North Portland Fence

Safety was the priority for these clients in North Portland. Their house sits on a corner with formidable retaining walls dropping 4 feet down to the curb. Throw in a mobile toddler in the mix and you can see the necessity for a fence.



They wanted something inviting and pleasant to both look out from and for onlookers to look up at. They wanted as many natural materials as possible, so once again Cedar seemed the logical choice. I mixed in a bit of wood joinery to give the vertical and horizontal elements a bit more strength and added grace. We decided on using a decently thick gauge steel to act as the filler in between the posts. This particular steel would oxidize over time, creating a nice rusty look to complement the cedar. The hardware was all painted black to keep the shining metal to a minimum.



After regretfully installing a typical self-adjusting latch system we quickly discovered how annoying even the self-adjusting catches functioned over 6 months of wear and tear. I replaced this with the rare earth magnet + metal plate and it has vastly improved entry and exit. I am sure it has saved the mail carrier's years of carpal tunnel damage.



I made sure to have the fence follow the terrain, rolling up and down the property's slopes and still leaving some room between the stone wall drop and the fence for landscaping and planting. Inside the fence's perimeter is more of the flat terrain that contains plenty of room to play around and enjoy the beautiful old walnut tree that dominates the Northwest corner of the property.



During the hot summer months, this family enjoys dining on their modest back porch adjacent to their kitchen. With no fence along the perimeter and the property elevated, they felt like each summer meal was a display to the world. This side stretch of fence needed to be a bit higher than the other side, to retain the privacy a bit more. I still wanted to incorporate the metal grid into this design in the hope of achieving some balance. An access gate is also framed in by a Japanese-influenced gateway.