The best part of this job is the homeowner's face at the walk-through. This Sellwood-Moreland backyard started as a lot of potential wrapped in sagging, rusted chain-link — open to the alley, open to the neighbors, and honestly a little sad. Six days later it was a retreat.
Before
Old galvanized chain-link on leaning posts, a gate that didn't latch, and blackberry creeping through the mesh. The yard had a great patio and a beautiful maple — and no reason to sit out there, because there was no privacy and nothing pleasant to look at at eye level.
The Plan
We pulled every foot of the old fence and hauled it away, then built a 6-foot board-on-board cedar privacy fence around three sides. Board-on-board because the homeowners wanted true privacy for a hot tub going in later. We kept one section a little lower along the maple side to keep the tree feeling like part of the yard, not walled off.
After
Concrete-set posts, clean tight boards, and a warm cedar tone that made the whole yard feel finished. String lights went up the next weekend. The homeowner texted us a photo of dinner on the patio with the caption "we live out here now." That's the whole job, right there — a fence didn't just close the yard in, it gave them a room they didn't know they had.