How to Disguise/Cover This Wall?

[Gumby]

Bamboo?

 

[pacergal]

No Ivy! it is so invasive. Our old neighbors planted it and we have been digging it out on our side for 15 years--keeps showing up!

How about rhododendrons, Lilacs, Heavenly Bamboo, Mock Orange? They tend to grow slower, and give areas of color and fragrance. Something different than a row of green hedges, unless you are wanting to completely hide the fence.

 

[Nemo2]

No Ivy! it is so invasive.

I retract my suggestion.......how about Kudzu?

 

[dirtbiker]

Arborvitae, as long as deer aren't super prevalent there. They grow fast and provide great coverage.

 

[MichaelB]

Our HOA build a fence along one side of our (their) property. We put in arborvitae and it looks very nice.

Aborvitea

Arborvitae, as long as deer aren't super prevalent there. They grow fast and provide great coverage.

 

[kcowan]

Al
Thinking outside the box, why not rebuild the woodsheds to run along the fence with covers that slope inward and put planters on top with plants that do not need a lot of water. With face cords, they would cover much of the fence.

Place complementary planting on either side. Or plant wisteria and train it to cover the new sheds.

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

Fast growing and cheap trees are flowering pears. We used them to disguise a city neighbor. They spread out within a couple years and grew several feet taller in that time frame. They bare no fruit.

Those can be problematic too. I planted those between our neighbor's fence and our deck / house and they grew really fast to about 15-20 feet.

However, we had our local landscaping guy out for other work and when he saw those he strongly recommended we have them removed. He said they are weak trees and the trunks tend to split in bad weather.

My brothers and I removed them ourselves and it was really difficult in our tight quarters - we couldn't just drop them - too close to the fence and the deck and house. We actually put a hole in our shingles since the dam things don't bend when you got them tied off with a rope. They tend to split all at once so it's hard to control the cuts and dropping them in sections.

I do see a lot of towns use them alongside sidewalks. Probably because they're cheap trees.

 

[zinger1457]

I wouldn't be complaining much, looks like a well built fence and IMO looks better than the untrimmed trees. Wish my neighbor would foot the bill for a fence between our properties.

 

[gwraigty]

However, we had our local landscaping guy out for other work and when he saw those he strongly recommended we have them removed. He said they are weak trees and the trunks tend to split in bad weather.

I can vouch for this. We don't have any pear trees on our tree lawn, but many, many of our neighbors do. I've seen several with split trunks and downed branches.

 

[samclem]

If so, the the back side of your wood storage (right side in the picture) must be right on the line?

If a strip of property is outside a fence like that and the legal owner doesn't use it, isn't it eventually effectively ceded to the property owner on that side of the fence? After all, unless the neighbor is going to come over there and keep the strip weeded/free of built up stuff, Al, will have to look at it.

 

[imoldernu]

Exercise your creativity:

Fence murals: Best Practices and rules of composition for long format walls

 

[CRLLS]

Fast growing trees are generally very weak and will not last very long. They are many time, more messy during storms. Think about a few years from now looking at nice long row of trees with 2-5 trees missing. Not such a good sight. I had a nice row of pine trees along our lot line when we bought 15 years ago, maybe 25 trees in all. One by one they are dying off and leaving gaps in the once pretty row. Almost half are gone or nearly dead now.

I'd get the neighbor to put the nice side toward you. The neighbor took the cheap way out when they built the fence. Probably not built with a building permit IMO. An inspector would have caught that. There are fence sections that are equally presentable on both faces. They are more expensive of course. I put in one at a previous house of ours. It seems that few take that path.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We need a fence because of our dogs. I also don’t want to be looking at the neighbors when I am outside. I wouldn’t make a enemy by making them flip the fence.

 

[USA]

If a nice talk can’t be had before, I would do nothing at all to or near the fence on his property. He might make it concrete blocks instead. It’s a shame if you weren’t asked for input but someone from hell doesn’t consider that. I try to tread wisely with neighbor squabbles like you’re doing now by thinking of options.

 

[target2019]

My quick search suggests that it's neighborly to put the good side toward your neighbor, but not required. Note that I don't want the fence to go away.

The fence runs north/south, but here's the view of the southern sky:

But I'm encouraged that there are some hedges that can tolerate full shade.

Do you think hiring a professional gardener would be a good idea, or would consultation at a local nursery be good enough?

That is one ugly fence to look at. I would persist with the town, and ask them for suggestions as to what your options are.

Taking on costs to plant, and not cover up that beast entirely, is a losing battle. If I were to invest, it would be to erect a fence I would appreciate each day of my life.

If that is not to your liking, then something that will grow into a tall hedge would grow to hide it, but not sure how long.

