Thank you all for your advice/input. I know there’s no way to put up a fence without some sort of fallout, but at least now I have a plan of attack. I’m in total agreement with those suggesting I put up the fence of the highest legal height on my side of the property line at my own expense (after having it properly surveyed and documented to avoid future whining) and leave the neighbours out of the equation. If they kick up a fuss during installation I’ll politely offer to show them my documentation without breaking stride.
I’ll probably go chain-link with a locking gate rather than wood because there will less chance of retaliation if I don’t starve their precious bushes of sunlight, and Lord knows things are bad enough as it is. Before any of that happens I’m installing cameras at the back, side and front of the house (motion-detecting and night-vision-enabled, if possible) and motion-detecting lights in the backyard and front door. A hidden video camera will be trained on the backyard during the fence installation to record any conflict and I will be the very model of wit and tolerance no matter how hard the neighbours kick off.
As far as the overhanging branches go, something came to me this morning that made me want to slap myself. Instead bitching about how the neighbours were too lazy to train the branches into their own yard, why haven’t I been tying back the branches myself? That’s the plan post-camera and pre-fence. If they protest I’ll just say I’m saving them the trouble of coming into my yard and myself the trouble of uprooting the unwanted seedlings that the fallen berries leave behind. If one more word is said on the subject I’ll pull out my clippers and go to town. Apparently as long as I don’t damage the bush in the process I’m legally entitled to do so and if they don’t like it they can hire a lawyer. It’s a civil matter and my city has no jurisdiction.
I’m still on the fence about the concertina wire …
I would put up as tall a fence as I am allowed to by law and that I can afford. I have a tall wooden fence in what the vendor called shadowbox style, it lets light in.
I would put up the tallest, non see through fence I could possibly afford. There is no pleasing these people; no matter what you do, they will hate you and retaliate. Given that, a big fence is your best defense.
Get a vinyl fence like this: http://www.usavinyl.com/sphun66.html It allows a small amount of sunlight through, but they can’t climb over it, and they can’t see much through it.
Not to aggravate, but they are already climbing the chain link and you think taller chain link is the answer?
Also fails on the ‘things growing through it, giving them cause to come on over’, front.
Not to mention it will be impossible to sell as a ‘privacy structure’, if it’s see through.
Maybe it’s just me, but your solution doesn’t seem to address any of the issues you’ve raised. Fails for privacy, fails for keeping them out, fails at keeping their shrubbery out.
Well, yes. The current fence is less than 3 1/2 feet tall – hardly a deterrent. The highest legal height I can install is 6 1/2 feet which will require much more effort. I’m training the branches for now but will begin cutting off any wayward branches once the fence goes up.
As far as wanting privacy, what I want more than anything to be left the fuck alone. I couldn’t care less if I can see them or they can see me. That’s why I said in the OP that my first choice is a wrought-iron fence; they’re solid, pretty and I like them. A solid wood fence, the most popular option in this thread, is the only option that causes my neighbours legitimate – albeit legal – inconvenience, as it will cast an almost all-day shadow on their blackberry bush.
Will my neighbours be irritated by a 6’ 6" chain link fence, consider it an attempt to provoke them and then retaliate? Probably. Will they try to climb climb it? Possibly. Will my neighbours be irritated by a 6’ 6" solid wood fence, consider it an attempt to provoke them and then retaliate? Most definitely, because it would be.
PotLuck, why do you keep bending over backwards to minimize your neighbor’s discomfort and response, when you are more than morally and legally entitled to take the actions to protect your own privacy? Grow some balls and do what you want to within your legal rights, and call the police on their asses if their retaliation get’s out of line. It’s clear they don’t respect you, why are you letting them turn you into a victim?
Hell if you don’t like the blackberry’s cut the fucking bushes down.
I suggest googling “Semi-private fence” and look at the options there. It would provide some ight for the bush, but would also minimize their view into your yard.
While I have no cite for it, I would certainly think that if they can’t see your yard as well they’ll spend less time thinking about it and you.
What are their relations like with the neighbors on the other side? What’s the barrier between those two yards?
I agree that a chain link fence does nothing to solve your problem. I had one growing up, it was trivial to climb no matter how high. Plus a 6.6" tall one will look like a basketball court. Get a tall picket, probably 5" tall. Put the slats to the outside where the neighbors can’t use them as footholds. They’ll get just enough light to not ruin their plants and you’ll get extra privacy and make it much tougher to climb and things to grow through.
If you really want to make it tough to climb get a lattice style fence, or a half lattice/stockade. Offers similar privacy and light infiltration but eliminates potential toe holds.
If your preference is for a decorative wrought iron fence, I’m a little puzzled with why you’d choose a tall chain link. It’s probably the least decorative type of fence and easiest to defeat. A more similar choice would be a tall vinyl or hollow steel/aluminum fence. Both have the fringe benefits of being fireproof and decorative while being durable and very difficult to climb. Obviously there are price considerations, but it seems to me that this is the way to go. As a perk, steel or vinyl fencing is much more difficult for vines to grow on and climb than wood or chain link.
I like the idea of the wrought iron fence. Nothing says “stay the fuck out of my yard” like a bunch of sharp, pointy rails creating the risk of gruesome impalement for anyone dumb enough to try and climb over.
At this point, your neighbors don’t deserve the consideration you are trying to give them, they will just complain and make your life hell. Do everything you can to seal them off from your life.
I’ll freely admit that choosing a chain link fence in the hopes of mollifying unreasonable people is a pointlessly passive move, but surely you don’t agree with Omar Little’s suggestion that I “cut the fucking bushes down” do you, ZenBeam? To do so I’d have to trespass into my neighbour’s yard with a hacksaw to trash their property and that’s not ballsy, it’s an invitation to well-deserved legal action against me. Currently I have the law on my side and intend to keep it that way.
I’ve been given many fencing options that are hard to climb or see through yet won’t starve the neighbour’s bushes of sunlight. (I’d hate to harm a beautiful decades-old plant out of spite for the owners of the property it grows on.) I’ll continue to explore those options as I install my cameras and train away the unwanted branches, and once again I thank everyone for their valuable input.
… You do know that the sun moves across the sky, right, and unless you’re building a box-like fence OVER the bush, it will still get sunlight at various points in the day/year as the sun moves around?
Also blackberries are INCREDIBLY hardy plants, and a bit of shade is certainly not going to kill them.
I took “cut the fucking bushes down” as hyperbole, meaning cut all the branches that came through the fence. But no, don’t literally cut their bushes down.
That’s the plan post-camera and pre-fence. If they protest I’ll just say I’m saving them the trouble of coming into my yard and myself the trouble of uprooting the unwanted seedlings that the fallen berries leave behind. If one more word is said on the subject I’ll pull out my clippers and go to town. Apparently as long as I don’t damage the bush in the process I’m legally entitled to do so and if they don’t like it they can hire a lawyer. It’s a civil matter and my city has no jurisdiction.
