[vegaspilgrim]

Cinder block walls look 1000x better than the crap wooden fences where I come from:

[whosez]

As a previous poster stated, these fences must be a cultural thing. My husband recently stayed with friends in New Mexico and one of the things that he found odd was all of the privacy fences and that the ones the he did see were made out of cinder block.

You never see cinder block here in the Chicago area.

With that, I'm not a a big fan of fencing. First of all, we're not doing anything that requires privacy. Maybe grilling, sitting on the patio, etc. We're not naked or doing anything illegal, lol. If my neighbors want to look at me as I sit on my patio, let them. I don't see an issue with that.

Secondly, I find it insular. I like talking with the neighbors over the fence (it's low enough that you can stand against it and talk). I don't think of neighbors as enemies or invaders of my privacy. If I don't want to deal with them at the moment, I'll excuse myself and walk away. People get the message.

And as a previous poster said, I don't think it really provides much security. If someone wants to get over a fence, they will. Assuming you have your doors locked and perhaps a dog, security systems, gun in the house, etc. that should be fine. The drawback is that if someone does climb your fence and starts attacking you or something, no one can see it happening.

I'm not a fan of cinder block or tall fences in general, but perhaps because I'm not used to it.

[Buzz123]

Originally Posted by tijlover

They can be death traps as well.

Working in a rehab center, I had a 80+ YO woman break her hip in her walled graveled backyard. She was too weak to yell loud enough. After many hours, little by little, she was able to drag her body, lying on her back, out front to the driveway, where a neighbor spotted her, then called 911.

That's not to say a chain link fence would have helped much, if all her neighbors were at work during the day.

But it could be someone having had a heart attack, slumped over in their patio chair. What neighbor would be able to spot them?

I just wish they'd add some concrete to the tops of the walls, and shape them with undulating waves, to make them appear more adobe like.

I was recently up in Snow Canyon in St. George where they have made the walls appear adobe-like, uneven undulating waves, and colored like adobe.
The squareness of the walls is very cold, unattractive. They could be made to be much more attractive, pleasing to the eye. In my backyard, one wall is painted cobalt blue and another forest green.

Now that's just silly to blame it on the block wall. My 83 year old friend in West Virginia passed away two months ago after slipping on ice in his driveway in front of the house in full view of anyone passing by. He laid there for several hours before he was able to drag himself inside to call 911. The next day a bone fragment broke loose from the broken hip and blocked an artery killing him instantly.

Ice in the northeast kills and seriously injures people all the time, but I've never heard of a block wall in Las Vegas killing anyone.

Yes, they can be unattractive, but chain link? There's absolutely no hope a chain link fence will ever look good under any circumstances. And wood fences are forever broken and sagging. Block walls do look better if stuccoed and painted, or even just painted.

[tony soprano]

I'm fine with cinder block and even wood fences. What I do find unattractive is vinyl fencing. Bleh.

[stevereject]

I have an ankle-biter to keep an eye on the house and any riff-raff that walks by. lol

sometimes I notice very little wind damage in my yard because of the walls compared to my front yard.

my parents house has no walls in the backyard and they have had some pretty serious wind damage with our stuff blowing around.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by whosez

With that, I'm not a a big fan of fencing. First of all, we're not doing anything that requires privacy. Maybe grilling, sitting on the patio, etc. We're not naked or doing anything illegal, lol. If my neighbors want to look at me as I sit on my patio, let them. I don't see an issue with that.

But...if you have KIDS...then I think you can leave your sliding door open, and have them going in and out....and have it more an extension of your home. Plus you know riffraff walking down the street won't suddenly be in your house unannounced, and you know your young kids won't suddenly be in the streets themselves either.

Additionally, if you have kids, or are a person who likes to have some things outside...they can be outside...and they'll probably where you left them the next day, even if on the far flung sides of the property - i.e. corner of your walled-in backyard.

[thecuse]

I think it's the only way to live, IF you live in an area where they build houses one on top of the other. I cant imagine living that close to someone and NOT having a place to retreat to and enjoy some privacy.

I have 67acres and all the privacy I want... I couldnt afford .67 acres in Vegas. The only way I could live there would be with my own little, private, backyard hideaway.

[aggrofish]

I'm on a 1/2 acre lot that's walled in. I wouldnt even consider living there if it wasnt. As others said it's not much of a theft deterent; the wall is only 6' high, but thats what locked doors, alarms, and guns are for.

I'd like to plant tall trees around the perimeter. There's one house across the street that can see into my backyard from thier 2nd story. I just hope they aren't taking pictures.

[jfkIII]

Long Island is the fence capital of the world.

[MomMom]

Originally Posted by jfkIII

Long Island is the fence capital of the world.

What's that got to do with Las Vegas?



Anyways, you'll find that the way Las Vegas neighborhoods are built, are pretty much the norm across the southwest, especially the newer built stuff. Here in town, even the older stuff was built with the walls surrounding your back yard.

Mind you, there's always homes that run $$$$ that don't have the walled in look in any cookie cutter -walled in city.

Me personally, I love my backyard, but especially the walls surrounding it