Fence or other screen ideas needed

[HerHusband]

About 15 years ago my wife and I bought a couple of acres out here in the country. It was a beautiful rural area with lots of trees. We built a small house on our property, and have tried to maintain as much natural vegetation as possible.

Over the years, the properties around us have logged off the majority of their trees and our privacy decreased with each development. Now they are building a 4280 sq/ft million dollar eyesore on the hillside just across the road from us. With over 5 acres to build on, they naturally had to choose a house site that is less than 100 feet from our own. To make matters worse we are on a hillside, so their two story mansion up on the hill feels like a giant watchtower looking down over our house and yard.

My wife and I built our home with our own two hands and have planned and invested a lot for our future here. We fully expect to live out our remaining days here. Moving is not an option. But, we also don't like the feeling of our neighbors staring down on everything we do.

My first thought was to build a fence, but because of the slope of the property a standard 6' tall fence would still be lower than the road, and far below the neighboring house. I haven't checked to see how high a fence would be needed to shield us from the new house, but a taller fence would need some kind of attractive design that doesn't look worse than the house we're trying to hide. I'd guess we would have to go 8-10 feet, at least, to be of any real value.

I'd prefer a natural border, but plants take a lot time to grow. Last summer I planted a row of Thuja Green Giant trees along the hillside, hoping to gain a little privacy from the road (and now the new house). They're "supposed" to grow 2-3 feet a year, but we live in a fairly shady area, so I'm not expecting anywhere near that kind of growth. Best case, it could still be 5-10 years before the trees are tall enough to provide any real privacy.

So I'm interested in any ideas others might have to regain our privacy. Links to tall fence designs would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Anthony

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Don't waste too much time researching this until you WALK INTO (with your feet) the town hall and find out the rules for fence height, and how much of a bribe they need to let you break the rules. I say WALK IN because it's good to see the face of the person you're dealing with, write down his/her name, show him/her what you've written, and ask "Is this the correct spelling of your first and last names?" It's probably the same person who allowed the monstrosity of a house to be built near yours. Make sure you know who you're dealing with, and that THEY know that YOU know.

Then, ask for the rules.

[tbasc]

It sounds to me like a fence is not going to meet your needs. You might try berms as a start. In the South East, I'd consider pines as a relatively short term solution - to be harvested for firewood in a few years. Check with your extension service for possible plant types. TB

[HerHusband]

Our county has most of their requirements online.

Permits are only needed if the fence is over 6 feet high (which ours would have to be), but it appears taller fences are allowed with some conditions.

"Fences over six (6) feet high. However, they must not cause a sight distance problem or interfere with utilities."

Of course, I wouldn't really want to look at a 10 foot high fence or stone wall on our hill either.

I'm mostly just toying with the idea of building a fence or structure of some sort that would block their view, but not be a solid wall to look at for us.

"The county height limit for houses is 35 feet. Accessory structures in certain zones will be limited to 18 foot in height."

One thought was a fence with some sort of roof or trellis built above it.

Another was a long narrow storage building or something. But, that might look equally as odd, and wouldn't exactly be easy access up on the hillside.

Whatever we do, it has to look good from our side, or it's a bigger problem than what I'm trying to solve.

After the rapid logging and development on surrounding properties, we fought the same type of development across the road. Me and several of my neighbors argued with the county against the mass logging, begged for "buffer zones" around the perimeter, and several other requests. Of course, every request was denied and the developer was given free reign to do whatever they wanted.

Anyway, what's done is done. At this point, I probably have few options other than to suck it up and live with it. But, there's no harm in looking at my options.

Anthony

[JoeSpareBedroom]

You probably could not pay the officials as much as the logging company. Remember this: Any time politicians or town officials do something wrong or stupid involving construction, permits or public projects, it's because they had a direct, but hidden financial interest in doing so. There are no exceptions, not ever.

[Lawrence]

I have a similar problem with some upscale neighbors who act like they own thier property and mine. They have a good view of my tumble down shack from their vinyl mansion and have made thier dislike for me apparent. My lot is actually better than and above theirs since they arrived after me. They used a whole lot of fill when they built to get their house up to a higher level.

My plan is to build a simple pole barn. I'm calling it an equipment shed and it will have no windows. I'm going to build this thing myself since pole barns are easy to build and cheap if you build your own.

My idea is to build this thing in such a way as to block my view of them as much as possible and I will be doing them a favor by blocking their few of me. I want really tall walls as tall as reasonable I'm thinking 16 feet.

If I position this barn close enough to my house it will block my view of them and increase my privacy. In between the house and the barn I can have a sort of a courtyard or parking area. I need a barn anyway to store my equipment and firewood. If one barn is not enough I will build more barns until I am happy. I have a Bobcat skidsteer and can drill holes for those poles with no problem. I really like the trusses that are used on pole barns it goes up fast and gives you all that uninterrupted space.

