I remember this story where a dude had a 5ft fence (the tallest allowed) but got sick of his neighbors sticking their nose in his business, so he built a 5 ft. foundation then a 5ft fence on top of it. His neighbor tried to take it up with courts, and the dude argued it wasn’t a ten foot tall fence, it was a five foot tall fence on top of a extended foundation (or something like that) and won the case
My city passed a law a while back where your garbage bins have to kept behind your fence when it's not garbage day, which ended up forcing many people to either build a fence enclosure specifically for their bins or to knock down part of their fence to make a gate (My family did the gate option). So someone in my city took the initiative to make the required fence to hide the garbage cans, and then painted realistic images cans on the front of the fence.
oh man i have a great story! Its my parents house they bought like 13 years ago and still live in. My parents wanted a fence in the back yard for their dogs as there was no property fence between my parents and their 2 neighbors. The way their house and yard was is kinda hard to explain but basically one fence was about 50 feet long and completely straight and would cover both neighbors. It was a straight fence that the first about 38ish feet was the nice neighbors and the other 12ish ft was a horrible old lady that was mean and hated everyone and constantly yelled over the fence at me and my brothers playing or my parents dogs who literally dont bark bcuz one was born without the part of the neck that allows him to do so and the other one was just so old it didnt care. She also got mad when we had BBQs for some reason. Well when it came time to build the fences we found out that our side of the yard was a little lower than our super nice neighbors. about 8 inches lower in fact (there was a cinder block wall separating our land that was only one block tall. It was lower on our side but level with the ground on their side). We looked up building code and found if we put the wall up correctly it would only be 5 ft 10 inches tall on our neighbors side and 6 ft 6 inches (the building code) on our side. Meaning she could still stand on her concrete deck (about 6-7 inches off the ground) and see us and yell at us. We talked with our nice neighbors and they said they wouldnt mind the fence either way. So my parents built it from our floor level to be 7 ft 2 inches, thus on our neighbors side it would be 6 ft 6 inches or built to building code. Well our jerk neighbor found out and she was mad that she couldn't yell over the fence at us anymore. She knew our yard was lower and complained to us that we cannot have our fence be 7 ft 2 inches as building code was 6 ft 6 inches (YES SHE MEASURED). She screamed and screamed until the fence was completed then she called the city and complained for weeks until they finally sent someone out. The person came out and knocked on our door and said they had to do an inspection bcuz the city blah blah blah and we said it was dumb and they said if you dont let us look then theres a fine regardless and they will be forced to use the police and look anyway. The guy told us "well if its like an inch over Im not going to report it, we just want to make sure its like not over 7 ft tall." Well as we know it was above 7 ft so me and my father came out the front door and went around the side of the house to the back to show him and our nice neighbor was out front watering his bushes and asked us how it was going and my father told him "oh its going good. City was called by Jerk-Neighbors-Name and they just want to make sure the fence isnt too tall." and our neighbors eyes widened and he was like "Oh yeah? the fence between our houses? oh dawg you dont want to lead him back there, you have your dogs outside right now playing in the pool. They will get mud all over him!" The inspector looked at us for a second then my neighbor said "here just come over and ill let you in this side to measure, its no problem at all." and the inspector was like "yeah if thats ok with you then we can measure on your side." and we walked around to our neighbors house and measured the fence "Yep, 6 ft 6 inches and level all the way. You guys are good to go, sorry for bothering you we will make sure she is informed." Every year since my parents have bought that family a bottle of wine in October (when it happened) for 10+ years. that old lady we heard from less and less bcuz of the fence keeping her away until she died about 2 years ago. BTW my parents dont own a pool nor have they ever.
@@asurasyn No, for so many reasons heres 4 1. only if your state has the stand your ground law and you reasonably believe you are in danger. Neither of those are true here 2. The city does not need a warrant to check on a build permit THEY ISSUED. 3. Even if they did need a warrant they would just get one. Then you are going to be dealing with a pissed off inspector who is going to go out of his way to find something wrong with your fence. 4. Why would I just kill someone for doing their job wth?
Almost a shame to have a fence between God neighbors like that! We were lucky growing up, our neighbors shoot their the ball back when it went over, let us “steal” their raspberries, lend us their kids old bikes, we didn't have any old bags in close proximity (there was one crazy old hag that would yell at us kids for fun on the way home from school, but she was a block away from the house so easily ignored).
True, although there’s also some studies that are showing that if it LOOKS super open and empty, drivers go MUCH faster and are less attentive. The perceived risk being low results in more high risk interactions. Some cramped streets with on street parking are actually way safer because while it’s hard to see what’s up, you know the danger you’re in, so yo don’t blow through there. Higher awareness, fewer incidents. All those wide suburban roads meant to help are now having the exact opposite effect. Also! With some GPS services showing local roads, back roads, and even areas with just family housing as shortcuts when the main routes are backed up, more and more people are using these smaller streets and just blowing through. They don’t know the McAdam’s kid is liable to get distracted texting and not make sure to be entirely clear of the street. They know people shouldn’t be in the road, the road is generally clear, and they’re just trying to get to work on time. They blow through there and, well... the more it happens, the more the bad outcome happens. It’s a problem that seems to be worse in the US than many other countries because of the development of segmented living areas vs commercial areas and the suburban sprawl. It’s an interesting problem, and we’re still figuring it out and trying to find solutions.
Sunlight can be a issue people will take to the grave. Sunlight comes before a road, cars can slow the F down then. Try living without sunlight and then try living with cars going slow coming down your road, and see which one kills you faster. It is just another excuse to control you, it is the drivers responsibility to follow road safety. IF a driver comes to a narrow road with low visibility then guess what, slow the F down. But when the sun rises and then sets and your property stays in the shade the entire time then nothing you can do except tear the guy's 40' fence down where it applies. If you want to be technical then if you claim to own the land, then you don't have jurisdiction over the space above it. not even for a 2 inch fence. lol But seriously you have only a reasonable amount of jurisdiction above the land, you don't own all the way to the moon, and you don't own all the way to the core of the earth. But to be legally technical you don't own jack shit, not even your own soul. That is another thread but it is true, legally, not in reality. In other words you live a deception that will put your bloodline in hell on earth and you need to change the path you are on. But like i said that is another thread and a whole book in itself.
Just don't be an idiot and set the lots that way then. Have it like a city that actually planned itself to be a city instead of just shit thrown together almost randomly and half assed. The city and county will own the land the road is on, and instead of being a ignorant fool, have the city and county own enough of the land near the road so that it can assure visibility, among other things i won't go into in this thread. It means nobody has any rights to build private shit(fences) on public land, their fences will be far enough back from the road because that is where their land is.. Duh, problem solved, and no stupid fence laws. And on highways it will be required for county to own more land near the road so it can have safe visibility maintained for that level of speed. But on the neighborhood roads speed is only 25mph so you don't need the city owning as much space near those roads, but you will need more than some of these cities allowed. 50' on each side should be safer than anything we have currently, lots can be the same size or even bigger too, but there will just be a little less lots per sq. mile.. But you should be allowed to build a 100' tall fence if you want to, as long as it steals no air, light, water, etc... from property where people are complaining about it stealing air, sunlight, and/or water. You don't have rights to put people in a dark cave with no air or water, you don't own the sun, or the space between the sun and the people. But remember, a 100' tall fence will never be too close to a road if you do what i said, have the county and city own the land near the roads far enough back so visibility can be maintained good. Example, on a road designed to handle the full flow of traffic to the inter city will be a 4-6 lane divided highway with exit lane turn offs, so you need enough land to allow the highway plus 500' more/250' on each side. Same thing with any road or back road, county should have been plotted to own enough land near every single road, to have good visibility. But you need to remember we still used horses back when most of these places were plotted. So just respect your car be thankful for it, and slow down when you travel these low visibility roads and stop relying on some politicians to tell you how to behave. Not that i want to live in a world where people think they need huge fences, but they should be allowed to build fence if they want one.
The dmv says stop at intersections then creep to be able to see before taking off. Don't drive and think " well, I made my stop, here i go." Always stop then look. I like my fences high
@@connor-3455 You're aware, you cretin, that in civilized state you often don't need to fence anything and often the regulations expressly forbid it on land that is not commercially used so that hikers and tourists aren't obstructed? Most of Europe looks on the fencing and gun mania like you would on someone from medieval ages...
This makes it really hard for me to build my castle. What good is a home if you can't have a 22-ft fence and a moat filled with crocodiles with laser beams attached to their arms.
Wish the whole limiting vision thing applied to the states themselves, I can't tell u how many times I go to turn at an intersection after exiting the highway and there are literally huge "pretty" bushes or plants blocking vision on state property.
I used to drive a bus on a regular route that involved going onto a freeway. The foliage next to the freeway entrance ramp was so overgrown that you couldn't actually see the traffic on the freeway until the moment you were supposed to join the traffic stream. I complained to the local council and the state roads authority about it, who didn't even see the problem, and eventually I ended up sneaking down there at 2am with a pruning saw and fixing it myself.
In some cities - like Houston, Texas - that is really not an option if you actually want to live anywhere near the city. Houston has notoriously powerful HOAs and you have to move very far away from incorporated areas to avoid them.
@@bland9876 They are usually founded by the company that builds the subdivision to force individuals who purchase houses in them to keep a certain aesthetic and cleanliness of their property to keep property values high while there are still unsold houses. Once every house is sold, they pass the HOA off to either another company or a "board" of individuals from the community. The largest problem with these is the board members actively profit off of any infraction to your HOA agreement with your lease. This makes the board members usually corrupt petty assholes.
@@silentgolden8507 Where I am, on my property, there are no rules to where and when and what I can build. I don't have to ask permission for anything on my own land. I can build any style or height of fence on my land, or building, for that matter, without restriction. If I want a new 20 stall horse barn, I can build a new 20 stall horse barn. If I want a ten foot high privacy fence, I can build a ten foot high privacy fence. Perhaps there's restrictions in rural areas around you, but where I am, there's nothing of the sort.
Found out you can bypass fence laws in almost every state if you build a “hallway” around your property. You can use normal building materials to match your house or simple bricks. Make sure to leave a pathway between the walls and place caps on the top the entire way. The hallway must attach to the house. You can make the wall as high as you really want but it shouldn’t go any higher than the house for obvious reasons. This may seem exactly like a fortress style wall but it’s all about terms and purpose. By having the wall attach to the house in two sections/bedrooms you have created a hallway connecting the rooms.
@@monkee3877 basically it would be fully enclosed in your house. No one would be going in unless they were breaking into your house. It's a hallway like the one in your house only with an exterior wall on either side and connects from your house to your house. I like the idea of using it as a long narrow library.
@@solamon77 To each his own. Kids drive their ATVs down my road and sometimes cut through my property. I never call to complain or chase them off. I hate others telling me what to do so much, that I would rather ignore the occasional loud noise than to impact another persons freedom.
@@solamon77 is an unnecessary consequence. It’s because people can snitch without me knowing who they are. If people had to put their name on the complaint, they wouldn’t do it.
It's one thing for the government to restrict what you can do with your own property for practical or safety reasons, but when the home-owner's association tells you what you can and can't do for cosmetic reasons, that's just offensive. 😒
Umm, first of all, you can't be forced to join a HOA. 2nd, HOA's have a 93% "highly satisfied" rate with their members. If you're having problems with an HOA, you're probably doing something the people who moved there for the HOA don't want. Whites literally what they're for, stopping people from doing things they don't want to. Usually this involves things that reduce house values.
Why buy a property with an HOA if you don't want to follow the rules? I research the HOA more than the condo itself when I look to buy. I do understand if the board changes the rules without a vote (which happened to us) but that's why it's so important to stay informed and join the board if possible.
The nearby country club went whining to the city about my 6 foot fence on my back property line. They tried to say my backyard was my frontline because of the layout of the original house on the property that was replaced in 93. I took pictures, made my case, and promised to make the planners go viral. I promised to erect a condom tree as modern art in my back yard. A large deciduous branch upright, with a hundred or so unfurled condoms hanging from it with a placard commemorating their tyranny. They decided to leave me alone.
and the sad truth is the country club was only complaining because they wanted to tear down what they considered an eyesore only to then replace it with a new fence designed to keep you from enjoying a view of their side "unless your a member type thing"... and they would have built an 8 to 10 foot fence most likely...
I grew up in south America, most every house in town has a wall around it. I think walls are good, don't see why the hell it should be against any law what the hell I do on my own land.
@Harvest Reign Unless you already live in an area in which you can do what you want AND it is an extremely nice area. They do exist and some people are living in them right now.
@ArmchairWarrior Awww look, a US hater...how original! Funny how everyone loves griping about the US, yet so many people go there as opposed to other "better" nations. Wonder why that is...
@ArmchairWarrior The First World by definition is Western Europe and all current and former British territories. The Second World is Russia and all former Soviet Union blocs. The Third World is everyone else. It's basically Major Capitalists, Major Communists/Socialists, and Those People That Weren't Really Involved In The World Wars. Those names have nothing to do with living conditions which, frankly, aren't that much different here than they are in Canada. Never mind the common use of "Third World" to refer to underdeveloped countries with lack of clean water, available infrastructure, etc., is typically in comparison to what is available in the US.
I build fences, almost no one builds finished out Personally I prefer finish out 1 it looks cool painting runners and posts black with transparent brown stain on the boards 2 safety, it is easier for someone to kick the boards in if they are finish side in or climb runners if they are faced out 3 if finish side is out it is easier to inspect/maintain runners and posts
I bought a 60 year old house, and the fence was installed when the house was new. City ordinance had a rule you had to have a survey before installing a fence, you had to have a letter from utilities showing water lines, sewer, etc. But you didn't anything to repair a fence, no new post holes. So I just took down the old fence one section at a time, breaking out the old posts, putting in new posts then new cross members and pickets.
I did that to repair part of my deck and got fined, then was required to submit for a building permit and had to change the original design, including the removal of parts of the deck that have been there since the 1970s.
We have an 8' post fence (ranch style) between one of our neighbors and our property that we both paid for. His livestock kept jumping the previous fence destroying it in the process so the new fence is just great! Neither one of us ever thought to check with the county on the ordinance concerning fences. Now, I'll have to call the county and check. Thank you, Simon!
@@BisexualBeauty - Too late. Just called them and they said that ranches can have up to 15' fences depending on the livestock and that as long as the fences are at least 30' from the roads no inspection or permit is needed.
Since it's a joint project between the joint owners of the property line I doubt you'll have a trouble. Only time anyone would bother with that is if the local Fire Marshal determines it obstructs access for emergency responders... Edit: "...*any trouble..." , lol.
@@BisexualBeauty what he said. what the govt don't know won't hurt 'em. my neighbor and i agreed on a small fence for the dogs backed by 8 foot shrubs. prob solved.
not quite if they grow too big the fact they were planted too long ago just saves you from being forced to remove them, not however from being forced to trim them down to size
@@geraldgrenier8132 In my experience, such plants are never required to be trimmed, no matter how much they block the view of traffic or block sidewalks.
@@bearcubdaycare That happens when there in out of way places were people either casn be boyher to complain or you get a lazey complace office who does want tyhe trip to enforce it. BUT yes push grow, and yes if the not maintain the land own can be fained for creating a road hazard.
One of the things I noticed about rural properties in New Zealand was that a lot of them had 100 ft trees along their borders, including the front fences. But as these trees were quite a way back from any roads, they didn't impinge on traffic visibility. However, one got the distinct impression that the owners abided closely with the saying "Good fences make good neighbours", or else...
Sorry to reply to such an old post, but as a kiwi who grew up on farms, i cpan explain the tall trees. They act as a natural wind breaker and noise abatement. This keeps plants and livestock happier. It is a cheap and effective tool for this, but it sometimes comes at the cost of light, leading to smaller crop plots with a fair bit of dead ground between field and trees. Most of the trees used iirc stand between 25 and 40ft tall.
@@grillikthgrumpy I should have figured that out for myself lol. But I wasn't there in winter; it does indeed get windy (and those bent trees should have given me a clue too). Thank you for clarifying. The other thing I saw were fields of stones. One poor guy had this humungous pile of stones and rocks heaped up against the back of his property; and the entire field in front was giving birth to more stones - all over, everywhere. Practically as I stared. Being a farmer wasn't all honey and roses there, I'd imagine, despite the much better rainfall than Australia gets...
I'm shocked that "spite fences" are a real thing; the only time I've ever come across that term was in a Berenstain Bears book, where Papa Bear accused their new neighbors of putting up a spite fence "to keep other folks from seeing what they're up to", or something like that. It just seemed like such a bizarre thing to mention in a children's book.
When I built my house I took the official lot description and map of the lot to the city office to get my fencing approved before building them so I would be in compliance. They marked on the map all the correct places I could build the fences and he heights of each fence on all 4 sides of the house. This was given to the fence company, they again checked with the city and got the permit. The fences were all built and then the city inspector came out to check them. We were told that the front fence had to be moved 1 foot further back from the road and if not done in 7 working days I would start receiving a 1200 dollar fine each day until it was done. AFTER they approved the position of the fence twice. Moral: Don't take the word of the city, get the inspector to come out and show you were to put the fences. Cost me almost 2,000 dollars to move the fence, 5 days after it was built.
I would not have moved it or paid any fines. You should have let them take you to court. After you show the judge all the evidence of approvals then they would lose.
@UnknownXV I probably would have taken that so called city inspector to court for the cost of moving the fence. That way the battle is with an individual and not the city.
Where I live City Hall says; the tall fences would restrict Law Enforcement access TO YOUR PROPERTY! Yup, you got it. The assumption seems to be that the Cops must have unrestricted access to YOUR PROPERTY 24/7 ! And I always thought a valid Warrant was needed. Guess not!
Land of the free? The world always smiles when you yanks say how your freedom is the most important thing. You guys are not free, you all live in fear, whether you realise it or not.
Obviously I'm missing tons of context about where you live, but in general officers do not need a warrant if there is an immediate risk of harm (an easy example is police hearing a gunshot in a house). Now if a fence restricts emergency access (police, ambulance, fire department) by design it seems like a reasonable ordinance. As a personal opinion, I don't find fences to be meaningful protection or to be seen as a form of protection in residential context when the technology of ladders exist.
@@tukyleith Meanwhile in the UK, kitchen knives are considered weapons that only a criminal would have. In Germany there's such a lack of freedom of speech you get stopped by police and questioned for wearing a red hat or having your hair in braids on the basis that you might be a conservative, and you're thrown in prison for questioning the holocaust. In France protesters are being beaten by police (i've watch with my own eyes some truely horrific videos) and they're trying their best to make protesting effectively illegal. In Sweden you're something like 3000% more likely to be raped than anywhere else in the western world (other than maybe Germany for the same reason). Yeeaahhh ill stay here in the US thank you very much. There's a reason why Europeans are constantly immigrating to the US and not the other way around.
Where I grew up, we had the backyards of seven houses all joined up without any fences which made for a nice large open expanse of green nature. Borders were only indicated by a few bushes.
My idea of a perfect spite fence would be to build a totally normal fence, but have just a few random boards sticking up slightly too high. If my neighbor was particularly OCD or just annoyed me enough then I would also include a single board, centered outside his window, that was the wrong way around on the fence. He couldn't claim it was a spite fence, and I could just say I'm bad at building or I was slightly inebriated when I built it. The best form of spite is petty spite.
Lol yeah as long as they don't find out or can prove you did it out of spite. If so then they'd easily win a civil harassment case and if you leot doing such things it'll become criminal. Lol petty things are what nutjobs and kids do. Lol at you you munchkin
The whole purpose of a fence is to keep strange people out of your property. So it defeats the purpose if the city or government prevents you from building a fence tall enough to serve that function.
I live on a corner lot and the landlord had a 7 foot tall chain link fence put it to keep people out, but it doesn't violate any laws because it's see-through. Also, it's technically the back yard (even though it faces the street the house is registered to) as the front door and driveway are on the opposite side of the building. It's ... complicated. The house is older than most of the laws and ordinances that govern such things as standard address assignments or house orientations. It's even older than the cul-de-sac that the current driveway connects to, so things like "front yard" and "back yard" are a little confused.
The actual purpose of a garden fence is to mark the boundaries of your property. In civilized countries most people stay off other people's property if they know where it begins. And a burglar who is equipped to get past your front door will overcome any fence, no matter how high it is; after all: If you want to exit and enter your property, there has to be a gate somewhere and the lock on that is as vulnerable (probably even more) than the lock on your door.
Actually where I live (Ontario Canada) the reason I was given for my 3 foot high front fence is so the authorities can SEE into my front yard and house or to Watch you. This came from the local Govn. Life goes on.........
I live in BC, my municipality told my mom she can only have 5 feet of solid fence but if her Irish Wolfhound was jumping it easily she was welcome to add as much trellis or chain link to the top of it as she needed.
I built a 7 foot tall fence surrounding my entire backyard. Code enforcement showed up soon afterwards demanding I tear it down until I showed them my pool in my backyard, and I told them I had no choice because I would come home only to find some jerk-wad and their kids kept using my pool without my permission.
@@masterofpuppets5072 Really and where in my post did I try to act like a tough guy? I think you need to go back under that bridge you live under. Go away ya smelly troll!
Good video, Simon, and all... Thought I might point out mention of HOA's... BUT there's enough filth in the comment section for those already... SO a story... Helped a friend build a fence, double-sided wood slats for baffling the "city sounds" and traffic noise. It was nice, not at all, obscuring to the roadway as we'd even backed it off the road some twenty feet. BUT it was "out of ordinance" with the neighborhood, and two weeks of arguing later, it had to come down... Apparently, noise-reduction fences were not in compliance, and ONLY the nicest of chain-link were allowed. SO I ended up with a summer job, helping construct a "Solarium" addition to my friend's house. Since we very quickly replaced the wood fence with the chain-link, preserving the wood for other things... We put the chain link up to the limit of roadside obedience... AND constructed a twenty-foot stone wall around the remainder of the front yard, giving only about twelve feet of "mowing space" between the "Solarium" and the fenceline. Of course, complaints came rolling, BUT my friend had read the ordinances carefully... AND his new addition was "just" inside the letter of the law as written. However, since there was no mention (in the same ordinances) about how to paint any part of the house... AND because of furthered complaints, we dubiously (he arbitrarily) decided to cover the ENTIRE outer stone exposure in "Chrome Paint"... creating a HIDEOUS shine whenever there was daylight. The last I heard about it, he was "in negotiations" with the city council to make agreements between just removing that god-awful paintjob and the hazards to everyone's vision thereof, in return for being able to keep the solarium untouched otherwise... It's been years, but he's a hard-headed type. Moral? Well, you might want to be careful who you decide to "push" when it comes to neighborhood disputes. I've known quite a number of people who tend to "make things steadily worse" for every mention of complaint from someone else. It's just in their nature, and some of us are REALLY SKILLED in the game of "F*ck-F*ck"... ;o)
@@xxXthekevXxx, by the technical (architecture term) designation, yes. Yes, it must be covered over with glass to be a solarium, though some have dubiously labeled it otherwise. Technically, without the glass, it would not only failed utterly to reflect light from over-head well, BUT it would have been an "atrium", and the legal distinction of that might be construed into the ideal that we'd only constructed a stone wall rather than the originally prescribed chainlink fence... which would constitute outright contempt of the bi-laws and court orders. SO... solarium it was, and with very slightly tinted (UV-protectant) glass, it was also "high shine", exactly as disturbing as it sounds... Bonus, by being a "complete and sheltered structure" it was also legally an addition to the house, so entering without explicit invitation constituted "criminal trespass" at least, and could be cause for "breaking and entering". Hope this was as amusing as it was helpful... enjoy. ;o)
When I lived in Zambia all the houses in our neighborhood had 10 foot high stone walls with razor wire at the top you basically have your own little compound it was so peaceful
We have a similar rule in my neighborhood and really I don't mind. Many of the homes abut a neighborhood pond and we have numerous ponds throughout the neighborhood. The rule is that you can't block (trees, shrubs, fences) the view of the pond from another property. My home is in the middle of properties that form a semi-circle around one of the ponds and in that location I have the fewest options. It's a compromise. When I walk out in the back, I have a beautiful expansive view of the pond and well manicured and landscaped lawns that makes my property seem significantly larger than it is. I moved here from an area where everybody had a small property and an 8-foot privacy fence. I absolutely prefer my current property.
@@pietersmal5903 Your stoicism is admirable but it still isn't right. People being targeted for murder and land appropriation by government entities. Stay safe.
4:30 you need to investigate the American phenomenon known as the HOA. They most assuredly dictate the style and materials that can be used in a fence and the color of shutters and shingles !
When I moved into my home, I discovered the previous tenant had beef with the whole neighborhood, allegedly. Out of spite (allegedly), she had a privacy fence installed about 8" (16cmish) away from existing chain link property fences. This resulted in a small no man's land where vegetation could not be trimmed. It seems this was in no way illegal. Apparently, other neighbors struggled with this issue for years until we decided to replace the fence surrounding our yard. We were all happy to agree to share a single fence.
@@ralan350 Can I assume we've had our share of HOA horror stories? People comment to never join or just move but I'm wondering what's stopping an "accidental" fire at the leader's house while (s)he is away. Chemical spills and gas leaks happen all the time.
Definitely gonna start one as my Christmas project. Speakers attached that actually PLAY Justin Bieber should be spiteful enough for the most tolerant of neighbours! :-)
personally, i'd have a line bamboo growing in a very thick barrier around my property...and just behind that osage orange known for it's impressive thorns and tangled branches... no one needs to be on my property without my permission...such things would whisper "go elsewhere" to anyone who might want to frolic across my lawn and harass my resident critters and homesteading bunnies ...however, they are welcome to all the yellow jackets and wasps they can stuff into their pockets
There are 2 kinds of cops -- the eager rookies who see the tall fence as a chance to show off their athleticism, and the grizzled vets who welcome any excuse to quit running.
@@PatrickKQ4HBD not unless it's a wanted murderer or someone who has a firearm. Missed shots in a residential area are taboo in most police jurisdictions, good way to kill innocent people.
@Mike Abney cleared a 9 foot fence along a freeway running from the cops once, he didn't even try. Of course I was 16 at the time and regularly walked miles and miles for hours at a time so my legs and cardio were top notch. I hadn't actually done anything, but I was out at 3am in violation of a local curfew, and I suppose I didn't want to get in trouble with my parents for sneaking out. Coincidentally I outran and got away from a pitbull at the same location, that fence saved my ass twice.
The national building code actually allows for a 7' fence. There is no requirement for a building permit unless it is intended to exceed 7". The 7' restriction is for safety reasons. A taller fence is subject to higher wind loading and would require specific engineering to construct, to ensure that people wouldn't be hurt by a falling fence due to high wind load.
We had a guy across the street complain that our shop was recking his vew. He made lots of complaints and even tryed to say we were dumping oil. So my dad made a 30Ft. High 100Ft long pile of mud along to road and left it there for 20 years
@@thewerefrog2354 Or they applied for and got a variance. Which is much easier to do when you have the time and money to be on the HOA board/neighborhood association.
Construction plan reviewer and compliance officer here. The first 2min of this vid is spot on. Sure we'll drive around but will largely only write up the obvious or dangrous offenses. Aside from that, if you receive a violation, odds are that one of your neighbors tipped us off basically forcing us to investigate.
A few years ago, as a new resident, I erected a 4 foot garden fence around my end-of-a-row house. For years, 'neighbors' and utility people had been taking short cuts across my garden rather than walk around - they'd literally worn several paths across my lawns. When, one day a I found one of them driving his car across it, I decided action was needed. It didn't completely work. I'd installed 3 gates, but people just walked through and left them swinging. The last straw was the day my new terrier puppy ended up under the wheels of a passing car, because some moron had left every gate open. Also, the wooden fence was being regularly 'accidentally' damaged by passing vehicles. I started locking the gates and replaced vulnerable posts with concretes ones painted to match the wood. A few weeks later, a local authority busybody arrived to tell me that my fence was a foot over regulation, locking my gates was breaking fire regulations, and the concrete fence posts were illegal as they were 'clearly intended to damage.' He was, of course, only 'doing his job' after receiving complaints. I told him I was prepared to compromise. In that he - and my 'neighbors' - could go forth and multiply while I went back to being a free citizen. How about that? The alternative? I would measure every fence in the area, and if they broke regulations (which was most) hand the householders photocopies of the warning he'd handed me. Plus I'd give them his name and address as the author of any trouble that might follow. I never heard from him again. As for those who live nearby (I don't regard any as neighbors) - my next dog was adult and professionally trained. They quickly got the point.
@@bigmike1850 Naw. I've always found both retribution and revenge are much more satisfying when served on the living. Especially living self-important, self-entitled, jobsworths. And am I the only one who thinks they're massively on the increase? I'm honestly the kind of person who allows no end of liberties. IF I'm asked. Like my garden? Help yourself to cuttings. Pick a few flowers. Come sit in it (but bring beer.) Like my books/DVDs/CDs? Borrow one. A soft touch pushover most of the time. IF I'm asked. But forget to ask...
I once read a story about a guy who had a dispute with a neighbor on one side of him, and really liked the neighbor on the other side. So he painted the exterior of his house with smiley faces toward the neighbor he liked, and frowney faces toward the neighbor he didn't.
The spite fence reminded me about what happened in my city. We had someone who wanted to buy a restaurant but the owner refused to sell, so the buyer instead built a building in between the restaurant and the main road blocking view to the restaurant. The building went unsold for a long time until it was turned into an emergency clinic.
Quite common actually. Particularly in New England there's what's known as spite houses. House built specifically to obscure someone else's view. Usually as tall as local laws allowed.
I had someone deliberately cut me off and curse at me with his child in the car because I was in his way while he was gunning it around a blind hedge corner with parked cars, from that point I understand the law on corners
@@plinkitee leave from the neck up exposed so you can end every day with a running goal kick. Once it finally snaps off just stomp it until it's mushy and toss it out on a random highway. Looks like regular roadkill. Only the head though. A body is a noticable amount of meat.
Pretty accurate, but unfortunately style restrictions on fences has been pretty common as of late, usually you will see these restrictions in areas that have home owners associations but even in certain cities they may only allow certain styles. And I like the tip if your neighbors don't complain you likely won't have any issues.
My mom just moved into a new property a few months ago. It didn't have a fence. She has dogs. So she put up a nice fence around part of her property. When the inspector came to check her new sewer she had put in. They saw the fence and complained. Made her take the top fence rail down, from four feet to three feet in front of the house. She spent a lot of money having the fence built. Is a big improvement on the property. It really looks great. Township Said for how ever many hundreds of dollars,she could appeal the decision. May not make a difference though. We all know that would have been a waste of money and time. We figured wait 6 months and put the top rail of the fence back and hope nobody says anything.
Appearance is not at all unregulated. In most areas of the US you are required to have the finished side of the fence facing out. In the case of wooden fences this would be flat side, for metal fences this is the side without braces, for chain links slats it's the nice side of the slats with the polls on the inside, etc etc etc. It's a purely cosmetic thing and is there so that your neighbors don't complain about being presented the "ugly" side of the fence. If your fence is symmetrically sided or you double the fence (nice side of outside fence facing out and the inverse for the interior fence) it isn't regulated.
@@garethbaus5471 If you're paying taxes for 2 acres, and your neighbor takes .5 acres from you through adverse possession, yet you're still paying property tax for the full 2 acres, I'm pretty sure you're going to sing a different tune. Also, when you go to sell said 2 acre property, only to find that you now only have a 1.5 acre property. *shrug* That's why.
Spite Fence: We remodeled a house where the owner was in a disagreement with his neighbor. Neighbor didn't like that a garage addition's windows overlooked his yard and house (from my understanding). So, owner built a solid stucco fence/wall about 11' tall. Neighbor complained about the workers walking on his property to finish that side of the fence/wall.
Glad I live in the woods where none of this applies...I could have a fence 50 ft high if I wanted to pay for it & my neighbors couldn't say anything about it...my property, my fence, my business...I can't figure out why anyone would want to live in an area where you can't do whatever you want with your own property...
Eight feet tall wrought iron front yard fencing is pretty common in my city, probably because they aren't meant to block the view, but to keep burglars out.
fumblerooskie where can I get that high fence you mentioned. I'm from Jacksonville Florida. It's an emergency to sturdy the end of my trailer in case of hurricanes they always hit on that end if they come. Always from the Atlantic next to never from the gulf. Thank you very much.
A old law use to say if had a stallion in your coral , a 6' fence is needed. That is why 5' fences was the maximum height in city limits. Stallions were wild and would go nuts if a female horse got into season in the neighborhood.
In Massachusetts many fence regulations date to Prince Phillip's war. The Indians would use fences to besiege homesteads so the regulations limited the height of stone walls and taller fences had to be picket style.
I once lived in a house that was completely surrounded by trees. You could not see anything on the property from the roadside. No one complains because it was on top of the hill. The cool thing was, you could only seen the property once you got to the top of the driveway. Part of the yard was completely shaded at all times of the day.
Where can you get the highest vinyl fence there is in Jacksonville florida. I live on a private dirt road or driveway. It's to help block wind on one end of my trailor to help sturdy it in case of hurricane. Any hurricanes come from the atlantic on that end
Unless you're in Vancouver where all the fences and vegetation block every street corner's visibility. Don't know what the regulations are there but must be really lax.
I live in the UK and to get around the fence laws my neighbour actually built his own version of the Berlin wall around his garden instead which was about 7.5 foot high and got away with it, the only part that was short was the front part where it was only 2 foot high, he went from one extreme to the other and even though he has now sold the property the walls still stand.
@@floppinfish Yeah, it's NOT that simple if you want a fence to stand for more than a year or two. Have fun with your rotten posts in a couple of years!
@@MonkeyJedi99 I laughed so hard at this, nice, decent intellectual response...butt pirate. I haven't heard or used the two words, in that combination, in years.
I agree. When my parents moved into an HOA it was just... signing away all these little personal freedoms that add up to a major pain in their... derrières. When I move to Colorado my plan is to get some land somewhere out of the way eventually so I can have a Hobbit hole (a legit one, sans actual hobbit) and there’s no HOA to stomp on my dreams. 😂
The cute thing about all of this is the idea that the government or neighbors/community has any right to tell someone what they can/can't do on their own property.
Unless you've fully paid off your property, you technically don't fully own it; the bank has some ownership too. It's well within the bank's interest to make sure that, in the event you stop paying, they are able to re-sell the house.
My dad's property shared a fence with a public reserve that was pretty open, large, and had no public toilet anywhere nearby. MF's would often climb over into dad's ( and other neighbours ) property to use it as a toilet. Around about the fifth time mum found shit in her yard, the middle of the fence developed a curious "fault" and more than about 20 or 30 Kgs of pressure made the whole top half of the middle part of the fence fall off into the reserve. Dad always meant to get around to "fixing" that fault, because it was dangerous, having about 50 Kgs of metal fence fall on someone as they tried to climb into our property . . . Strangely, given he was such a talented and careful tradesman, he never did succeed in fixing it properly. My brother and I got quite used to coming home from school and putting the fence back in its brackets. :P
Good neighbors make good neighbors. Fences don't keep out loud music or other annoying things, like a smell that gives you a migraine but is legal. Having a neighbor that you can actually talk about things with, that actually helps.
That is a sentiment that Robert Frost seriously disproved of. The words are those of a neighbor whom he asks why they are mending a wall that serves no purpose.
What if I make an artificial vertical hill of dirt around my property then put an appropriately & legally sized 6 foot fence on top?? Ultimate height of division between you and your neighbor but still complying with the law!
There was a spite fence near where I used to live. The person who lived there built a really nice stone fence. It was there for a very long time. Then the city got involved saying it was a hazard and too close to the road. I believe after the road was widened. So they were forced to take it down. They put up a mix of wood, garbage, and chain fence. It looked terrible, but it was in the correct location and was technically a fence. Id smile at that new fence every time I drove by.
The real reason is so that the police can legally search the curtilage of a home as it is in public view with a fence or wall that is easy to see over.
Lol no. The Supreme Court has historically ruled that curtilage is protected by the 4th amendment, so they need a warrant, or to fall under the plain view doctrine, meaning 1), the item has to be in plain view of an officer, 2), the officer has to lawfully be in a place where he sees the item (which if you tell an officer to get off your property, and they don’t for a non-warrant related reason, then they are not lawfully allowed to be in your front or back curtilage) and 3), the incriminating nature of the evidence must be immediately apparent. If you leave anything in your front yard that meets those criteria, then that’s a pretty good indication for a lack of general intelligence…
I was just thinking that, they talk so much about their free speech that allows them to offend other people, but they are not even free to choose the height of their fence/wall
Jason Kron Really, that’s just wrong, I do it all the time as do a lot of Philadelphians. Frequently do it in the middle of a block when light is red, but by the time I get to the corner to make my bus, the light will have turned green and I’ll miss my bus waiting for light to change again. I’ve even jaywalked when police are around, the just don’t pay attention
@@rodrigolnl They are happy as long as they allow people like Charles Manso to say whatever he wants. They just act after the consequences. For that they have the industrial prison complex and the highest incarceration rate in the world.
I was going to say before the entro, My family has an 8 ft privacy fence between us and our neighbor. 6 ft would be basically useless in that instance. From my knowledge we have never been contacted by the township. We must have higher standards.... puns.
I think the real reason is for your neighbors to watch you. I bought a house on a mountain in the woods of Schenevus, Upstate New York. Five acres of wilderness. All i have is a 3 foot indian stone wall that was built 300 years ago and lots and lots of hemlocks and maples. I can literally walk around naked and no one will see me unless they’re flying above my house. I love it!
Some cities require visibility triangles at corners. Sometimes it's a short triangle, but usually we have to design a triangle where an auto traveling towards the corner can see clearly 25'-50' back down the cross street from 100' away. That means no trees, fences, signage, or temporary signage.
Ah yes, great ol' Charles of the malicious fence scandal of 1880(ish). It has been suggested that ever since this great event, that all subsequently constructed fences pay an homage to the spite of Charles Crocker. Rest in conflict, you magnificent pioneer.
Grew up in a place where no front yard fences were allowed. Was great for being a kid. Always looked beautiful. Live in a place now with cement block walls everywhere. Its like a prison.
i had a fence here in chilliwack where it was 1 long fence all the way down the street in the back. would walk the top . had to be careful of some dogs. in the 80s no one complained cause we were just walking through, back when people didn't mind they're neighbours
I solved this problem by installing my fence on saturday night through to sunday morning, and ended up being double the allowed height. I then planted trees, which extended way past the allowed height.
In Europe, France and Switzerland for me, most of houses have high walls or three walls. I prefer it that way, Adam style ! 🤫 I would hate a totaly open frontyard
Years ago in the old neighborhood had a couple move into the house east of mine, then he starts raising chickens, the city told him he couldn't raise poultry so he shifted to pit bulls. The dogs cleared my 5' wire fence with ease so I put up a privacy fence & soon so did the neighbors to his east & his south so they got 3 sides of privacy fence for free. I would notice dog poop in my yard and I didn't have a dog at the time, this wonderful neighbor would scoop his yard and sling it over the fence onto the closest neighbor's yard. I should have moved away as soon as the old neighbors started going to nursing homes or die off because their kids would rent the houses or sell them for fast money, declined in a hurry.
In my home town in KS, man made fences are limited to 6 feet but there are absolutely no limits on any natural ‘fence’ so we can plant 40 foot bushes and trees with no pushback. So that’s what I did and enjoy a private backyard.
Any place with a law about how high a fence can be should also come with a regulation stating that no deck/porch can be taller than said fence, or at least that if your neighbor has a deck/porch that your fence can be 6 ft taller than their deck. I moved into a house and wound up winning the neighbor lottery on one side, and losing it horribly on the other. The nice neighbors have a nice fence up, which we were told was put up to keep OUR other neighbors out of THEIR yard. Woof. We can’t even go outside without being accosted by at least 3 of them at any given moment. And it’s not like they’re mean or anything, they’re just garbage mutants that never shut the fuck up about their trash lives. So we looked into putting a fence up. And realized that at 6 ft, hell, at even 8 ft, their back porch/deck is still tall enough for them to look right over the fence and interject into our lives, like they constantly do. I just want to have a couple friends over for drinks in the summertime and not have a creepy lady talking over us and butting into our conversations, or her morbidly obese boyfriends (yes plural) just waltzing through my property, or her daughter flicking all her cigarette butts into our yard. If I have to hear the story about how her diabetic husband lost his legs and how much they paid for their trash house with literal garbage piled to the tops of the windows and how much crap she found at a yard sale and how many times she fucked her boyfriend until she got pregnant when she was 15 or any of the other way over the top tmi stories she fucking has, or her boyfriends have, or her grandkids have, I’m gonna fucking snap lol
Rolando Pacheco You’re just as bad as he is, then. And an idiot to boot. See, it’s racist, because he gave enough of a shit to try and determine their race, like it even matters. And then goes on to call them “negroes” which is about as normal as calling anyone of Asian descent “orientals” 🙄 Give me a fucking break. He brought race into it, and tried to make a race look bad while doing it. It’s fucking racist. That’s practically the definition of racism. And people like you who let it slide do nothing but perpetuate that culture. You’re both as culpable. It’s a shitty fucking thing he did, and you trying to defend it is equally as shitty.
In some cases a 5 or 6-ft-tall fence may be a requirement, for example if you have a pool. This is of course for the safety of neighbours, children and roaming animals that might fall in.
