Privacy Fence on one side?

caseydm

I recently purchased a home in South Carolina and want to install a privacy fence. My wife and I are disagreeing on how far to build the fence. I want to build down one side on the right up to the trees, then plant a bunch of trees on the short left side. She wants to build the fence completely around the backyard. I've attached a picture.

What do you guys think? Should a privacy fence be "all or nothing". Or is it ok to build down one side if there's already trees around the rest of the yard?

Note: There is a big cost difference involved as one side would be about 120 linear feet, and the whole yard would be over 400 feet.

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mark942

You own it.................Do what ever you want to do.

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sestivers

I'm not seeing what you need "privacy" from. The nearest building appears to be about a quarter mile away.

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Steve

Allison1888

It doesn't sound like you have a dog to keep in the yard, so I agree on not needing a fence. It can give you psychological security, but at what financial cost? At the most I would go with partial fence.

wrangler

Why not compromise? Build it your way for now with the intent of fencing in the whole yard later on. After a few months you may find that you don't need the added expense of fencing in the whole yard, or you might agree with your wife that the whole yard does need fencing.

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Man of many hats

Mike Swearingen

Why don't you consider something similar to what we did years ago when we bought a waterfront lot that had previously been a farm field with not a single plant or tree on it? In the good old summertime, it was like a hotplate, too.
In lieu of fencing or partial fencing, we planted shade trees on the perimeter of our half-acre, and a solid line of variable privacy shrubbery inside of that tree line (azaleas, redtips, holly bushes, etc.).
Over a relatively short period of years it all grew together. (Talk to local nursery people for their recommendations for bushy ornamental fast-growing plants in your area).
It took a while, but we have great privacy and no fencing to maintain. We do have the yard plants pruned annually to keep it all nice and neat.
Just another option.
From the look of your photos, you don't need to be in that big of a hurry anyway.
Good luck!
Mike

Kap

Who are you kidding? He'll agree with his wife. We all agree with our wives.

Iris313

My gosh Caseydm, you have an enormous yard. Where I live in California our lots are so small that I can practically reach over my side yard fence and tap my neighbor on the head when she's watching tv (I'd like to ... dear God the new neighbors are noisy ... that woman is yelling at someone from dawn til dusk).

We're deciding on what to do for privacy as well. We have 6' redwood fencing all around the back yard, but as it shrinks (we've had it 2 years) there are enough gaps that the privacy is somewhat minimal. In my property in southern California (rental) I have fence & green privacy (plants & trees), and I have to say I really like that option. The greenery doesn't require me to paint it, replace boards, etc. and its far nicer to look at than fence boards, and its good for the air & the environment. However, if you are fencing in for a safety option, or to keep critters out, then that's a different matter entirely.

Good luck!
(and I overheard my husband say to a friend yesterday regarding our pending remodel, "my wife outranks me in the decision department." I never knew that.. good information... laugh)

wrangler

You're right Kap! When I first looked at the pictures I thought that I saw that he had a set of balls, but upon further inspection, I noticed that they were actually in his wife's hand. JUST KIDDING!!! Stop with the nasty e-mails already. But seriously, I was only trying to offer a suggestion that might be satisfactory and cost effective. Money seems to be tight right now for alot of people and I know around our household that we are trying to keep discretionary spending to a minimum. Money not being an issue; I would fence the entire yard now... get it done and out of the way at one time and establish an existing fence line which could be important down the road with future neighbors.

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Man of many hats

dtennyson

I have no qualifications other than redoing a lot of yards and houses over the years. But these are my suggestions.
-Not sure why you want a privacy fence since it looks pretty private, but maybe you could have a lattice fence or something a bit open. (You want to keep in pets or keep out deer?) You might get strong winds and something like a stockade fence might get damaged.
-Since you seem to be doing it yourself, maybe do one side and see how it looks. I often change my plans during the process.
-You might find that that long expanse gets boring if just a straight fence, so you might want more than one fence type, but something that goes together like variations of the same "theme." Not sure what kind of planting you have in mind to go in front of the fence.
-Perhaps a lower fence along the tree line than in the open area or a discrete wire fence?
-Good luck; your yard has a ton of possibilities!