I reckon that Choice might serve some homeowners well by reviewing the different types of fence to erect between neighbouring properties.
41 years ago, I built an asbestos cement fence on hardwood posts before the perils of asbestos were widely known. It served us well generally but, 30 years later, as the old untreated hardwood fence posts started to rot and we started to worry about the perils of aging asbestos cement sheeting, I replaced all three of the dividing fences between our suburban home and our neighbours with a Colorbond fence of my choosing and colour choice. The neighbours were happy with that because I paid for the lot, including getting a reputable asbestos removal firm to dismantle and remove the old asbestos fence.
For a while the new Colorbond fence looked beautiful and the neighbours all treated the fence well. However, in a space of about two years we had new neighbours to all three sides, due to a divorce in one house, a death in another and wanderlust in the third. Two of the new neighbours have not been so careful with the fences. One has a son who, for a while delighted in kicking a football hard into the fence, thus making. loud bangs but also denting it in several places and causing me to replace the worst. of the damaged panels. The second neighbour just seems clumsy and regularly seems to dent the fence by running who knows what into the fence. maybe a wheelbarrow.
So I would not install a Colorbond fence again because they are so easily damaged. Their upside, however, is that they give total visual privacy.
High, treated wooden fences seem to be a better alternative except that, depending on how they are sheeted with palings, there can be gaps between the palings thus creating a privacy problem. My guess is that such worsens over time as the paling timbers shrink. The other problem is whether treated posts are healthy things to have if one wants to plant a veggie garden next to the posts.
So what is the solution if someone wants fence that gives total privacy, can take a few knocks without being damaged, is good to look at and is safe?
Could Choice examine this topic at some time, please?
An informative topic, I’ve found substantial advice on the local council and State (in our instance) Govt resources. I wonder if any project should also look to these for guidance on:
Meeting guidelines, council regulations, covenants etc as to what is permissible.
The importance of having agreement with and the support of the adjoining neighbour/s. Especially for a share of the costs and maintenance.
The perfect fence IMO is the one my neighbour and I are both happy to have and share the cost of. To note if the neighbour wants a superior fence legal advice might be necessary. How disagreements might be resolved is likely very location dependant. The best fence may not be the fence one can have.
P.S.
I rented a property at one time alongside a busy suburban road and with a 2.0 m high fence . The fence was reinforced rendered masonry block construction. Footings to suit and cyclone rated! Best ever?
Do you want it to be cheap as well? If not then brick.
You can arrange for timber paling fences to have overlapped palings thus ensuring nobody can look through but it will cost more. Thicker 16mm palings will last longer instead of 12mm but also cost more.
There seems to be a move away from hardwood palings to treated pine. Hardwood is still available but will cost more.
In my experience paling fences primarily fail early because of corners cut with construction. Using ungalvanized nails, using cheaper posts that can rot quickly in contact with soil or not digging posts in far enough or concreting them as required will make the whole fall well before the palings or rails wear out.
There is no durable, totally obscure fence that will last well that is also cheap.
Aha! So there is some information that will help people when contracting a fence construction. They should insist that the fencing contractor uses galvanised nails ad fittings.
I assume that nail guns can have galvanised nails in them.
FWIW in Victoria if a neighbour wants to replace the ‘beyond use-by date’ fence between properties the adjoining neighbour is legally obligated to share the costs of a basic fence. If either neighbour wants something better they can agree to split it or not, and if not the neighbour that wants it is obliged to pay the difference or do without.
We got a new fence on one side before xmas with hardwood posts and otherwise treated pine. And after Easter will have another with Cypress posts and treated pine. The palings on each are a wider then narrower overlapping, then wider, …, so no matter how much shrinkage there will not be a gap.
A decade ago I fully funded a treated length of ‘vanity fence’ that over the years developed a few mm between the planks but neither of us neighbours has been worried - my side is a carport and their side a walkway along the side of their house. It might be different if one side was to a pool or party area.
Local fencers have been educational in that many quote hardwood posts, many quote cypress posts, but ‘hardwood’ are mixed hardwoods of differing colours unless otherwise specified, aesthetically ‘interesting’ on the post side of the fence. Cypress posts are uniform. All diss on treated pine posts because they invariably warp.
Between hardwood and cypress seems a much of a muchness and in my area the cross beams and palings usually fail well before the posts in either case.
Another aspect are the nails. Galvanised ring shank or screw shank with galvanised screws for the beams to posts and plinths. Any fencer who quotes ‘industry standard’ is quoting straight nails and a cheaper construction.
Our type of fence is determined by the development covenant, each landowner has had to agree to the contract or they are not sold the land. In case of deviation from the covenant, the developers have retained a right to ensure covenant adherence. Further, each landowner has to ensure by the same contract conditions, that they include the same clauses if they sell to another party thus binding the new owners to the same covenant. Only way to break it is to get a Council approval for something different, an unlikely outcome as the Council required the developer to stipulate the type of fencing we have to get built. I am constantly reminded by family of the song ‘Little Boxes’ by Malvina Reynolds.
I had timber for many years in the days when hardwood was used. These days that doesn’t happen and the pine fences don’t last long. Since then I swear by colorbond, despite your unusually bad experience - the fault there lies in the people, not the fencing material. Colourbond is effectively a forever fence for all practical purposes, and ours have survived well for decades. It’s also competitive given the ease of construction and the high price of timber.
