My grandma loves going down to the lake, to swim and go on boat rides, but over the past few years it has become more difficult for her to make the trip down the stairs from the house to the shore of Big Cedar Lake. Since my grandpa and I knew this was important to her, we wanted to make sure she could support herself on the way down. Last summer we told her we would build a wooden fence along the stairs to use as a railing.

The style we did was a two rail fence. It required us to dig six holes along the stairs on the side of the cliff-like hill. We dug through roots and around rocks to place each post in its perfect position. 

In order to solidify the posts in the ground, we opted to experiment with an expanding foam mixture rather than dealing with the hassle of mixing concrete. We were skeptical at first, but as we watched the ominous blob grow in the bottom of the post hole, the fence post was gradually secured into a strong position.

We buried the top of the foam using the topsoil we removed from the holes, and screwed some rails into a tree that was in the place of where we needed a post.

Once the whole fence was assembled, we applied a coat of reddish brown stain over the fresh wood. Not only did it look beautiful, but it also made it possible for my grandma to get to the lake safely and continue to do the things she loves. Her appreciation went to show me that projects are less about the final product, and more about how that final product impacts someone else.