Lots of little progress

Today I got a little bit done on a lot of different things. I finished the temporary fence out front, and made an appointment with a painter for the outside of the house. I filled all the trash cans and managed to clear most of the debris from the backyard.

I also spent two hours researching fence matarials. Like everything house related, it is not simple. There are so many different materials to choose from (various types of wood, aluminum, steel, vinyl, wood composite, etc) and they all have pros and cons to be considered along with their price. We also have to consider how all the fencing will tie together and how the gates will be integrated. Finally, we have very strictly-enforced city codes about fence heights. I need to look into this though - next door there is an apartment building and their grade is 3-6 higher than ours. I'm not sure where this leaves us with fence height.

In addition to fence materials and design, there is installation considerations. DIY or hire someone? Posts every 6 feet or every 8 feet? How to treat the post before putting it in the ground? Dirt, concrete, or concrete and gravel in the post hole?

Even though I'm more confused now than when I started, I did make progress on this. You have to find out what you don't know before you can make sense of anything.