Good neighbour fences, as they are called, look the same on both sides. One neighbour doesn't get the 2 x 4s and the other gets only the finished side. With a good neighbour fence both neighbours get a finished side. Our house started in 1972 with good neighbour fences and an original is still standing on one side. A little worn and sagging here and there but still standing.
On the other side of the house, the original fence had been made from slab wood so it looked a little rustic. Four or five years ago, the good neighbour on that side got a smoking hot deal on some fencing wood so he and I rebuilt the fence. We're still good neighbours.
Across the back, the neighbour had a boy friend about ten years ago who decided to replace the good neighbour fence on that side. In a conspicuously un-
neighbourly way, without consultation, the good fence was taken down and the new one was built backwards so that we ended up looking at the back side of the fence. The materials were inferior as were the specifications.
Some years have passed and the fence has continued to rot. I have doubled up on the posts with treated stakes and 2 x 4s but the neighbour has neglected to refasten the boards as they fall of on his side. Unlike a good neighbour fence, this one is starting to really piss me off. At some point, the neighbour is going to notice that the fence is down and will then expect me to take part in replacing the inferior fence that they put up.
Good neighbour fences really are useful in marking out, without prejudice, each neighbours property. The fence removes the stress, usually on only one side of the property line of unfenced property, should the other neighbour inadvertently live beyond his borders. His animals - dogs, horses, or goats, could wander.
I see this morning that a section of the disputed fence has fallen into his garden. I wonder when he will notice?
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