I'd post over in the Porches & Decks forum on THS! Here is a link that might be useful: Porches & Decks

I don't know if this is the right forum, but it's about as close as you can get. You can actually buy hardware that will attach to the existing round metal posts to use them as your uprights rather than setting new posts. This is what I did. You take down the metal fabric of the chainlink fence and use this hardware to attach stringers to the round metal posts. I gave the chainlink away on Freecycle to someone who was thrilled to come and pick it up. I found the hardware at Big Orange, but strangely not in the fencing section... I think it was in the lumber section of the store. In my case the upright posts were a bit too small in diameter, so I purchased the right size round metal uprights from a local fencing company for a few bucks each and slid them over the smaller metal posts, using sand in the small space between them and putting new caps on. It was still much easier and cheaper than setting new 4 x 4 fence posts and they'll never rot out. I then built out the fence from scratch. It took 2 inexperienced fence builders an afternoon to build a 50' section. No lattice or bells and whistles, just a 2-stringer "good neighbor" style fence with dog-eared cedar slats alternating on each side of the stringers. If you build a wood fence just inside the chain link, you will have issues with leaves and debris piling up between the two fences which will likely make your fence boards rot out pretty quickly, and make it easy for the dogs to escape still. A narrow area will be really hard to clean out and your neighbors will hate you for the way it looks.... Here is a link that might be useful: simpson strong-tie hardware

In my opinion one of the best ways to preserve a treated pine fence (especially posts that are buried) is with sump oil. Or you can use linseed oil. The people on one side of me did not want me to soak their posts in sump oil in order for it to soak into the timber. In fact they called me a nutcase for sugesting it would extend the life of them. For the record the posts are (hardwood) Australian redgum. Pailings are 13mm teated pine and the rails are 50x75mm treated pine. On the other side, where i have native bushland I did soak the base of the post in sump oil for just over 48 hours before putting them in the ground. I then sprayed the fence with sump oil. The untreated (much more wind protected) fence ended up with 4 posts snapped off at groung level they were rotten. There were pailings blown off etc etc. The fence on the other side off my home (which copped the FULL force of the wind is still nice and straight and still in good order. I still can't even wobble ANY post one bit. Both fences were put up together 17 years ago when we built. Another thing sump oil does is prevent termite attack. (If the buried part is soaked for 24-48 hrs before cementing them in). don't think that "treated" pine, or any other 'treated' timber will stop termites the chemicals leach out over time. Now the people next door want me to pay 1/2 for a new fence. I took them over showed them the other fence that was oiled and asked can you see any problem here. The grass is growing, as are all the plants there is no issues there. It's not as if i just poored oil all around the posts so the impact on the enviroment is infenticimal if at all. very little (if any) oil leaches out if they are soaked) the timber holds the oil inside it. If you don't want sump oil on your pailings then liseed oil is the next best thing. It is moisture that rots the timber(creates the enviroment for rottting) oils will repel the water keeping the as dry as posible and thus extending the life. And preventing yet more trees from being chopped down to cut into posts, rails and pailings. In fairness I said to those people next door if you buy all the materials I will help you put it up. But I am not paying 1/2 the cost for a fencing contractor to build another fence simply because you refused to take WELL KNOWN advice and called me a nut case in the process. Why should I fork out $2,864.00 (that's my half) simply because you chose not to listen to good old fashioned and well known advice. When I asked if he was prepared to pay half for the damage to my new garden bed, plants, shrubs and some other things I had stored where the fence fell on it all and brokes new shrubs etc he said "oh that's not my fault" "Can't you claim it on your insurance?" When asked why he isn't claiming his fence repairs on his insurance he said "Oh I don't have insurance". I said what happens if your house burns down how can you afford to pay the mortgage as well as the cost of living elsewhere. "Oh it won't burn down" was the answer I got. GO FIGURE.

Guess I can add my voice here.....I've enjoyed the swaps that I have participated in on this forum. I've hosted and swapped both - now I just need to put my pedal to the metal and get those blocks made into quilts! It is possible for some of us to get burned out doing swaps, so for now, I'm not joining any block exchanges until I get some UFOs made. I would caution against having too many swaps going at the same time as it can get confusing. And that's all I'll say about that. I enjoy swapping with the quilters I know here, but then, I've swapped with strangers also and that was fine. But it is more personal when you know who made your blocks. I don't have time to go visiting a lot of forums and I feel I have a lot of myself invested in this forum...so I stay here. Teresa