Would it be extremely rude if I were to put up a fence between mine and my neighbours gardens for privacy? At the moment I cant enjoy my fairly nice garden because every time I go out my neighbour is out and will start a conversation and constantly wind up my dogs (dont know if this is on purpose or not) and cause them to bark.. part of me feels bad because he says he used to talk to the old lady who used to live here before me all the time in their gardens but at the same time I just want to be able enjoy my garden in peace
40 comments
No, not rude at all imo
Go ahead it’s your garden, if you feel the need to explain it you can make up some nonsense about preventing the dog from getting out
It’s your property so you do what you want with it.
It’s not like you’re putting up razorwire on top of it, I could imagine that would be a bit of an eyesore
Do it
Have you tried just talking to him about it?
I had same problem , though my neighbour is a total prick . Just said my mrs
or daughter may want to sun bathe in private. His reply was I’ll still use my drone ! Bit
weird thing to say even more so in the fact that he lives there with his boyfriend 🤯
compromise and put up some plant trellises then it looks like your planting and not building a big fence on purpose
Just speak to your neighbour, if it wont block light or ruin a view chances are they’d enjoy the additional privacy as well.
My neighbour was delighted when I said I was putting up a 6ft fence, so delighted they felt the need to apologise and explain to me that it wasn’t that they disliked me, they felt as overlooked in their garden as I did and the fence would be welcome.
Absolutely not. My BIL had one of those neighbours who would ALWAYS come outside and talk every time the entered their garden.
In classic British fashion, he waited until they were on holiday and whacked up a solid panel fence all the way along their boundary.
You are allowed a 6 foot fence within your boundary without your neighbours permission. I fell out with mine over it.
My neighbour just doesn’t stfu either but it’s the front garden that’s the issue. Every time I come home from going out he’s there to tell me about something I couldn’t care less about and doesn’t stop until I literally just open the door and walk off.
I’m thinking about building a fence or planting a hedge 😁
Absolutely. People who are overly social in completely passive situations are basically bullies in my opinion who are terrified of silence. I genuinely cannot get out of the end of my road to walk the dog without one man genuinely coming out of his house to talk to me. He does it to everyone. I will walk out of my way simply to avoid him. It would be fine if a ‘hello’ would suffice, but no – I have to listen to every inane thing in his head. The man used to be a surgeon before retiring. I would have taken my chances without surgery if he was my only option.
Put the 6ft fence up and explain its to try and stop the dogs from barking at the neighbour as he must find it annoying.
go ahead!
Just make sure that the boundary lines are correct when you put it up
When I moved into my old place, it was the only non-retirement house in a block of retirement houses. No front garden and tiny back gardens with a 2ft wire fence. I couldn’t enjoy my garden due to one of the neighbours so we erected a 6ft fence. Best thing we ever did.
I didn’t really care what the neighbours thought as the ones we liked would understand we wanted privacy and the ones we did like we didn’t care what they thought anyway.
Shit! I always strike up a conversation with my neighbour when I see him out in the garden. Does he think I’m an annoying knobhead? (0:
Just say someone complained about the dog barking so you’ve put a fence up to help with the noise
Put up a fence within 3 months of buying my house. They were smokers too and often see each other over the 2 foot high wall on regular basis daily and just felt like you had to say hi or it’s rude, when all I wanted to do is have a quick cig in peace.
I mentioned pretty quickly that I’m gonna put up a fence shortly as I was getting a dog. I like the neighbours but I need my sanctuary.
I don’t think I have ever lived in, visited or seen a house that didn’t have 6′ fences as standard. The idea that it would be somehow rude is breaking my brain a little.
Not rude and perfectly entitled to do it but you might make your neighbour a bit sad.
You’re not rude at all. I like my privacy too. My neighbours who are joined on to each other, have lived next to each other for over 30 years. Brought their kids up together etc.
A few months ago, the neighbour “jane” who is joined on to me fell out with the couple that’s joined on to her as they put up a 6 foot fence. They told her that they were going to do it, and she got very offended and stopped talking to them.
