How Do You Feel About Privacy Fences?

[Rubia Warren]

WIth privacy fences having become so popular in the last few years, how do you feel about them?

Do you think maybe they cut us off from one another in our neighborhoods? It is nice to have privacy..... I mean..... who wants their neighbors inspecting their nostrils when they are outside hangin out in the yard? But isn't it kinda weird when most people in a neighborhood have them, and each yard is neatly divided by a wooden privacy fence which marks everyone's territories? Can it get to a point where we kinda isolate ourselves and focus too much on isolation & individuality?

Or are they an all-good thing?

I ask this as my husband and I are having discussions about fencing (I am using us as an example although this thread is kinda more general). We need one for our new house, and since we only have one neighbor, he is considering blocking the view of his house with a privacy fence along that side, and a picket fence the rest of the way around (where there are no neighbors). On the one hand, I really don't wanna stare into the back of my neighbor's house when I am grilling burgers. I especially don't want them peeking at me through the blinds. I dunno why. I never cared when I was younger. My parents never cared. That was normal. But I'm in 2006 and am feeling the pull of those towering wooden partitions.

On the other hand..... I don't work in a cubicle. I wouldn't want to. So why would I make one in my yard???? And that guy next door only has about 2 feet of yard facing our side. Maybe he has enjoyed the view of our yard (since he literally has none at all) for many years while he drinks his morning coffee and we will be slapping up a wall of tall wooden planks all of a sudden for him to stare at? Is that very neighborly?

Back to the first hand, though.... if we had a privacy fence there...... I'll be honest........ it would be nice. No guy next door to think about. No guy next door to even see hardly ever. It would be as though no one else exists but us............ maybe that is part of the point of privacy fences?

Are these generally a good thing or a bad thing? Why or why not?

[Darth Executor]

When I get my own house I'm building a 12 feet tall cement wall around my house and putting barbed wire coils on top of it. Not because I like privacy but because I like the idea of living in a stronghold.

[luv1another]

In a lot of places in Oz we fence our front and back property :shrug: all the places I have ever lived have been fenced you can let your kids out on the front lawn without worrying about them going on the road. you don't have to worry about other peoples pets on your front lawn or garden. lots of advantages :wink:

[Dave G]

Everyplace I've ever lived had tall fencing....it's pretty much a given for me that I would have some.

[Rubia Warren]

When I get my own house I'm building a 12 feet tall cement wall around my house and putting barbed wire coils on top of it. Not because I like privacy but because I like the idea of living in a stronghold.

Well, that goes without saying.

[Rubia Warren]

In a lot of places in Oz we fence our front and back property :shrug: all the places I have ever lived have been fenced you can let your kids out on the front lawn without worrying about them going on the road. you don't have to worry about other peoples pets on your front lawn or garden. lots of advantages :wink:
Are you talking about fences in general, or tall wooden privacy fences that you can't see through though? (I ask because you mention letting the kids on the front lawn, so I was assuming you had a regular fence in mind)

[Rubia Warren]

Everyplace I've ever lived had tall fencing....it's pretty much a given for me that I would have some.
Really? I wouldn't have guessed that since you are so country, in a non-musical sort of way.

[luv1another]

Are you talking about fences in general, or tall wooden privacy fences that you can't see through though? (I ask because you mention letting the kids on the front lawn, so I was assuming you had a regular fence in mind)

well fences in general but lots of people have tall fences most fences around where I live now are made of tin :shrug:

[Rubia Warren]

We didn't have very many in my area when I was growing up. If a family had a chain-link fence, that sort of said they had some money. But one could always see through them- they were put there to contain people or animals inside, or outside. Now, privacy fences are very popular. I suspect because they are more affordable now than before.

[yxboom]

good fences make good neighbors, i suppose.

[Glenn P]

Private fences are cool. A good neighbourhood is a good thing, but the home is a sanctuary to get away from it all.

[semmie]

we're actually facing a new ordinance that wouldn't allow privacy fences. the reason? you may block your neighbor's sunlight. :ahem:

roobs...i bet you get your fence up and the neighbor drops you a thank you note that says "my goodness, it's about time! i was SO sick of seeing your nostrils every time you were out in the yard!"

[Jade]

You could always make a miniature privacy fence, say, maybe 2 feet high. After all it's the thought that counts. Or if you're gung-ho about "privacy" but don't want to offend the neighbors, you could put up the standard privacy fence and knock out every other slat. Just a couple options so you can have your cake and eat it too. :teeth:

[Jedidiah]

How does your neighbor feel about the fence idea? Have you gotten to know him at all yet? Fences are good, but it would be nice if both parties had the same feelings about a privacy fence.

[Bill the Cat]

I moved into a house with a privvy fence from a house with no fence at all. I had a problem of dogs coming into the yard and leaving huge steaming divots in the yard. Now, my kids can run and play in the back yard without me worrying about them slipping in poo. Also, no hoodlums using my yard as a thoroughfare, killing my crabgrass. I work hard to have those weeds, and I don't need some punk kid who is too lazy to walk on the street killing my home grown dandelion collection...

