I'm running a wood panel fence up to the corner of my house. Question: is there any reason not to attach a fence post to the house itself? I've seen people around here do it both ways - sink a post next to the house, and just bolt the post to the house itself.
Are fences governed by your local authorities? They are where I live.
Permits and plans are required. If so, ask them.
Potential termites, rot, resale value and wind damage to the house.
Dig the hole about a foot from the foundation and extend the stringer past the post leaving at least a 1/2" gap between the fence and the house.
Colbyt
Wood touching wood would be inviting termites (kind of poetic, 'eh?). If the house is brick, not a factor.
The gap also provides space in case the house must be tented for fumigation.
Not a factor for termites, but if you live in frost country, still a bad idea. That fence can move around, more than the house. If the last panel with the faux post screwed to the house lifts up on the outside end, lever action will loosen the screws, and with a typical brick veneer wall, can easily pop the brick loose. (of course they drilled into the mortar joint to place the anchors- those bricks are hard...) You scoff- I have seen it.
Like somebody else said- hold the post back six inches or a foot, and hang a little stub or trim panel over the opening.
-- aem sends...
Barbed ware is soo industrial-military looking. I prefer a more rustic approach. I'm putting broken glass along the top of the fence.
Not only would I not attach the fence to the house, I would have a gate near the house with the hinge side away from the house to allow easy access for painting, ladders, etc.
Thanks everyone for your comments. So the general consensus is not to do it, for various reasons. I know it's done a lot, but I'm favoring the post-next-to-the-house approach also, as most of you recommended.
I talked to the city - permits are not required if the fence is less then 6' (what if it is exactly 6'? OK, mine is officially 5' 11.99") and it doesn't violate zoning - I checked that already. The girl in the permit office told me her fence has a post bolted directly to the house lol. The old fence I'm moving does that to, and I don't like it - hence the question here and my desire to put a post next to the house.
I actually thought of putting a post 4' from the house and hanging a gate on that, and putting the gate latch on the house. That takes care of the problem of putting a post near or on the house, and leaves a 4 foot clearance when the gate is open. Wife won't like it - her flower garden sticks out two feet, so we are in negotiation about this...
On 6/18/2009 4:06 PM Colbyt spake thus:
"Potential" being the key word here.
I attached a post (pressure-treated) to the outside of a client's house (with lag bolts). The wall was stucco, so there's minimal chance of rot spreading via the post to their house. Wind damage is not an issue here. Resale value? Presumably the gates and fences I added increase the resale value.
You'd answer your own question when you went to dig for the post. At a lot of house corners, the foundation under the soil has overflow or irregularities that prohibit one from digging a pole hole right next to a corner. You could either hook on to the house, or dig the hole a couple of feet out, and make a wing to cover the two feet. I'd do the wing thing, as drilling way into the house to get deep enough to hit a corner post would have to penetrate stucco, siding, or whatever the house is made of, making an infiltration route for water and insects.
YMM(and probably does)V
Steve
Most zoning codes are thin re: fences. Walls are another matter.
Steve
A fence of any height is permitted until someone complains about it.
Jon
replying to aemeijers, MBowland wrote: I am sick that I let someone drill bolts in my brick house when he replaced our gate
Yes they can always use chewing gum !!!!
replying to aemeijers, MBowland wrote: I am sick that I let someone drill bolts in my brick house when he replaced our gate
The electric company wanted to put something on my AC to turn it off during a brownout. I asked for this, and they deducted something from my electric bill in summer months, even if they never did it.
The guy comes to the door, gives me a small brochure and tells me what he will do.
I follow him to the AC a couple minutes later and he's drilled into my brick house to mount the thing. When I read the brochure, it says they'll mount it to the AC if I want, but there was no time to read the brochure and get out there before he drilled the holes.
Fortunately he had sense to drill into the mortar, but I'll never be able to match the mortar! Also it means I can change the compressor, or have it changed with a little less work.
I was over this before you posted and now I'm ticked off again.
You're right. There's no compaison to my box versus his fence.
Today I looked off the balcony of the room I'm renting, and the cable from he tlephone pole to the ground was hanging lose from a t tree limb.
There was another cable to this building and I guess it's enough to keep the pole from falling down, since it hasn't yet, but it is bending in the direction of the cables to the other two houses.
The holes in your brick never bothered me. Can't even see them from here.
Fuck. My mil is higher next lot up and i can see my shit. 20k coming up soon. Summer or next for seeing.
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