Having a new fence installed. Any advice between these two styles? Does anyone have either and like or dislike for one reason or another?



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first one

I hate the second one which is what I have. However option one is a pain with trimming the grass as it gets in and around the pickets and is hard to trim.

Me? I'd line them up flat, and frame it in with boards on the top like this:

I think they both look fairly awful. What's wrong with a standard side by side or board on board fence?

Old School Brother said:

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I think they both look fairly awful. What's wrong with a standard side by side or board on board fence?

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because everything has to be equal. If you share the fence, people want to see boards on both sides which ultimately makes it look like *****

When I had a privacy fence, someone got the good side. They usually paid a little extra for it. I hate the alternating sections as it just draws attention to it.

When my neighbor and I replaced ours, we had a conversation and came up something that worked for both of us. The fence ran along my drive then beside my detached garage. I got the good side along my drive then we flipped it. The neighbor ended up with the good side along their pool and had the bad side along their living room that didn't have windows on that side.

I prefer having the rails on my side. Makes it harder for some ****head kid or hoodlum to climb into my yard. That alternating style looks trashy to me, for some reason, and the shadow box is terrible because you can see right through it.

When we had to replace an old fence a while back I worked a set of deals with the 3 neighbors ( an amazing almost unheard of event for most of humanity) . They ALL got the " good" side in exchange for them understanding that it was their job to fix loose boards, replace those that split, worp or rot off and generally keep the fence sound. It worked as I was DAMN lucky to have a great set of neighbors...a fete that has odds about the same as winning the MegaGigaZillions lottery...

The Original AG 76 said:

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When we had to replace an old fence a while back I worked a set of deals with the 3 neighbors ( an amazing almost unheard of event for most of humanity) . They ALL got the " good" side in exchange for them understanding that it was their job to fix loose boards, replace those that split, worp or rot off and generally keep the fence sound. It worked as I was DAMN lucky to have a great set of neighbors...a fete that has odds about the same as winning the MegaGigaZillions lottery...

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until they all move and sell to ********s.

Whitetail said:

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Me? I'd line them up flat, and frame it in with boards on the top like this:

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I am actually having them quote me on something similar to this. One of the reasons I am having difficulty, is we are the first house in a new development. The developer (who is also the HOA/ARC) is open to ideas, but he wants to make sure whatever goes up, isn't going to be an eye sore for potential buyers on either side. I am okay with that, as I'd prefer the small development look nice.

PS. On the advice of shawdowbox being a nightmare to string trim, thank you! I hadn't thought about that, but that is great advice.

If you add rails to the top and bottom of the fence like the above, you could get away from having the "good side/bad side" problem. Put rails on both sides on the top, put the fence panels in the middle of the post (sandwhiched) between the rails, and put in rails at the bottom. I think having rails at the bottom would also be a great way to prevent rot on the boards over time. Just another thought.

I approached my neighbor about splitting costs of a fence along our shared line. He said no. He's gonna get the "bad side" of the fence. That's just how it works.

I'm pretty sure the HOA where I live enforces that we must use the 2nd fence design you posted.

My fence is starting to get rickety and might require a complete rebuild.

What's the estimate to do the second style?

They both look like ass.

Could be worse. "My" fence is created by the the fences my neighbors put up. So I've got three different styles of fence.

Claude! said:

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Could be worse. "My" fence is created by the the fences my neighbors put up. So I've got three different styles of fence.

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I.e. free? Best type of fence, if you ask me.

Not if you want an attractive outdoor space.

I also typically prefer the "bad" side of the fence, but that's because I've always built my own fences and the "bad" side of the fence looks good.

Privacy fences. I have privacy acreage and woods instead. Much prettier.

But seriously, when I lived in suburbia and put up an inexpensive fence, I put up the rails on the inside as I really didn't care and it was more utilitarian for me.

These ridiculous fence types are a perfect example of what's wrong in this country. We can't talk to each other and agree on a solution, so instead we both get a crappy looking fence.

Put the"good" side of the fence towards whoever has the biggest dog. Keeps them from pushing the pickets out.

My lab has knocked lots of pickets loose going after cats and possums in the yard, and I can't fix them from my side... I finally started screwing in any pickets I replaced or put back up instead of using nails.