Now Jane is going to move, and things are so petty between them all. They are all grandparents but acting like little kids.
It baffles me that someone thinks that they have a right or say if someone wants to put up a fence in their garden.
Be prepared to how your neighbour will act about this.
I’ve lived in a few houses, all had 6ft fences already in place. I thought it was just a standard thing tbh.
Why stop at 6 feet then?
I’d just say that you’re concerned your dog will be a nuisance when barking all the time because of being able to see people outside his area and you’re trying to mitigate that, plus you want somewhere to grow climbing plants potentially.
Talk to them about it first before doing it.
Also check whose fence it is legally with your house deeds
Hedge looks nicer
Maybe you should top the current fence with a trellis and climbers instead, that way you can pretend you’re keen on growing climbing plants and it’s not about blocking him out.
Our neighbours did this when we moved in! The previous (shared) fence was short and see through. They put up a solid 6 foot fence a few weeks after we moved in. We were DELIGHTED. Obviously everyone’s different but just putting it out there that sometimes the neighbour isn’t sad at all!
6ft fence is standard at my house
I presume we’re talking back garden?
If so then fill your boots, don’t worry about the neighbour.
On the estate I live on there are stricter height restrictions on party fences to the front, 4ft if I remember correctly.
I have a 6foot fence on each side🤷♀️ pretty common in my neighbourhood
Thank you for everyone’s advice and opinions – I’m going talk to my neighbour and mention it before I go ahead and do the fence
Hope it works.
We have a 6ft fence and the bastard neighbours have a bench that they stand on to peer over & chat.
Put the fence up, fuck what the neighbour thinks lol. Back when I still lived with my Dad I never used his garden, because as much as I liked the neighbours on the side with the low fence and had known them for the majority of my life, I just couldn’t enjoy any privacy out there and it felt more like a shared garden.
Fuck I remember some nosey old bint from two doors down, ON THE SIDE WITH THE HIGH FENCE, hanging out of her bedroom window telling me I better not be shooting animals, when I was shooting a home made target board with my air rifle, like fuck off Karen I might be a teenager with an air rifle but I am not massacring wild life at the end of my council estate garden.
At my own house I have much more privacy in my garden and I like being out there, I enjoy working out there and changing things in my garden because I actually enjoy using it. Put your fence up and enjoy your privacy, you only live once and it’s not to serve the social needs of the fella next door.
We erected a 6ft fence in our garden after we moved in, as we were already aware that our neighbours that side were -very- chatty and the previous fence allowed them to just stand and watch us in the back garden.
Now if only I could convince the neighbour on the other side..
Not at all OP. Me and my direct neighbor get on pretty well and I am putting a 6ft fence up regardless.
It’s purely for the privacy reason as you’ve stated, which I made him aware of. It also *potentially stops* his annoying kid from shouting of me every 5 minutes on a weekend, or at keat discourages him. Also stops said child from winding my dogs up.
You may want to check this with your local council but around here you have a permitted fence height of 2m, which is 6ft 7in. So unless your neighbour (or his eyeline) is exceptionally tall as well as exceptionally voyeuristic, you shd be fine.
Nah do it. Your privacy is important.
My best mate’s parents did this. Old guy in his 90s used to live next door to them, he was lonely so they did loads of things with him and for him. But they felt they needed peace in their back garden so they put up a large fence, but they installed a gate in-between the garages so they could easily go back and forth between the houses.
Anyway, they went out one morning and came back in the late afternoon to find the old boy had taken a chainsaw to the brand new fence and cut a little window through so he could “talk to them during the lovely weather”.
For a guy in his 90s, he did a bloody good job on the fence to be fair but I’ll always remember their disappointment, and then trying to hide it from their neighbour as he was so pleased with what he had done!
When you get the fence installed, be a dude and put in a hedgehog highway.
https://www.hedgehogstreet.org/help-hedgehogs/link-your-garden/
A CD sized hole at the bottom of the fence will allow hedgehogs and other wildlife to pass between the 2 gardens.
Habitat fragmentation is the biggest problem facing hedgehogs and they’re now a critically endangered species.