Milk Step

The final piece of the hurdle construction was the addition of a step that our smallest daughter can use to reach the letterbox.

In the past, the gate post had a small platform attached to it so that milk could be left at the gate, or bread … or parcels.

The step is simply an extension to the rails at the bottom of the hurdle with some timber attached across it to form a step or shelf.

The rails have been attached to the posts using decking screws and have been set level rather than parallel to the ground. I have also screwed the shelf laths onto the rails using the decking screws. This should make the shelf last pretty well. The timber that I’ve used is treated exterior grade rough sawn pine, so it should last pretty well too.

The last task for this fence is to attach the fence wire to the hurdle and then tension it. I will probably need to cut the mesh around the shelf so that it will wrap around the post properly.

I got my daughter to climb up onto the step to make sure that it was high enough, and it worked out pretty well. I thought that the lathes might come out too far and stop the gate from closing, so I was prepared to cut some of them for the gate … but luckily, the gate closes just fine, with about an inch to spare.

While poking around in the letter box, we noticed that there was some water pooling in it. I will need to put a couple of holes in the bottom of the letterbox so that the mail doesn’t turn into paper soup.