Garden fence.

[tomatopete]

We are going to put up a new verticle board fence (if that's it's proper name).
Now one side will show the boarding only, the other the posts & rails.
The question is, which side faces the owners garden?I know there's only two answers. but the opinion around here is split 50/50!
There must be a definative answer & one of you good people must know it.
Thanks
t-p.

 

[caleb2003]

The posts must be facing your side in order for the fence to be deemed yours.

The neighbour gets to look at the more attractive side.

 

[masona]

You're right , but it's not fair !

 

[tomatopete]

Thanks for your replies.
Can you tell me if this is the Law, Guidelines or just Trade Practice? It seems illogical to me, as after putting up posts & rails you have trample all over nextdoors garden to fasten on the uprights.
t-p.

 

[Ant]

I agree it does seem odd that you would have to go onto you neighbours property to finish putting up the fence. Also how can a fence you have paid for and erected become someone elses due to its orientation?
If the neighbours don't like the side of the fence they can see then they could always put up their own fence.
The only time I could see this being a problem is years down the line when you and your neighbours are long gone and the ownership of the fence is unknown - then the way it faces is generally looked upon as an indication of who owns it. You could always put it slightly more on your property rather than splitting the boundary as this would help to prove ownership.
Not sure of the actual legal position - if you really need to know then maybe the local council would advise.

 

[snevets]

Apologies for rehashing a post that is over a year old but I was looking for information on this subject and thought it might be of interest to people still.

Found a couple of good websites with info on this:
here
here

The interesting bits being:

When putting up a fence, custom dictates that the posts are entirely on your land and the face of the fence, points to your neighbours. It is worth is giving up an inch or two of your land to avoid it going onto next door and creating a dispute. This is especially so since you will need cooperation to be able to repair the fence from your neighbours land. Ensure it complies with Planning Regulations – ring them first.

and:

The principle that "the tidy side of the fence faces the outside world whilst the structural or less attractive side faces its owner" cannot be relied upon to identify the owner. There is no law that I am aware of that says the structural side of the fence must face the fence's owner. In fact, for close-boarded fences it is more appropriate for the supporting rails to face the neighbour. This is because when it comes to maintenance, the boards will be prised onto the fence owner's land rather than pushed onto the neighbour's land with implications of encroachment and issues of safety.

So it seems that there is no law dictating who should get to see the tidy side of a fence and that the decision that this should be the non-owner is one of custom and tradition.

I'll be taking the advice of the lawyer in the second quote and will use my common sense; access to my neighbour's land is tricky and if I face the fence towards my neighbour it will make erecting and maintaining the fence very difficult. My neighbour has also pretty much filled her tiny garden with an extension and she does not use what little outside space she has left so I can't see her worrying about what side of the fence faces her. But I guess, most importantly, I'll be speaking to her about it before I do anything.

 

[Scoby_Beasley]

Go for panels in the middle of posts so you both get to see the " structural work"

 

[snevets]

sorry, should have been clearer - I meant when you are putting up a featherboard fence with the 'structural' stuff being the arris rails and brackets between the posts. Much as I'd love the simplicity of panels my boundary is littered with trees/walls/etc that i have to work around.

 

[AdamW]

Go for panels in the middle of posts so you both get to see the " structural work"

Build it like a stud partition, then you both get a pretty side!

I must try to find ways of problem solving that don't involve stud walls.

 

[Scoby_Beasley]

Round our way, your "right hand side" fence is deemed to be your responsibility. Whether thats a legal or a "done thing" issue I don't know !!

 

[salem2000]

Found this site useful: here

hope it helps.