New fence & neighbors... ?

[BLAKE]

Closing on a new-to-me house next month in an older neighborhood and it has a chain link fence. That shit ain't gonna fly with me or the wife, so we'll be putting in a privacy fence.

I've never had to replace a fence before, and have heard that people often split the cost to some degree with the neighbors on portion that they share.

Are there some traditional guidelines for this to help the conversation with my new neighbors? I know ultimately it's on the person who actually wants the fence, but I didn't know if there was a usual percentage that is customary.

What has your experience been with this?

[Labora]

I had this discussion with my neighbor and told them I'd do 50/50 for the shared portion, but the fence still has some more time left in it so they don't want to do it yet and I barely use the back yard so it is fine for now.

Ultimately if they don't mind the chain link fence you will probably be on the hook for doing the whole thing, but at least you can decide how you want it done in that case.

[Craizie]

Avoid the awkward conversation with new neighbors and put up a nice new fence about 2" off from the chain link.

[juiceweezl]

Someone go find Hook'em and let him answer. Isn't he the one who had the fence thread?

Serious note. Is there an HOA? Often they have info on this topic.

[BLAKE]

Avoid the awkward conversation with new neighbors and put up a nice new fence about 2" off from the chain link.

I get that, but it's a really deep lot, so the financial cost of avoiding that awkwardness could be fairly substantial.

Serious note. Is there an HOA? Often they have info on this topic.

Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.

[mustang_revival]

May want to butter them up with a pie, introduce yourselves, and start the conversation about your fence goals..

If they go 50/50 agree on a timeline or if they have no use to upgrade the fence, let them know your intentions and to come to you if they change their minds..

[Chili]

I get that, but it's a really deep lot, so the financial cost of avoiding that awkwardness could be fairly substantial.



Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.

The challenge is that then they would almost be obligated to fence off the other two sides of their yard, and may not want the expense of that. Otherwise, if I were going to split costs for one side, I'm certainly not going to leave the other two sides bare.

I was always pretty ok with the chain link fence at our old place, and in 15 years there was literally zero upkeep or cost. We did position plants and allow ivy / honeysuckle to give us some amount of privacy, and the back fence was mostly obscured by trees, so it wasn't too bad. And when we built the gazebo / trellis thing, we put up the roll up privacy screens.

Excuse the crappy pics, this was before Nightsight..

[bubbaearl]

just build a private area for yourself . cheaper and less hassle .
or get the hell out of the city .

[Sgt Beavis]

Build the relationship with your new neighbor and simply ask. If I were your neighbor, I’d be inclined to at least discuss it because I also can’t stand chain link. You never know until you VERY NICELY ask.

edit:
Ya know, TorchRedStang and I used to be neighbors. our fence was always falling over in high winds and such. At some point I had the entire fence replaced and the new one had metal poles. I could be mistaken but I’m pretty sure we split the cost. Of course Matt and I were pretty good friends at that point and handled everything like adults from the get go.

[scootro]

don't say crap to anyone! just put that shit up

[Sean88gt]

Rip the fence down. Double your usable backyard, and send him an invoice.

[hotrodcobra]

I have miles of fence. Literally miles. I have no idea how many miles, but probably 10's of miles of perimeter fence over about 800 acres (including leased land), not including cross fences, and I have yet for a single neighbor to help with the building or cost of a single foot of fence. Good luck.