Dr. Golia had wanted a different fence for his house; he wanted something composite. Dave met with dr And over the course of about two years we were going through all different types of options of composite, vertical fence, vertical wood horizontal composite fence, you name it all very ornate. His wife is extremely particular with aesthetics and its a bit of a process going back and forth and finally they decided to go with the horizontal cedar tongue and groove board fence and with part of the install we were planning on Resurfacing the existing columns that they have off of the main entrance going into the driveway where they have the double drive gate and the secondary access gate. The columns were welded together with 2 x 2 square tubing. There were some imperfections with it. when we were resurfacing it with azek we had to shim it out which is pretty typical with any kind of resurfacing of things, theyve been up for some time so they’re not gonna be perfect but he wanted the aesthetic to match the beauty of the new fence so Instead of doing wood we decided to do azek there to box out the columns and when we were mounting the hinges everything had to be Welded onto the steel column frame in advance and then we had to cut holes in and what not and and mount the azek around there to fit so we didn’t run into any kind of issues with the gates having to be threaded and tapped and bolted on Through the azek because that would’ve possibly caused a problem I think the azek would’ve held but the previous issue was the stainless steel bolts that got used to mount, ended up shearing off because the wood rotted and so if the azek gave any bit away, I was afraid that the bolts would not have been able to withstand the weight of the gate after many many uses so we welded it directly to the frame and then boxed out the azek over that. It came out very nicely even though the columns not being plum more bit of a challenge we had to compensate some of the gates shaving a bit of the sides to get them to ultimately fit even with the tolerances being taken into account on the gate building the gates were built with the frames and everything was glued together dial all of the wood in the gates were actually all the joints were glued as well as then shot onto the frame.
Challenges, Obstacles, and Unique Aspects:
This project was a balance of intricate design requirements and structural challenges, developed over two years of collaboration with the client. The client’s existing steel columns, welded from 2×2 square tubing, had significant imperfections that needed correction to support the new gates and match the aesthetic of the horizontal cedar tongue-and-groove fence. Resurfacing the columns with Azek rather than wood was a strategic choice, enhancing durability and preventing future issues with the weight of the gates. The hinges were welded directly to the steel frame to avoid the risk of bolts shearing off, a problem experienced with the previous wood columns. Additionally, the columns were shimmed and boxed out to ensure alignment, despite their lack of plumb. Craftsmanship was extended to the gates by gluing for structural strength. These combined efforts resulted in a flawless integration of form and function.
Project Description
Custom horizontal cedar tongue-and-groove fence with Azek-clad steel columns. Designed for durability and aesthetics, it required precision welding, shimming, and meticulous craftsmanship to meet high client standards.