Spa equipment enclosure

Southern California Edison was doing work overhead and knocked down the side of the spa equipment enclosure.

It was just termites holding hands inside, and I didn't have the heart to take them up on their offer to pay for repairs. Original design was poor, but like a lot of things on my house I guess it got the job done for the prior owner.



Note the very overgrown salt bushes (Atriplex) on the downhill side of it. There are two! They were originally intended to screen the equipment area from the neighbor, but then the neighbor's trees grew up and it became apparent that the salt bush was much too large for that space.

It still took me until a year or so later to start on the replacement - one of the hazards of DIY. I had the invaluable help of my brother Keir and son Houston. Thanks guys!

The end product allows a sight line over the top to downtown Long Beach, if the down slope trees are pruned.

I think the construction details could be of interest to someone putting in a garden fence.  It's raised from the ground and the structural parts are made from pressure-treated wood to prevent rot and insect infestation.  I'll hand treat the fence siding with wood preservative.  The gate is super wide for service ease.  The central picture shows the two diagonal braces on the gate; the cable is in tension and the wooden brace is in compression.  There is also a spring-loaded wheel to offload some of the weight.

Lessons learned:
1. Along the front don't get so concerned with tailoring the length of each fence board, just make the tops align.
2. Make the sides an integral number of fence boards wide
3. Store fence boards in the shade and with air circulation to prevent differential drying and cupping
4. Pick a design that more efficiently uses fence boards - these generated a lot of potential waste since they are 6' long and I only used about 3'6". (I will probably turn the off cuts into a planter box.)