Friday, April 14, 2000
Fence rules encourage homeowners to be good neighbors
BY Mike Pulfer
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Good fences make good neighbors, they say. Good laws make good neighbors and good fences.
A little slower?
If spring fix-up season has you picking up the tab for a new backyard fence that keeps your dog on your brown spots and the neighbor's dog on his, you're being pretty darned considerate, you say.
The guy next door says you could be more neighborly if you were to build the fence with the finished side facing his house. After all, he has to look at it, too.
Several Greater Cincinnati suburbs have addressed this controversy about fences and views of them by enacting “pretty-side-out” ordinances. These ensure that the neighbors and passersby on the street see the best side of your home improvement.
For the best view on both sides of the fence, contractors promote what they call “good-neighbor” fences, with two finished sides, posts hidden in the center.
“If I was fighting with the neighbor, I'd put the smooth side out,” says Ken Mills, owner of Mills Fence Co. Inc. of Pleasant Ridge and Walton. “That's what I always tell our customers.
“When money doesn't seem to be a problem, I always suggest a shadow box,” which features vertical boards nailed alternately on both sides of horizontal rails.
In general terms, a fence with two finished sides costs about 15 percent more than a similar fence with only one finished side, local fencing contractors said.
While most homeowners are inclined to do the neighborly thing, others are annoyed to learn — depending on the suburb — there are restrictions that can affect their plans.
“Sometimes we have trouble explaining the rules to customers,” said Dale Eads, owner of Eads Fence Co., Loveland. “Sometimes they think they can specify exactly what they want because they're paying for it. But we can't really break the law.”
Virgil Brown, office manager at Cincinnati Fence, said few customers opt for good-neighbor fences because of the additional cost. Within the last year or so, he said he could only remember three or four of them being built by his company. “Most people don't care about the neighbors,” he said.
Susan Washburn, who owns a small house with a small yard in Deer Park, said she called the owners of the house next door before signing a contract for a new back-yard fence that separates the two properties.
“I called the owners ... and just said, "This is what I'm planning on doing and is that OK with you?'
“They said that sounded great,” she recalled.
What sounded even greater was the fact Ms. Washburn chose a good-neighbor-style privacy fence that looks good from any angle. And then there was the fact she was footing the bill — about $1,600 for about 60 feet of fence. Good neighbor indeed.
In Mariemont, where village ambiance has always been paramount, the finished-side-out rule for fences has been in effect for at least 60 years.
“It's been on the books as long as I know, and I've been here 35 years,” said Ken Tieman, building commissioner, before he researched the origin of the law.
Other suburbs that adopted similar legislation, sometimes citing “finished” or “smooth” sides and surfaces and/or “inside” posts include Deer Park, Madeira, Fairfield, Forest Park and Mount Healthy.
Other suburbs and numerous homeowner associations in private subdivisions have created their own guidelines for fences, some of them disallowing chain-link and/or split-rail fences, others specifying heights and satisfactory designs.
City of Cincinnati building and zoning codes have little to say about fences, beyond this: no fences taller than 6 feet, and no building them on somebody else's land.
In Terrace Park, where anything goes in regard to exposing posts and back sides of fence boards, front-yard fences can be no more than 4 feet tall; backyard fences no more than 6 feet. Fences seen from the street must be at least 30 percent open, building official Bill Fiedler said.
Ms. Washburn, who has no dog, said she decided to build a fence solely for privacy and aesthetics. She plans to stain the wall of western red cedar — with finish caps on the posts and beveled trim along the top edge of the fence.
“It will help my property look better,” she said. “From my yard, you can see through two other people's yards.
Although she does do some gardening, she said she doesn't spend a lot of time in her back yard.
“If I had a deck, I probably would.”
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