World Fence News

February 2015

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46 • FEBRUARY 2015 • WORLD FENCE NEWS "Average" day turns out to be a real character builder Dear World Fence News: It's been a cold, dreary and rainy day, so I found myself reminiscing at the keyboard. This is the result – a story about an average day in the life of a fence man. Pats' leftover lasagna sure tastes good. I had just returned home for lunch with the intent of knocking off for the rest of the day; besides, I had a lot to do around the house. It's so much nicer to eat at home instead of brown bagging it or eat at a fast-food place. I was shoveling the last bite in my mouth when the phone rang. The caller, a customer of mine, seemed to be over-excited about something. She started telling me that those guys from "Dig-Line" had ruined her front yard. They spray-painted stripes of different colors all over the place. "They're killing my lawn," she moaned. I assured her that there was no damage done because it is a special paint just for that purpose. She asked if I could start install- ing the fence right away. "I have com- pany coming this weekend and I have to have it done by then." I told her that as soon as I finished with lunch, I would be right over. I put off my "hon- ey-dos" for that afternoon and loaded the truck with 6 ft. cedar posts, aggre- gate and Portland. The job consisted of a 4 ft. cedar fence, but only on the perimeter front- age of the property. As I unloaded the material, I noticed an old guy across the way watering the heck out of a half dead Dwarf Alberta Spruce. When he looked my way, I waved and yelled "hi," to which he abruptly turned away grumbling something under his breath. Oh well, what the heck. I measured and marked the spac- ing for the posts. The first terminal post hole was excavated and I was just about to place concrete when the lady of the house came running up. "Hey, stop, stop, why are you put- ting the fence there? I want it at the curb, not back here." I informed her that the city code required a 7 ft. set- back for a 4 ft. wood fence. Then I told her that I had already procured a vari- ance since her property was located in the middle of the block and posed no problem with a clear view for traffic. However, I was still obligated to set the line of fence at the 3 ft. mark for future side walks. "But I don't want a sidewalk." She was quite upset and was determined to make my day miserable. "You stop everything and wait right here. Don't do nothing till I get back. I'm going to call my hus- band." So I waited! While I waited, I noticed the old guy across the street had pulled his pickup onto the grass of his front yard. He then pro- ceeded placing a short chain around the trunk of the Alberta. When that was done, he anchored the other end of the chain to the bumper of his truck. He continued grumbling and mumbling the whole time and with a few swear words thrown in for good measure. The old man jumped be- hind the wheel, gunned it and accom- plished nothing but spinning tires on wet grass. That half dead tree shuddered a bit, but did not budge. He did this a few more times with the same results, nothing. I have to confess, I laughed a little. This disgruntled man jumped from the cab, threw his hat on the ground in disgust, removed the chain from the bumper and drove off in a huff. My wait lasted but a couple of minutes, when the lady of the house returned. "My husband said that it was okay and go ahead." Still smiling from the action viewed across the way, I continued on with my assigned task of setting posts. When I was satisfied with my chore, I started gathering and plac- ing my equipment back on my truck. About that time the old man pulled up to his house with another chain. He hurriedly attached this longer chain to the other and started the same proce- dure as before. This time his truck was in his driveway, I guess for better traction. He failed once more and I believe that Alberta was laughing at his efforts. I placed my level in my back pocket as I strolled across the street. "I see you're having a little trou- ble pulling out that tree." The old guy looked at me with red in his eyes and said, "Trouble? What trouble? I do this for my exercise, you smart mouth kid." I spun on my heels and returned to my truck. continued on page 48 "I see you're having a little trouble pulling out that tree." The old guy looked at me with red in his eyes and said, "Trouble? What trouble? I do this for my exercise, you smart mouth kid." PEOPLE World Fence News is like a community newspaper, except that the community is huge! The people and personalities of this great industry are a major part of the publication's content. You'll find faces galore in World Fence News; you may know some of them, you may not, but they are all part of this exciting business. And don't forget the humor – loveable Pete and Jake are the fencer's friends! PRODUCTS World Fence News is utilized by fencing and access control manufacturers to introduce their new products to the thousands of North American fence contractors who read the publication monthly. If it's new and on the market, you'll read about it in World Fence News! PROJECTS Some of the country's biggest and coolest fence projects are featured on the cover of World Fence News each month, and WFN readers can't wait to see what's coming next. Recent fence project coverage has included a unique lighted chain link guardrail system on a Kansas City overpass; a huge bronze clad gate system at the Philadelphia Museum of Art; a large PVC installation at a Maryland residential development; and details on the complex installation of debris fence and crowd control fence at the new Circuit of the Americas Formula 1 track in Austin, Texas. The emphasis is always on the contractor, and the skill and problem solving that they bring to these amazing jobs. When fencers turn to World Fence News, be sure that they see your advertising message! E-mail Rick Henderson at editor@worldfencenews.com to discuss developing a comprehensive advertising and publicity campaign for 2015. World F ence ews N News from the World of Fencing, Access Control and Security © Our focus is on the PEOPLE, PRODUCTS and PROJECTS of the Fence Industry! Looking for something? Need to know in a hurry? Call us and describe the product and we will do our best to track it down and give you the name, address, and telephone number of the product's supplier(s). This service is available to all paid subscribers of World Fence News at no cost. World Fence News FENCELINE Contact the World Fence News FenceLine at: 1-800-231-0275 (U.S. and Canada) 512-349-2536 • 512-349-2567 Fax E-mail: editor@worldfencenews.com ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

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