a lot of work. And it could take up a lot of your time. And if you're an amateur-home-improvement-DIYe like me, it's also a whole lotta time spent researching all the things for each project. And by research, I mean watching a million YouTube videos on "How To Build x, y, z," Google searching, Pinteresting... just everything I could find on the World Wide Web.


When we first moved in last year, I was hoping we could get the new flooring and full kitchen done before moving on to the big projects outside. But since we don't quite have the budget to start on the interior projects right now, we decided to put all the interior projects on pause for a minute and work on some things we had planned for outside. Especially since we haven't really touched a thing outside since we moved in. Just kept it clean and maintained. But since the existing landscape/hardscape isn't exactly our style... we thought we'd get started on its transformation.


First up on the list of DIY's: Backyard Edition - build a wood gate for our driveway. A modern horizontal wood gate to be exact. And technically it's near the front of the house, but because we're going to focus on the backyard for a bit, this modern wood gate is THE project that will launch the domino effect of projects to come.


So here we go.


Please note: I have never built a fence before in my life and not sure if building a whole gate should have been my first big DIY project EVER, but... here we are! 😂


Let's take a look at what our driveway looked like before:



Like I said before, we have not done anything to improve this area since we moved in. Just keeping it clean and not letting it get overrun by weeds. We have plans to work on the landscape soon - new rocks, maybe some turf, more green plants - but that's a few projects down the line.


1. Setting Posts for Doors/Frame

As you can see, we started from scratch. There was no existing gate to work with. Just a long open driveway. So the first thing we needed to do was add some posts to hold up the doors and framing for the side fencing. This required digging so we made sure to contact 811 beforehand so that the utility companies could come out and mark where we shouldn't dig. Once we were cleared, we started on our project. The first thing we did was attach a 2x4 post to our house on the left side of the gate. The reason for this is because our main gas line runs very close to this are and we weren't able to dig to put a post in the ground. So attaching this post to house was our only option. I measured and pre-drilled 3 holes in the wall as well as the 2x4. And then we screwed the wood to the house using lag bolts.

Then, to make sure the gate was as straight as possible, we ran a string line from this post all the way to the brick wall on the other side of the driveway. We totally eyeballed this one. Once the line was in, we drilled 2 holes (top and bottom) into the 2x4 and the brick wall, and then used masonry screws to secure the post.


Once that was done, we marked the ground where we wanted to door posts to go, using spray paint. We wanted our door opening to be about 10 feet wide. So once the ground was marked, Daniel got to digging the holes. The holes were approximately 2 feet deep and about a foot wide. We poured some gravel at the bottom before adding the concrete mix. We used Quikrete from Home Depot because it made this process a whole lot easier for us - just pour the bag in the hole and add water and that's it! No buckets or wheelbarrows needed at all.



2. Door Frame/Fence Frame

Next up, was building the frames for the doors. Since we wanted the opening to be 10 feet wide, each door measured about 5 feet wide. We cut the 2x4s down to size with a miter saw. And then we used an anti-sag gate kit I purchased from Amazon to put the frame together. The kit came with heavy duty hinges and screws that is good for doors up to 6 feet wide. So... fingers crossed 🤞 that our gate holds up. Tip: make sure to take precise measurements or your doors will not open/close properly.




I added a 2x4 to the middle of each door going vertically so that I would be able to screw the fence boards in the middle as well.


Once that was done, we measured and cut 2x4's to run horizontally from the posts on the house and brick wall, to the 4x4 posts. I pre-drilled pocket holes on each end and then secured them to the vertical posts with pocket screws. Then I added 2x4's to the frame in the spots that I would need to screw the fence boards to.




3. Installing The Wood Planks/Fence Boards

After we got all the framing up, it was time to attach the wood planks. I would have loved to use tongue and groove planks, but with the cost of lumber these days, we used regular cedar dog eared fence boards that we cut down to size. Cedar is naturally resistant to most bugs and moisture and water damage. AND it's also lighter in weight, which I'm hoping will help keep the gate from sagging.





I learned that some metal screws would cause some discoloration to happen in cedar wood over time, so to prevent any kind of that nonsense happening, we used stainless steel screws just to be safe.


I didn't want a lot of space in between planks, but still needed to leave a little space to allow for any expansion or shrinkage when the weather changes. So for that, we used business cards as spacers. I call that being resourceful 😉.


4. Sanding/Staining Fence Boards

I actually did this BEFORE doing everything else because I wanted to make sure to get the front, back and the sides stained to protect the wood so it lasts longer. I spent about 2 days sanding all the boards. And then another 2-3 days were spent staining. And because it's been such a hot summer so far here in California, I was only able to really work on it for about 3 hours in the morning and some evenings.



I really wanted a teak wood colored gate so this is the stain we got from Lowe's.



I have seen some people stain before installation and I have also seen people do it afterwards. Obviously I am no expert and I can only assume that it's a matter of preference. I can't say one method is better than the other... I'll just say YOU DO YOU!


And there you have it! A horizontal modern wood gate for our Spanish styled home.






I am very pleased with how it all turned out! Did we do a good job or what? Let me know what ya think in the comments below!


Here's a list of everything we used:


MATERIALS

2x4 Douglas fir

4x4 redwood

dog eared cedar fence boards

Quikrete


TOOLS

masonry drill bit

drill bits/screw bits

paint brush


HARDWARE

masonry screws

lag bolts

stainless steel screws


Disclosure: That Plain Jane Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon properties including Amazon.com.


This post may contain affiliate links that earn me a small commission, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I use and love.











