Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1094617
News From The World Of Fencing And Gate Automation World FENCE NEWS April 2019 Massive fence on Idaho mule ranch is a result of craftsmanship, care and pride BY DEBORAH KAY R.T. In 1964, John Tenty started Tenty's Fences in Vallejo, California. On the original fence crew made up of John's four sons, the youngest was 8-year-old Hendrik, aka Han, who be- came my husband. Tenty's Fences served the San Francisco Bay Area until Ben Tenty, Hendrik's brother, retired in January of 2018. Hendrik, since 1976, worked for large and small fence companies, and owned his own fence companies in California and Idaho, building resi- dential, commercial, and industrial fences and everything in-between, in- cluding tennis court fences, backstops, patio covers and decks. Today we op- erate out of Coeur d' Alene, Idaho. Building quality fences is a source of pride with lifelong fencers who have the advantage of having learned old-school from the old-time fencers of years-gone-by, and as time march- es on, have kept up with the latest techniques and fence products, and of course must try out every new tool, all of which make up a trusted, well-sea- soned fencer. Because of Hendrik's decades of fencing experience and his quality construction work for a local general contractor, when a fence was needed on a massive remodel and new arena on a 104-acre mule ranch project that had already been going on for a cou- ple of years, they called Hendrik in for the job. Brought in underneath the general contractor, project manager and own- ers as the foreman and lead fence man over all exterior fencing and as one of the consultants on fence matters, Hendrik lent his voice to many oth- ers on how best to achieve the overall vision of lasting quality, beauty, and practicality – a fence that would tru- ly be a working asset as it meanders and crisscrosses this beautiful North As shown by the photos above, the fence had to be strong enough to withstand bumping and leaning by the mules and horses it is meant to contain, so extra care was given to setting the 10" x 10" Douglas fir posts in world-class footings. The bottom of the posts had to be coated with heavy duty protectants to avoid rot damage from wet soil, and in some cases were mounted on steel stubs to keep the bottoms of the posts above standing water. (Photos and text copyright Hendrick and Deborah Tenty; used by permission) Idaho 104-acre mule ranch. Many laborers and crewmen changed over the three-year fence project, and some details changed, however, the fence project stayed true to the original vision. The foundation of a strong fence is solid footings and posts, and that was especially true in this case, since it would have to hold up against the 20 or so award-winning mules and sever- al horses that would lean and push on the fence! The fence posts and rails are a tight-grained Douglas fir brought in from the coast of Oregon and milled in Spokane, Washington. Once on the job site, all 10" x 10" posts were treated to resist rot with PC-Rot Terminator ™ , then wrapped in tar pa- per and an additional 14" of Postsaver wrap from England, which was melt- ed on with a propane torch. The wrap was meant to be above the footing a bit. All of the 10' high posts were set in the ground on 10' centers, in 4' deep x 2' round footings, with 6" gravel for drainage. A 5-sack mix of concrete was used, with all footings domed for the water to drain away from posts. During the spring snow thaw, parts of this beautiful property collect standing water for several months. For a small section of fence line in this wet area, the footings needed to have the concrete brought up just above the point where the standing waters are at the highest level. Galvanized 2-7/8" OD pipe, 3' continued on page 12 The foundation of a strong fence is solid footings and posts, and that was especially true in this case, since it would have to hold up against the 20 or so award- winning mules and several horses that would lean and push on the fence !