Fence etiquette

[texdav]

There is no problem just check local codes.

[gold*dust1]

Originally Posted by beaming90

I have a fence type question and am not sure where to turn so when I was searching on the internet this forum came up. Maybe someone can help?
It's a long story so bear with me please. Our neighbors are mad at us. we both grew up in these two houses and to this day I have no idea why she suddenly got mad at us and I don't care any more. But because she has become evil, she is causing lots of problems. We have one little shih tzu who we keep on a chain all the time. But one night we took her and our other neighbors little shih tzu (our dogs are sisters and love to play together) out into our fenced in back yard and let them loose to run. The evil neighbor has two boxers and they started digging under the fence and I got scared and hollered at them to get back and I got our little dogs and started toward the house when someone (Not the neighbor but a strange man I did not know) came out and started yelling at me to stay away from their fence and if I kept insisting on bringing my little dogs out in the back yard I would just have to wait and see what would happen to my little dog. I went inside and called the police because that is what we had been told to do when they threatened us. And they called the police saying that my mom (who is 80) and I had threatened to kill their dogs by shooting them. Anyway, the police came out and informed us that the fence the neighbors had just put up was 10 inches inside their property line and that if I let my dog within 10 inches of their fence they could have us arrested for trespassing. Argh! So now we keep our dog away and don't go near the fence, but we are getting to spring time and we don't know what to do about mowing. Do we just leave a 10 inch section of non cut grass? My mom is worrying herself sick about this. We hope to sell the house and move this summer but till then...any ideas? Can we be arrested for trespassing in our own backyard? Thanks! Lisa

Well I hope you informed that butt wipe cop that you made no such threat. I think that is a civil matter in which case your neanderthal neighbor would have no case, as it was his own damn fault he isn't on the property line. We were a little off the line in the past and most times would mow the strip and sometimes our neighbor did. I wouldn't keep my dog 10 feet away but your neighbor seems scary and you want to keep peace until you can move...good luck!

[sskkc]

Originally Posted by Tek_Freek

We added a fence the second summer after we built. A few of the neighbors decided that the back yards were a communal playground; for them and their children. There is a very nice city park less than one block away.

The day our back door neighbor trashed our new White Pine while catching a poorly thrown football was the the last straw. The fence was up a week later. Amazing how many people were upset that I ruined the "park". Since then (19 years ago) every yard except one has added a fence. The one with no fence has no trees, the grass is mostly weeds and the whole place is pretty much a dump. Whatever they spend their money on it's certainly not the house and yard. Guy on the other side is worse. I nicknamed his place the Center Street Salvage Yard and when we move I'm going to have a nice sign made up and plunk it in their front yard on the way out of town.

I do a lot of gardening and landscaping and don't feel the entire neighborhood should have the right to tromp through just because they think it's okay. My grassy areas have gotten smaller over time and the man who takes care of the lawn actually lowered the price for his services!

We've endured baseballs, footballs, Frisbees, gloves, basketballs, etc during the years. A baseball missed my wife's head by about 6 inches one day. I paid the next door idiot a visit. That practice stopped quickly. Being a six-foot two, 240 lb man has it's advantages. Not being afraid to deck some wimp does, too. Of course as soon as someone new moves in the "training" starts all over again. We've had people we don't know wander into the back yard (open the gate and walk right in) looking for something they threw over the fence while visiting next door. My wife was startled by a teenager backing out of a gate when she came around the corner of our house one day. Picture: A five-foot one middle-aged woman grabbing a six-foot teen aged boy and slamming him up against a fence, screaming "What are you doing in our yard!" Sure wish I had a movie of that, I'd put it on YouTube. He stopped coming into the yard after his balls.

Door bell ringing is a favorite. For some reason every kid (and most adults) think it acceptable to immediately ring the bell when anything goes over the fence. They also think it's our responsibility to drop whatever we are doing and retrieve said item. Yeah, that'll happen. I've got a baseball in my back yard that's been there since May. Kid next door was using our fence as a backstop and the ball came over twice. I tossed it back and asked that they throw it a different direction. It came over again. I can't seem to find it.

Yes, I think fences are a good idea. The taller, the better.

So - you don't want them to come into your yard to retreive an item that went over your fence and you don't want them asking you to get it for them?

Unless this is happening several times a day, everyday, every week, it sounds like we know who the real problem is in your neighborhood - and it's not your neighbors.