Neighbours building an 8ft fence... :o(

[gluteustothemaximus]

Neighbours have decided to put up a fence, to replace what was there before (a 6ft fence).

We've seen the posts going in, and they measure over 7 1/2 ft tall.

Working out what they've done, they are going from the height of their decking, which is a foot off ground level.

So basically, when all is said and done, we'll have an 8ft fence our side.

The most obvious thing would be to talk to them about it, which we will do, but not looking forward to it.

But, anyone know if they are able to build an 8ft fence? If it looks 6ft6 from their garden level?

Would anyone else have an issue with this? Just feel like it's going to be a bit prison yardy. Plus we have a 6ft fence the other side, so it's going to look a bit weird. Mostly we're worried about the light (or lack of) coming through. An extra 2 ft would be quite a lot.

This could be a complete non event?
If you have only seen the posts they may put 6' panels in and cut the posts to size.
Either way just ask; nothing to lose?

I like my privacy so I wouldn't have a problem with this. I'd grow climbers up my side, clematis, honeysuckle, rambling roses (rambling rector is amazing). Will a 2 foot higher fence on one side really make any difference to the light coming through? I know what you mean about the prison yard feel, especially if it's a small garden but I think you could make that enclosed and private with good planting. Also, we've painted all our fences a dull green which IMO is much much nicer than that raw appearance of light brown new fencing.

We have an 8' wall between us and our NDN. It's great. Gives both gardens total privacy.

I do like privacy and the neighbour is entitled to privacy too. Hopefully we can come up with a compromise.

Our garden is small, and we have a tiny kitchen window (am I selling the benefits of our house?) and that's where we get the light coming in. I think we'd lose a lot.

Our fence posts were much higher when they were first put in and then trimmed down (wooden posts) once the panels were in place. Could this be what your neighbours are doing?

I hope so Malibu, that gives me a bit of hope!

My df does fencing. Legally 6.6 is the highest you are allowed - 6ft fence and 6inch trellis on top

Holes need to be dig least foot into ground so yes posts will be 7ft+

You need to tell them asap before they pay for it to be installed! My parents fence was 1/4 inch too high and the busy body opposite reported them and they had to spend ANOTHER £1k to put it right. Had he got his measuring tape out and said something before, my parents wouldn't have been quite so devastated

JustDontGetItAtAll - how did it cost £1k to fix it? Could they not just have jigsawed off 1/4" off the top?

Oh if only I had you for a neighbour OP

My neighbours did this.... massively high fence.... great I cantbsee them etc.... on the other hand my garden is in complete shadow after mid morning

We are having our fence replace and while our panels are 6ft the concrete posts are much longer to allow for them to go deep into the ground with buried gravel boards to ensure the garden is secure for the dog. Hopefully it won't be as high as you think as i believe fence height rules are standard (we couldn't make ours taller to account for the drop away at the end of our garden for instance).

Shit We put new fence panels in yesterday, I ordered (accidentally) bigger ones than before and now we're up to 213cm.

NDN has seen it though and had a nice chat with DH over it yesterday, we'd had no fence in for 2 years so I think they're just glad to have their privacy back...

If it becomes a problem, we'll just take the gravel boards out 😳

So DH had the task of the awkward chat!

All is fine

NDN is going to cut the posts down. Wish there was a Phew emoji.

It's just after a chat yesterday, with the NDN saying the fence will go higher than the posts (as he said, you never see the posts) we thought that's what he would do. Or thought it would be harder to cut the posts when up?

Plus when they did the fence on the other side, the posts were shorter.

Haha. So glad. There's no way I'd have wanted to have issues with them, or report/complain etc after it was installed. Wanted to get in there quick to find out.

All is well, and DH and I can talk about something else now!

You sound like one of those anal neighbours to me as this wouldn't bother me at all.

Check with local planning.

My Dad once sold up his dream house because of a nightmare neighbour. They had this fence issue too and I know from back then the rule of thumb was around 6ft max.

Bet you a bottom dollar they haven't sought planning permission for it.

You'd hate me OO. My hedges are 9 feet high on both sides. I love my privacy and dont care about the light Thankfully both neighbours agree. Good youve sorted it though but I'd hate to be overlooked.

We used to have a 9ft hedge on the other side. Never complained or stressed about it (there's not PP for hedges anyway) but we were very very happy when the owner next door decided to get rid and replace with a fence.

It's 2m high, and perfect. I respect people's privacy, and if it turned out the neighbours had wanted it higher, I would have tried to compromise rather than any other route.

As it turns out, it's all good and nothing to worry over.

We have decking which is quite a bit up of the ground as the ground slopes away from the house, so probably about 1 ft off the ground at the house, and about 2 ft off the ground at the end of the decking. We put up standard 6 ft trellis panels ( starting from ground level), and I 've grown some climbers up it. This provides complete privacy between the gardens, you don't need anything higher ( unless you are about 6 ft 6 and like to stand on the decking for long periods). Additional oh, the neighbours really love the golden hop growing on the trellis and it doesn't make their garden feel like a prison yard. I think you have to speak to your neighbours - maybe they will put up trellis, or maybe they intend to put the fence up and then lop the fence posts back to the right height - ours was done that way, rather than trying to get each post into the exact same depth hole.