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What are the Best Tips for Installing a Fence for Privacy?
When installing a fence for privacy, there are a few general considerations that can be used to make the process easier and more effective. One of the most important aspects of this type of fence is the height, since this can greatly affect how well the fence ensures privacy. The materials the fence is made from can also impact the privacy it affords, and solid materials such as brick are typically more effective than wooden fencing or chain link. Someone installing a fence for privacy should also consider the impact of other features around the fence, such as bright lights and raised areas.
Installing a fence for privacy is typically done when someone wishes to ensure a sense of privacy and security in his or her home or business. This type of fence may be intended to help keep other people off of the property or simply to dissuade others from looking at different areas of a house. Anyone installing a fence for privacy should consider several different aspects of the fence to ensure it is as effective as possible.
The height is typically quite important when it comes to installing a fence for privacy, since this will directly impact how easily others can see over the fence. A tall fence will usually provide sufficient visual privacy and deter others from attempting to climb it. A fence of about 8 feet (about 2.4 meters) in height may be sufficient for casual observers, though 10 feet or more (over 3 meters) may be preferable to prevent more persistent onlookers.
Someone installing a fence for privacy should also consider the materials used to construct the fence. Brick walls are typically the best type of fencing with regard to privacy, since the solid bricks prevent casual and determined observers from looking through the fence. Wooden slats can provide decent privacy, but anyone determined to look through such a fence can typically see between them, though this view may be skewed somewhat. Chain link fencing is almost useless for visual privacy, though it may keep people out physically.
Other features near a fence may also impact its effectiveness. Bright lights, for example, may provide illumination at night that makes seeing through the fence easier. Raised areas near the fence may also allow people to more easily see over the fence. When installing a fence for privacy, these types of features should be considered and efforts made to work around them. The fence should be higher near a raised area, for example, and bright lights can be aimed toward the fence so that anyone attempting to look through at night may be unable to see clearly.
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![A privacy fence can be designed to discourage people from wandering onto a property.]()
By: Johanna GoodyearA privacy fence can be designed to discourage people from wandering onto a property. -
![Chain link fences, made from galvanized steel wire weaved into an open mesh pattern, offer little privacy.]()
By: Jon Le-BonChain link fences, made from galvanized steel wire weaved into an open mesh pattern, offer little privacy.
Discussion Comments
I think plants make the best privacy fences because they are natural. They blend into the scenery. Other types of fences standout and take away from the natural look of a yard or garden. Privet shrubs are ideal for making a privacy fence in your yard.
@Laotionne - My community has a home owner's association, and I practically have to ask permission to mow my own lawn. Unless you live in a rural location, there are probably some guidelines regarding how tall your privacy fence can be.
@Laotionne - I have a friend who likes to collect stuff. That's a nice way of saying he keeps a lot of junk in his yard, including old car parts and various pieces of equipment that he is always in the process of restoring. This was fine when he lived in the country with plenty of space, and no nearby neighbors.
When he moved into town to live in his parents old house a few years back, he brought the junk with him. His neighbors began complaining almost immediately. My friend didn't want to cause a major uproar and he tired of the complaints, so he decided to build a really really tall privacy fence to hide his yard from the neighbors.
The fence received as many complaints as all of the junk, but my friend refused to take down the fence until he got a letter from the town saying that the height of the fence made it illegal.
I'm not sure whether the ordinance about the height of the fence was on the books before my friend built the fence or whether it came because of the fence, but most towns and cities have some rules regarding what you can do to your property within the city limits and in built up residential areas.
Are there limits to how high you can build a privacy fence on your own property, or can you build the fence as high as you think you need to in order to prevent people from looking in and getting onto your property?
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