Also, Spruce trees are used around here as fast growing screens at least in the country. Coloroado Blue Spruce is supposed to grow very fast. There are also other native spruce that grow fast. They say the spruce won't last as long or get as big as Pines but are faster growers. In the city they use a type of Cedar called Arbor Vitae if memory serves. They get tall fast but don't look right in the country to my mind.

It's a good idea to plant trees on your place anyway. The work alone will help soothe your nerves. You can do stuff like install drip irrigation to get your trees to grow faster. It will be a good project to get your mind off of the you know who.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

I wonder what color would be the most annoying for THEIR side of the barn, but certainly not yours, which will have a soothing color. Evil! :-)

[jet]

This web site describes privacy screens:

[DK]

Stay away from the property line when building your privacy fence. You have plenty of room to put it well away from the property line and thus avoid the fence code.

[hallerb]

I would look into trees futher, with drip irrigation including fertilizer for maximum fast growth:)

Just planting some trees may not be enough.

Plus you say the area is shady, so trees will grow slow, how dense is the vegetation?

I knew a guy who got upset and had a row of FAKE trees planted, as temporary site blocks till his real trees took over.

you might check with a arborist or county extension office for the fastest growing tree for your area

[David Martel]

Tony,

A landscape architect may be able to advise you on ways of regaining some privacy. Sadly, it sounds as if you were using your neighbors' lands for privacy. Perhaps you should buy a larger acreage and move.

Dave M.

[HerHusband]

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, a berm would need to be about 10 feet deep and 80-120 feet long. That's a lot of fill, and it would be difficult to keep in place on the hillside. It would also mean removing what little vegetation we currently have between us and the road.

Anthony

[HerHusband]

According to the county report, everything was within the "rights" of the property owner. Basically, it is their land, they can do whatever they want with it. The concerns and opinions voiced by the surrounding neighbors meant nothing.

Of course, I find it ironic now that the new development over there has strict restrictions on what is or is not permitted to avoid detracting from the neighborhood. Yeah right. Don't want to spoil their million dollar estates, but who cares how the residents outside their "community" feel.

Anthony

[HerHusband]

We are very proud of the home we built and take great care in it's upkeep. But, compared to their new 4280 sq/ft mansion, they'll look down on our 1450 sq/ft house like it's the servants quarters... :)

Unfortunately, our property is wide and narrow. We tried to center our house and garage on our 2 acres as best as possible, but due to the way the road curves that puts the road edge about 60-70 feet from our driveway and garage. Subtract the 30 foot county setback from the road, and the steep hillside, and we have very little space to build much of anything along the hill.

A fence would work, but it would have to be rather tall to be effective. Any structure would have to be very narrow, maybe 4-6 feet max depth.

Trees are probably our best option, but sadly it will take many years before they'll provide any real privacy.

Thanks, I'll read up on them.

Yep, those are popular here too, but look way too "city" for my taste. They also have a rather narrow shape, which would require lots of trees. I've also heard the deer like to eat them, and they don't hold up to snow very well.

As I said, I planted a row of Thuja Green Giants last summer. They're supposed to be very fast growing, deer and pest resistant, tolerant of many soil conditions, and hold up to snow well. They grow about 15 feet wide and 50 feet high if memory serves. Unfortunately, my 12" seedlings will probably take a long time to grow under the shade of our tall douglas fir trees.

I'm still looking for other trees that I may be able to plant for a second row. Preferably something that does good in shady conditions, but still grows quickly. I'm currently reading up on a couple of holly trees that seem to fit the bill.

Anthony

[HerHusband]

I'm thinking something as wild and unnatural as possible. Maybe a bright pink or something? Or since they insist on bringing the city out to the country, maybe hire some street kids to paint offensive graffiti all over the back of your barn? Rural Ghetto... :)

Anthony

[Goedjn]

That's what you get for not convincing your neighbors to throw in with you and buy the land as a park.

Plow up dirt into a 6' berm, and plant blackberries.

[HerHusband]

Irrigation usually isn't an issue here in the rainy Pacific Northwest, but I'll have to look into the fertilizer idea. Anything I can do to boost their growth. I just don't want to kill them.

I mostly cleared the area where I planted the trees, but we have several really tall fir trees around our house that prevent the trees from getting full sun all day. It's not deep dark shade, but it's not full sun either.

We also live about 1500' up on a mountain, and all of our plants seem to grow a little slower up here.

:) Interesting idea. I wonder where a person would get FAKE trees? I imagine that would be a rather expensive solution.

Anthony

[JoeSpareBedroom]

See?

[HerHusband]

It's not what I'm looking for, but interesting reading none-the-less... Thanks for the link.

Anthony

[JoeSpareBedroom]

How about a huge, highly detailed mural of Joan Rivers, with or without makeup?