Updated: May 2, 2022

I feel like that's all I do on my blog - write a post, disappear for months (unintentionally), and then come back and say "hi! btw here's another life update!"


Story of my f*king life, right?


Really though, I have drafts saved that I had planned to write. And it just never got done. Call it laziness or life happening. Call it whatever you want. At this point, I will just accept that I'm not a consistent blogger and nobody probably really cares. But this was supposed to be my journal and I like looking back on my posts for memories sake. And so 10 years from now when I look back at the beginnings of this blog, Ima be like "hmmm, guess 2020 & 2021 just wasn't eventful enough to write about huh?" But it's been quite the opposite... I just never got a chance to document it all. *sigh*


Okay, so let's jump right into it.


The biggest most eventful thing that has happened since my last post is: I had surgery. Anything that has to do with my health, I don't share on social media or my blog until I know for sure that I'll be OK to actually share. So now that I've recovered, I feel comfortable enough to share that I had a thyroidectomy back at the end of August.


Quick back story on that: found some nodules in my thyroid in 2013/2014 which turned out to be benign after having gone through multiple biopsy procedures. They were considered to be tiny enough that surgery was not needed at the time. And I was told they can't just remove the nodules. The entire thyroid would need to come out. My endocrinologist said if it wasn't bothering me (swallowing and breathing can be a problem if it gets too big) then I shouldn't have to worry about taking it out. Anyway, after 2 pregnancies and having my hormones go up and down, my nodules grew and caused my thyroid to become enlarged. I was encouraged back in 2019 to have them taken out but I kinda prolonged the event mainly because I was scared. Then when COVID hit last year, I used that as an excuse to prolong it even more. Until I realized that it's been giving me enough trouble with swallowing and breathing and it just caused me so much discomfort that I need it to come out. So after numerous appointments with my primary care physician, my endocrinologist and then a meeting with a head & neck surgeon, on August 25th, I went in for surgery and had it removed.


Pre-Op

I didn't realize how risky my situation had become until I was in pre-op and had conversations with the head anesthesiologist and my nurses. All of which said they hadn't seen a goiter as big as mine in their career here in the US (some of the healthcare workers assigned to my case were Asian and originally from Asia). Then in post-op, I learned that my operation was a bit challenging and took longer than expected because I had many blood vessels attached to my thyroid that needed to be individually cauterized. What was supposed to be a 2-hour procedure turned into a 3+ hour procedure AND included an overnight stay at the hospital. Something I was not prepared for, by the way. I did not bring an overnight bag, not even a phone charger. And the sucky part about it, I was not being able to have visitors because of COVID. I also learned that I lost a lot of blood. Had I known how risky it was to have surgery on a very enlarged thyroid, I would have definitely done it sooner. But not once did my endocrinologist have a discussion with me about any of it. Only that I should take it out because it's big and could really affect my ability to swallow and breathe.


I also learned that my thyroid was growing down into my chest. Had it grown any bigger, I probably would have needed a chest surgeon in there too to open up my chest to take it out. My head & neck surgeon said he had to reach down behind my sternum to take it out.


Now if that doesn't give you a mental picture of just how big my thyroid was...


Anyway, I'm just glad it's finally out. The pressure my thyroid put on my esophagus is no longer felt. I can swallow vitamin horse pills again without feeling like it'll get stuck in my throat. And I can lie down without feeling like I'm being suffocated. Yup, that's the discomfort I've been dealing with for the past 2 years or so. But I also have a battle scar to show for it, too. Because of the size of my thyroid, my scar is a lot bigger than normal. And it's still healing so it's pretty noticeable. And it's definitely an eye catcher. I see the stares from people when I'm out in public. It doesn't bother me... I just wonder what they're thinkin' when they see it lol.


1 week Post Op - after the drain tube was removed

Other than that... life has been good. I'm still homeschooling my girls... we celebrated Everly's 4th birthday at the end of September...




And I've also been decorating my house for Fall/Halloween - which I'm hoping to share on a separate post but who knows if that'll ever happen lol. Here's just a couple of photos of what I posted on Instagram...



Call me crazy, but I'm already in the mood to decorate for Christmas. Yes, I know it's too early. But what can I say - I'm a sucker for holiday decorations. And because this is the first holiday season spent in our new home... I'm just a tad bit impatient.


Also, I may have started my Christmas shopping already... ok ok, I'll stop with all that lol.


Anyway, that's pretty much all the things that have been happening in our lives. Nothing too crazy... which is perfect for me. Let me know in the comments what y'all have been up to!


xo,

Jane





Nothin' like waking up Sunday morning to some SNOW! It's obviously not something that we are used to - we usually have to drive up to the mountains in SoCal to enjoy the snow during the Winter, so this was a treat for us.



I don't get to experience it actually snowing and I totally geeked out over it and just had to snap some photos. While still in my pjs. 😝 Who DOES that? 🙋🏽‍♀️😂



Anyway, we waited for it to stop snowing before we bundled up in snow gear to get our play on. Last year we were here, Everly didn't care for the snow. And it turns out, not much has changed. Daniel tried to pull her around the backyard on a sled and she freaked out and wanted no part in it. She was a total grump.



Ella, on the other hand, LOVED it.



We ran around, threw snowballs at each other, built a snowman, and Daniel tried to build his own little snow hill to do some major sledding... which didn't turn out the way he had hoped but it was definitely fun to watch 😂.




After a long week of Election Day crazy, it was nice to finally have a GOOD day for some family fun.




Hope you all had a great weekend! Cheers 🥂 to a fantastic week ahead!


xoxo,

Jane



 

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