Allright, if it’s the particle board, I’m with you. That’s just stupid. Particle board isn’t going to last though, so they are going to have to replace it… soon. Lord, it’s not even plywood, so I’m beginning to see your point. How often does it rain there? I don’t see those walls lasting.
My suggestion would be to wait until the particle board starts to go (shouldn’t take too long) and then suggest a more suitable alternative. A taught vinyl tarp makes a good wall for those things if they need to go cheap. But particle board… no.
No. They are going to let it get nasty dirty-gray and slowly disintegrate.
OP, there is a tree that is perfect for a grudge fence; evergreen, thick branches to the base; grows fast to 15-20’ and then stops. If I remember the species, I’ll post back.
Let’s get our terms straight here…that’s not particle board, it’s OSB or wafer wood. Particle board would have already fell apart, OSB will last a few years and if they sealed it it will last longer.
My whacko naighbors had a similar “garage”, only theirs was the kind with the vinyl roof, and they put siding around it instead of OSB. It looked mighty stupid, and we’re inside the city limits so I know it didn’t meet code. Apparently if you are friends with the code enforcer you get a bye on the stupid shit you build.
Keep in mind that I’ve only mentioned/shown stuff that will not directly identify Mr & Ms Wackjob. There is plenty more than I’ve shown. Take, for instance a comparison of our backyards. Here is the view from my back porch. Bird feeders, bird bath, etc. It looks nicer in the summer, but you get the idea.
For contrast, the Wackjob’s back yard. They put the truck there when they moved in this past spring and it hasn’t moved since. WTF? The black barrel thing is my compost bin that is on the property line. I keep it in the woods, but move it closer to my house for the winter months. For perspective, the truck you see is about 200 yards from their house, which sits closer to the road than my house does.
Of course, that is correct. And I’ve seen cool things done with OSB. I was in a home-based art gallery where each room was a different theme. One room’s walls were OSB that was sanded and varnished. In candle light it looked so cool. But outside, untreated, in the snow, rain, etc?
It doesn’t seem very bad to me either. It’s not pretty, true, but I was expecting overgrown grass and weeds, cracked walls and peeling paint, beer cans strewn about, rusted bicycles, rubber tires, just…junk.
Sorry to disappoint you. The grass/weeds are not overgrown only because of the work I put into mowing their yard. There are tires/rusted bike parts/a Yamaha that doesn’t run, but I cannot photograph that part of their yard without revealing too much identity wise.
Another thing they do is burn garbage. This summer, some friends and I were relaxing in the backyard having a few adult beverages. The wind shifted and clouds of noxious smoke drifted our way. They were burning scrap wood, Styrofoam, and old carpet. Bleeech.
Seriously, the carport and the keep out sign are the tip of the iceberg.
Jackmannii- I will have to find some Thuga this spring. Thanks!
Dinsdale- hehe. When I took that pic this morning, I didn’t feel like traipsing through the snow to get that basket which had blown over from their yard!!! I didn’t think anyone would notice it, good eye , dude! Nobody pointed out the lil lawn gnome either, thank Og.
Oh it’s still ugly as fuck and stupid to use like that…they could have bought some cheap T-111 and made it look better. But OSB is inexpensive and makes okay sheathing and that’s why they bought it.
Yeah, some evergreens are definitely called for. You don’t need to plant a line of them for a complete screen. Carefully figure out sightlines and plant them in clumps - along with a couple of other trees/shrubs, which will look much more natural, block the worst areas, but retain a chosen few sight lines.
We are nowhere near in the country, instead on a 50’X200’ suburban lot. The house behind us is at right angles to ours, so its side lot-line is our rear lot line. That house is a near complete teardown in progress and has been under construction for at least 4 years. (Don’t get me started on our town’s building code/permit enforcement!) I remember one winter there was an old work truck buried up to its axles in mud, right outside our back gate. The way our house is situated, your eye is naturally drawn to it when you looked out of any of the windows in the rear of our house. It sat there all winter, complete with a plaid jacket strewn over the side of the bed! The following winter its place was occupied by a nice yellow backhoe.
Then there was the portapotty there for 2 years. One winter we wrapped it up with a big bow for Christmas.
When they dug the foundation, they popped an unplatted drainage tile, such that water poured into their excavation. They just backfilled without repairing it, with the result that they basement has had water in it for the past 4 years. Think they’re going to get their asking $1.7 mill?
They were thoughful enough to clearcut the trees/shrubs that had completely shrouded the old house from our view. A woodpecker has recently developed a taste for the siding on the side we see. And for a year or 2 a red fox lived in the house. So I guess that beats the type of neighbors who might buy such a monstrosity!
