twenty foot tall fence?
Seeking rear property line fence ideas tall enough to block view of newly constructed 7 story apartment building. There is a serious rear yard flood light problem that needs to be blocked. Currently there is a 6′ tall cinderblock wall in place, but looking for something that offers us even more privacy during the day….
Seeking rear property line fence ideas tall enough to block view of newly constructed 7 story apartment building. There is a serious rear yard flood light problem that needs to be blocked. Currently there is a 6′ tall cinderblock wall in place, but looking for something that offers us even more privacy during the day.
I understand that legally one and two family homes in residential areas can build a fence no higher than 6′ and that no permit is necessary.
Two ideas I’m considering. Setting two 20′ poles in the ground at each corner of the lot with air craft cable run between them so that some type of vine can grow up and across eventually filling in the space or..
Planting a fast growing hedge that can reach same height. What about bamboo or some evergreen that does not take up much of a foot print? Any planting ideas?
I had a very similar situation, only withan evil neighbor whose window overlooked my yard.
My yard is 20′ wide and 35′ deep. I couldn’t go outside without seeing her ugly fat face staring at me constantly. I put up a 6′ forest green vinyly fence ( yes, they do come in dark colors, but are $$$ and hard to find. Check out prizm vinyl, you’ll need to find an installer or do it yourself) the fence blocked out the first floor of the apartment building well but her fat face was still there on the second floor. Sooooo, Bamboo was my choice, and an excellent one. You’ll need to contain it, but you will be very satisfied. I went with Red Margin Bamboo. It is cold tolerant to -30F, so you’ll have green leaves ALL YEAR LONG. It’s been 3 years so far and it’s currently 12′ tall. It’s now the first week of May, and in a few weeks it should grow up to 16-20′ ft. I highly recommend it. I bought mind from Lewis Bamboo online. They’ll ship anywhere. Go for it. Enjoy some privacy.
Best of Luck!
SZ
oblinax: There is a 6′ height limit on fencing in 1-2 family residential areas. Anything else would require a permit. I don’t know the exact reason but that may be due to the fact that it would harder to escape your backyard in case of fire. And anything higher would infringe on the neighbor’s light and air.
Running Bamboo can be contained in root barriers but must be maintained as it gets full and new shoots removed to prevent the jump over the barrier. The reason why it’s more rampant in the south is that it likes the conditions much better-winter’s less harsh and so it has more rapid growth and very little die back. Clumping bamboo varieties don’t spread as much, but aren’t as hardy and don’t get as tall.
IMBY- I would seriously give some thought on the light and air flow issues involved with erecting a 20′ “wall of vines”, as others pointed out. You might end up with something unsightly, brownish and sparse in winter while blocking light and breezes of your non developer neighbors.
Most evergreens are notoriously slow growers and need full sun. With the nearby large building, do you have sun enough for that?
Diana
Fun City Design
Is there a height limit on fencing? I’d like to block out my neighbors who are actually on a raised level above me, so the fence might have to go 15-20ft.
They don’t want me to block them out…because..they like staring at us in our backyard. That is their ‘view’ they claim
Thanks for your feedback. We are not on speaking terms with the developers. The lights themselves, about 6 or so actually point down, but the light is reflected back up by their concrete patio, which greatly amplifies it. There’s lots of white concrete in the rear yard!
We have double shades now but we have not gone as far as installing black out shades. We are used to leaving the windows blinds open to see the moon or watch a passing thunder storm. Right now the light entering the window is bright enough to leave severe shadow outlines on the room’s opposing wall 12′ away. Most likely just have to grin and bear it. The ironic thing is that the daylight sky you lose with living next to a tall building is returned back to you at night in the way of artificial sodium vapor lighting.
Thanks for the bamboo link. The barrier system looks easy enough to install. The key to growing bamboo seems to be performing simple maintenance regularly. Keeping it thinned out and to plant non invasive clumping varieties.
What about blackout shades for your windows? Might be the simplest solution, and they are having huge window treatment sales at JCPenney right now… jcp.com
Seems to me the floodlights are good for your home security as well, as long as you can prevent the light from bothering you at night.
You’ll find some information about bamboo roots and barriers here
(scroll down the page): http://www.deeproot.com/template.php?sec=products&nav=geoMem&content=geo_app&lsel=1
I’m sure there are many other sources online. Note that if you do not perform annual maintenance the bamboo will spread through rhizome growth over the TOP of the barrier. Personally, I’ve never seen a northeast backyard bamboo stand that even barely resembles the beauty of a native bamboo grove. Consider the shade effect of any 20′ or taller wall of growth on your own yard (if not your neighbors). If you’re aiming to block primarily floodlight, rather than view of building, contact the building’s management to see if they’re willing to help with an arrangement to shield lights.
We installed bamboo on a job once in planters all around the top of the walls of the terrace. That landed up giving a very nice high privacy screen. The planters have to be relatively wide/deep to allow sufficient insulation for overwintering of the plants — I think ours were 2′ wide. I think it looks great.
Friends of mine in Virginia had to have backhoes dig down over 12 feet to uproot bamboo there.
NO, Arkady. You’re crazy. About a foot and a half.