Fences facing inwards

[summerdays]

When our old next door neighbours put up a high fence 2 m tall their side replacing an old 4 ft one, they wanted the good side facing in so ended up loosing 2 or 3 inches from their garden. But they had shoddy builders who attached their fence posts to the old ones so it blew over in the wind!

I prefer plants on the whole or a wall.

 

[annedonnelly]

I understood that the owner of the boundary had to have the supports on their side - unless otherwise agreed. My neighbours asked if they could put the supports on my side so that they could have a continuous run of smooth fence around all three sides of the garden.

 

[ianrauk]

I understood that the owner of the boundary had to have the supports on their side - unless otherwise agreed. My neighbours asked if they could put the supports on my side so that they could have a continuous run of smooth fence around all three sides of the garden.

This is how I always understood it.

 

[summerdays]

I know but my old neighbours didn't believe in asking, they just did things, the only thing they asked us whether we wanted to halves on the Berlin Wall! We declined as we were fine with the old one having grown lots of plants beside it.

 

[NormanD]

Fences, appearance of: Must the smooth side of my neighbour's fence face towards me?My neighbour is in the process of erecting his new fence, and he has started putting it up so that the smooth side faces towards his own house. Is he allowed to do this?

There is no law that says the smooth side of the fence should face the neighbour.

If your neighbour pays for a fence that he erects on his own land (even if he builds the fence so that the outer face of it, as seen from his land, runs along the boundary) then he is entitled to choose the style and colour of the fence, as well as whether he places the smooth side of the fence to face in towards his own house or out to face your house.

 

[BAtoo]

That's the way to do it....

 

[Gravity Aided]

Or you could do a shadowbox fence and have half of the board on one side, half on the other, pleasing everyone and no one at the same time.

not my picture, from a fence company in Florida.

 

[Gravity Aided]

http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/frost-mending.html
"Good fences make good neighbors."

 

[raleighnut]

The best fence posts are those H section concrete ones, new panels can be dropped/slid in from the top when needed and there is no "bad" side. Plus they don't "rot off" at ground level.

 

[swansonj]

Our road has several adjacent similar houses all with the front gardens separated by similar fences. I replaced the one that is my responsibility with the smooth side out, following convention. But two houses along on the other side, they replaced theirs a couple of years ago with the smooth side in, following selfishness rather than convention. So our neighbours in between this year, needing to replace their fence, had a choice: smooth side out as per convention, leaving them with two "inside" sides, or smooth side in, giving them one of each but presenting us with two insides? I'm pleased to say they chose the former.

Middle class life is full of these tricky dilemmas.

 

[Dave 123]

In my back garden the fence that divides us and the neighbour had a snapped fence post. The posts are on their side. The bloke next door is useless so his wife asked if I'd do it. I agreed, she likes a real man.
We checked on our deeds, and it works out it is my fence to fix.
Fence posts on the wrong side? The world's gone mad.

 

[GrasB]

I got around this by using a fence product which doesn't have a bad side.

 

[stephec]

I got around this by using a fence product which doesn't have a bad side.

Blue pallets?

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

You know, this thread makes me so glad I haven't ever had neighbours!

 

[PK99]

The way has always been that when you put up a fence, the "good" side faces outwards towards the road.
Like this

Now around our way I have seen three new fences going up facing inwards with all the post and rails facing the road.

Like this.

Is this just a trend? Common sense? or rather mean and a reflection of the rather selfish attitude that now seems to prevail?

there is no law requiring the "good" side to be one way or the other.

BUT your fence posts must be on your land*
THUS, if you put the good side inwards you lose 4 inches of land.
Does that matter?
Yes! Once the fence has been in position for 12 years, the land then belongs to the neighbour by virtue of Adverse Possession.

By that, if i replace a boundary fence, shown on my deeds as my fence, i must put the posts on my land. If the good side is to me, after 12 years that defines the legal boundary.
The fence rots and after 13 years needs to be replaced.
When erecting the new fence, i must put the fence posts on my land, ie in board of the boundary line, defined by the fence line.
If i put the good side to me, i have now lost 8 inches of land.

* if a fence post requires a footing, for example of concrete, to secure it into the ground then it is normal to allow the footing to lie partly beneath the adjoining land. by the Party Wall Act that does not count as encroachment.