To lop or Stump Conifers

[crimsonlake]

I am hoping someone can advise regarding a decision I am struggling to make over my two tall conifers at the bottom of my garden which I inherited with the house a few years ago.

Do I lop them to gutter level or shed level or take them down to stump? I am not sure of the condition of the fence behind them or who owns it, but from what I can tell they do not appear to be falling down in any way. I have also noticed that there is a degree of browning at lower levels

Additionally I do not enjoy looking at a plain fence and enjoy lots of greenery, even ivy covering wooden fences.

Lopping them significantly or taking them down to stump would mean I become overlooked in the garden, so in some ways they are useful to provide a level of privacy. If I replaced them with something else it would take a few years to provide any decent levels of privacy.
I am aware conifers grow quickly, so basically I want to avoid as a single income house hold having to factor in the extra cost of continually having them reduced.
So to significantly lob or should I go right down to stump? Work booked in for next weekend and need to make my decision before then .
Any thoughts gratefully received.

Well done, OP. Short term pain for long term gain.

If you plant a tree half way down the garden it would screen you quite quickly if you are sitting just outside your house - it would be in the line of sight to the neighbours bedroom windows. Also you can buy quite tall trees from garden centres eg 9 ft - more expensive, maybe £30 depending on type/ size.
A rowan wouldn't get huge but would give some privacy.

I really like laurels and the birds seem to like mine too, always lots of activity in and out of the hedge. But you need to keep on top of them. One minute they’re fine, then you turn around and they’ve doubled in height and width!

I often bang on about this shrub, but I love it. Photinia Pink Marble. It’s evergreen, the leaves are attractive and it’s fairly forgiving with not a lot of care. Two or three planted in that area - probably the most work would be trimming them to form a uniform neat hedge as they mature and grow together.

Thank you for latest responses, I shall look them up.
I have a couple of large bamboo in tubs so I dragged them down the garden against the fence so it does look better.
I also took laurel cuttings from my bush along side other cuttings and put them straight in the ground, will see if they root. Ideally I need something already 3ft in height and not too expensive.