:btc3:

[Mark_S]

If privacy is what you are shooting for, I'd go with Aborvites in a staggared row. Great view blocker and more aesthetically pleasing (to both sides) than a fence

[NeilUnreal]

It's a tough thing. Families need private outdoor spaces, but neighborhoods -- especially children -- need safe, connected, semi-public spaces (in addition to true public spaces like parks). Probably the best option is to fence only a part of the yard, probably close to the house. Unfortunately, the small size of many yards makes this not an option.

If it's a question of all or none, I'd vote none. Lack of neighborhood cohesion is a major problem in modern suburbs. It was different in the old days, when people actually used their front yards, sat on their front porches, and cars didn't routinely whiz through 15mph suburbs at 60mph. The creation of modern suburbs has created a real need for the use of the back yard as a semi-public space.

You might want to look at A Pattern Language -- Towns, Buildings, Construction by Christopher Alexander (et al). It contains good ideas on what has gone wrong with modern neighborhoods and how those things can be fixed. (You might want to look for it in the library; at first glance it seems kind of expensive, but once you get hooked on it, the price appears cheap!)

-Neil

[Bill the Cat]

Neil, I LOVE YOUR AVATAR!!! Andie MacDowell... :duh:

[brother vinny]

How Do You Feel About Privacy Fences?


I feel about them gingerly, trying to find a place where the boards are loose and might be pried apart enough to allow me to see.

[Captain Ochre]

I'm in agreement with Brother Vinny on this one. It's too hard to see my neighbor's nostrils through a privacy fence.

[Little Shepherd]

I don't like privacy fences. They're so useless, and they really do close you off too much from neighbors.

If you really need privacy, invest in some curtains. Not blinds(at least not the cheap mass-produced ones everyone seems to go with nowadays). Curtains. Open when you don't need privacy. Closed when you do.

When I finally plunk down cash for a house, it's going to have big, almost-always open windows. A nice front porch. And maybe a patio in back. Any fences will be easy to see through and not too tall.

[QuantaFille]

The house we lived in before we moved had a fence, but not a very tall one. We could see into the house behind us, but we were good friends with those neighbors (we even put a gate in the fence we shared) so it was really a joke with us. We even gave them binoculars as a joke gift one birthday.

Last summer I mowed a few lawns for my brother's lawn business, and one of the yards I mowed was open to the surrounding yards, seperated only by some landscaping (small bushes and such). I thought that was cool.

I've always thought it would be neat to have connecting yards and a central play area for the kids in each block. Or at least have a small private fenced in area for each house, and a gate or opening leading to the area in the middle of the block. I lived in a neighborhood like that when I was little, and it was very nice. The houses had a tall privacy fence partway around the patio, and behind that was one big area with trees where all the kids could run around together.

Quanta

[Spiritus Naturae]

WIth privacy fences having become so popular in the last few years, how do you feel about them?

Do you think maybe they cut us off from one another in our neighborhoods? It is nice to have privacy..... I mean..... who wants their neighbors inspecting their nostrils when they are outside hangin out in the yard? But isn't it kinda weird when most people in a neighborhood have them, and each yard is neatly divided by a wooden privacy fence which marks everyone's territories? Can it get to a point where we kinda isolate ourselves and focus too much on isolation & individuality?

Or are they an all-good thing?

I ask this as my husband and I are having discussions about fencing (I am using us as an example although this thread is kinda more general). We need one for our new house, and since we only have one neighbor, he is considering blocking the view of his house with a privacy fence along that side, and a picket fence the rest of the way around (where there are no neighbors). On the one hand, I really don't wanna stare into the back of my neighbor's house when I am grilling burgers. I especially don't want them peeking at me through the blinds. I dunno why. I never cared when I was younger. My parents never cared. That was normal. But I'm in 2006 and am feeling the pull of those towering wooden partitions.

On the other hand..... I don't work in a cubicle. I wouldn't want to. So why would I make one in my yard???? And that guy next door only has about 2 feet of yard facing our side. Maybe he has enjoyed the view of our yard (since he literally has none at all) for many years while he drinks his morning coffee and we will be slapping up a wall of tall wooden planks all of a sudden for him to stare at? Is that very neighborly?

Back to the first hand, though.... if we had a privacy fence there...... I'll be honest........ it would be nice. No guy next door to think about. No guy next door to even see hardly ever. It would be as though no one else exists but us............ maybe that is part of the point of privacy fences?

Are these generally a good thing or a bad thing? Why or why not?

Considering the majority of my evening entertainment comes from watching the drunken exploits of my neighbors in their backyard, I would seriously have a problem with these fangled fancy "privacy fences" of which you speak...I can't afford to go to the movies, people! :no: