AIBU to do whatever I like to my fence?

[SunnaStrangeInTheNeighbourhood]

Or rather is DH BU?

Last summer we replaced our tatty 6ft fence with a brand new one. It's a very long garden and that side was looking horribly bare. We have planted shrubs and flowers in beds down the side but it was still looking a bit naked because we'd had to remove a lot of established bushes and shrubs to do the fence.

DH scrounged was given some lightweight barbed wire left over from a friend's project and has been hammering it to the fence along the top and in loops and curls up and down with the intention of growing some climbing plants along it. It will also make it harder for random burglars to climb over the fence, he said. 3 years ago a potential burglar scaled all the fences down the lane and tried all the back doors, so it's not entirely silly to think it could happen.

NDN is worried about his cat getting hurt. Said cat hardly ever comes in our garden because we shout at it or squirt it with water. Until we moved in it had used it as an outside toilet. 4 years of discouragement means we hardly see it any more.

Cats aren't stupid so I think it may have encountered barbed wire before (we live in a village surround by farm land) and will have learned to avoid it or tiptoe round it. He wants us to remove it but "doesn't want to fall out over it". Dh has said he doesn't want to fall out either but it's staying.

NDN's wife says he's being ridiculous. He is isn't he?

Gosh, I'm on the fence on this one.

www.protectingyourself.co.uk/using-barbed-wire-glass-intruder-prevention-methods.html

Oh come on OP - in what world is barbed wire the material of choice to train climbing plants up?

Apart from looking awful, if anyone injures themself on it, you are potentially liable. Who wants to live with barbed wire on their fence? Plant some spiky/thorny shrubs instead.

Erm you can't just put barbed wire on a fence whether you own it or not.

You need notices on the fence advising that it is there, the notices have to be visible, legible and preferably in both words and pictures. If you don't and someone, including trespassers, gets hurt by it you are liable. And your Dh wants to conceal it? Massive potential for you getting in trouble. If someone gets hurt on deliberately concealed barbed wire with no notices you are screwed.

What's wrong with trellis ffs? Burglars don't like it because it's noisy, climbers climb it happily and you can't get sued for it.

Hmm. He used barbed wire because it was free. Twine is useless, he says. And it would be incredibly expensive to trellis the whole length of it. The fence cost was in 4 figures.

I guess we could laminate a notice and stick it on. No one would be likely to see it because we back on to fields.

Erm you can't just put barbed wire on a fence whether you own it or not.

Really? Where did you get this information from?

Goggle pets as curious myself. Hope this helps. www.mfll.co.uk/you_and_the_law.htm

I was under the impression that using barbed wire as you are can put you on dodgy ground if someone got injured because of it, possible action against you as home owners.

Can't see how it'd work with your climbers either.

Op, here's a piece of advice that works for many situations: "just because something is free, doesn't make it a good idea."

Get rid of the barbed wire, add in the desire to conceal it you are clearly hoping not to deter someone from climbing the fence, but that they will and get injured, you could be in a lot of shit for that, and the signs might not cover your arses.

If you wish to deter burglars then trellis would work better than hidden barbed wire, but it's not free and it won't hurt any bad people, if that's your DHs real requirement for security.

It'll be great if your fence ever needs fixing (which does tend to happen...), trying to untangle a mix of randomly applied barbed wire and climbing plant.

Fence looking a bit bare? Add barbed wire for a touch of prison camp chic. The new bang on trend style for gardens.

So you replaced a tatty fence as it was unattractive and have now got a new fence and barbed wire. I bet it looks just delightful now!

I don't think it's a good idea. I think that you are liable for any damage to people or animals that it causes.
Plus it looks awful, prison chic indeed

Buying trellis may be a lot cheaper than paying for the vet bills if a neighbour's cat gets injured.

londonrach that link is to information that's 20 years old. Have googled it a bit more and it all seems a bit vague and based on theoretically perceived problems - a bit like the clearing snow from paths and not offending other religions by using the word christmas.

I am however amused to read that barbed wire alongside a highway should be above 2.4m so as not to cause nuisance to animals. My Highland bull is probably a bit pissed off with the fence keeping him away from other lady cows - perhaps I should raise it to 2.4m and start a whole new lot of 'right to roam v. shit in garden' debates!

This is from the police website:

Using barbed/razor wire and broken glass in order to stop people getting in to your home is not advisable. You are making yourself liable to civil action as you owe a duty of care to ensure that visitors to your property are reasonably safe. Odd as it may seem, you also owe a duty of care to trespassers.

I shall force DH to phone the insurance company tomorrow. He's not going to do any more today.

At the moment the wire is an abstract design looping a few feet down the fence. It doesn't look that attractive but will be covered in clematis, wisteria etc in less than a year.

Tell your DH that it's a ridiculous idea. I bet it looks hideous too. I'm on the neighbours side, his cat could easily be injured on concealed barbed wire so could any amount of wildlife.

I'm pretty sure prisons have to pay a hefty fine to somewhere for using barbed wire on their walls.

I'd not use it tbh. You'd come a cropper if anyone injured themselves on it. Far better to use thorny climbing plants.

Lots of cross posting.

If the cat was injured then it could easily have been injured by all the other barbed wire around here. Difficult to prove it was ours, I'd say. And I don't think cats are that daft. They manage to avoid the huge amounts of it in the fields.

It doesn't look that attractive but will be covered in clematis, wisteria etc in less than a year

Sounds like you intend to keep it then?

Sounds like you intend to keep it then?

Not sure yet. DH will see what the insurance company say. He hasn't planted anything yet - wrong time of year. The only person likely to get injured is DH gardening because there is a six foot flower bed alongside the fence.

Abstract design??? It's barbed wire!!! Can you not just use normal wire. To be honest, if you manage to grow plants along it, it will be a nightmare to manage them. There are lots of normal wires around which could achieve what you want.

you don't need to put signs up for barbed wire otherwise half the countryside would be covered in signs as its widely used to stop sheep jumping over walls. However the barbed wire is visible to sheep and people alike.

OP I have seen the damage barbed wire can do to the underneath of dogs who jump over walls that have it on. I also have 3 scars (2 on my arms one on my back) from rescuing various farm animals who have got stuck in hedges/ fences with it on. Even if you know it is there it is something that is very easy to get injured on. Fun job for you doing any pruning/ clearing of climbing plants in the future!

Even if you couldn't give a toss about your neighbour's cat (and to be perfectly honest you don't sound like the easiest of neighbours to get along with from your description) if you back on to open fields there are plenty of other wild animals that use your fence that wont have owners looking out for them if they get caught on your completely unnecessary hidden barbed wire.

My final point is that most climbing plants manage to climb fences perfectly well without barbed wire. However if you are desperate to keep it perhaps your DH could go along with some metal cutters and clip the sharp bits off? Still free, but less dangerous?

Apart from all the other objections I do think it's a bad idea to grow plants through your barbed wire. All plants, even climbers, need some maintenance, a bit of cutting back now & again at the very least. You will find this very difficult to do if you are having to avoid sharp things while you are snipping.