My wife's comment about the 'leaning tower of fence posts' made me see the whole mess differently

I was trying to replace a 20 foot section of my backyard fence in Phoenix last month. I thought I could do it in a weekend, just dig the old posts out and set new ones. I got the old concrete out, but when I went to set the new posts, I couldn't get them straight. I used a level, but every time I poured the quick-set concrete, the post would shift. My wife came out to check on me and just stared at the line of posts, all at slightly different angles. She said, 'It looks like they're all having a conversation, leaning in to tell each other secrets.' I was so focused on being mad it wasn't perfect, but her saying that made the whole thing seem funny instead of just a failure. I finished the job, and it's solid, but it definitely has character now. Has anyone else had a project go wrong in a way that ended up being kind of charming?

2 comments

2 Comments

kim.wren1mo ago

Wait, you dug out the old concrete in Phoenix summer? That sounds like a nightmare.

wrenwilson29d ago

My neighbor tried that last July when it hit 118. He ended up with heat exhaustion and a huge water bill from soaking his shirt every hour. The real killer was the ground itself, it baked so hard his shovel just bounced off. He had to rent a jackhammer, which just made more hot dust. Sometimes paying someone with a crew and a morning schedule is the only sane move.