 

[pb4uski]

If a strip of property is outside a fence like that and the legal owner doesn't use it, isn't it eventually effectively ceded to the property owner on that side of the fence? After all, unless the neighbor is going to come over there and keep the strip weeded/free of built up stuff, Al, will have to look at it.

No, you're talking about adverse possession... it would only apply if Al used it against the wishes of the owner for over 17 years.

 

[TromboneAl]

If so, the the back side of your wood storage (right side in the picture) must be right on the line?

Exactly right. I actually moved them forward a bit when I found out where the line was.

 

[samclem]

No, you're talking about adverse possession... it would only apply if Al used it against the wishes of the owner for over 17 years.

Yep, that's it. Thanks.
It looks like it might be only 5-7 years in CA (where Al is), and maybe it wouldn't be very difficult for the land to eventually become his. Just mow it or plant some grass/shriubs there, make it clear that he's doing it, perhaps pay a lawyer something, poof!

 

[Winemaker]

Do a combination of plants, old mirrors, doors, trompe l'oeil and murals. I hate Pinterest, because it gives DW some crazy ideas for projects for me, but some of their ideas that are shared are pretty doable and attractive. You may want to ask permission to actually paint the wall, but they'll never see it. Local high school or college students could do the paintings and you would have to seal it in, mirrors/doors can be obtained from "Restore Stores", a fundraising place from Habitat for Humanity. Turn that eyesore into a work of art!

 

[Audie Murphy]

We had good experiences with using Leyland Cypress trees on another property. They grow fast and fill in nicely when planted about 8-10’ apart. They are flexible and withstand wind or heavy snow. If you don’t want them to block the light simply trim them annually to keep them in check.

As for the good side of the fence discussion, I think it should face out. There is also good reason beyond courtesy. Your property is less secure with it facing in. Someone can easily climb the horizontal boards to get over and into your yard. It will be much more difficult to climb the good side. That being said, that also makes egress from your own yard much more difficult. Imagine trying to escape an attack in your back yard. Wouldn’t you want to easily climb your own fence?

 

[Jerry1]

I don’t think the concept of nice side out has to do with security or escape. I could be wrong, but I think it has more to do with the property line. If you bring the fence right to the property line, the face of the boards facing out should be on a plane right on the property line. This makes it so the entire fence is just inside the property line and that none of the fence owners property is left unfenced.

Of course in this case, they put the fence way inside of the property line. Not sure why. But as has been mentioned, theoretically this land beyond the fence could become his neighbors’ (Al’s) if he’s not careful.

 

[Audie Murphy]

I don’t think the concept of nice side out has to do with security or escape. I could be wrong, but I think it has more to do with the property line. If you bring the fence right to the property line, the face of the boards facing out should be on a plane right on the property line. This makes it so the entire fence is just inside the property line and that none of the fence owners property is left unfenced.

Of course in this case, they put the fence way inside of the property line. Not sure why. But as has been mentioned, theoretically this land beyond the fence could become his neighbors’ (Al’s) if he’s not careful.

The security thing is not a matter of right or wrong but really just applied common sense. If you want someone to easily climb your fence and get access to your yard then leave the framing to the outside. Whatever side the framing is on is the less secure and easier to climb side.

 

[Jerry1]

Fair enough. I live near Detroit. Around here, they’d just smash through the gate. Probably with a car they just stole.

 

[Breedlove]

Why did he put the fence up ? It is expensive and ugly . There might be more to it then you know ( being sincere ) . We used to live in a sub division with a wooden fence . Our last year the veterans organization and our high schools were replacing fences for vets. The kids would tear the fence down one day and replace it the next ( 2 day job ) A neighbor a few houses down was not friendly at all would walk in his house when we would walk by . They tore his fence down and were coming back the next day . The only thing was at 1:00 AM he was out replacing his fence himself.
Everyone was mad the noise of the saw and using a hammer made it tough to sleep.
His wife and him moved from the neighborhood shortly . When they were moving we talked and gave good luck to his wife . At that time his wife explained her husband had PTSD very bad he had been a Navy Seal and spent 8 tours of duty . We laughed about the fence . She told us he had a real problem with no secure fence around him . Life is short sometimes things are hard to understand if you have never been there .

 

[eytonxav]

I'd be off to the town hall and look into code about fences and barrriers.

I actually had a neighbor do similar. I looked into the local code, and found that I was correct in thinking the finished side should face me. I made a written request to neighbor for code conformance. It actually took too long for him to correct the situation, so I had to write again in 6 months. I probably should have just gone to code enforcement officer, but thought he would respond right away and correct it. He promised to do it in the fall (1st request), but time went on, and I wrote again early spring.

+1, he also must have trespassed on your property to install this. Personally, I cannot imagine anyone doing something like this without discussing with their neighbor. Be careful, next he may expect you to share in the maintenance cost of the fence. I would think arborvitae or holly trees might be good screening choices.