Selecting a Fence

Bordering our property was shrubbery and trees approximately twenty feet tall and in some areas about 12 feet wide. While this space was beautifully lush in the spring and summer, it was a tangled mess of bare vines in the winter. I loved the look of it in the summer though, the purple wisteria hanging from the branches, the flowering hibiscus in one corner and the blooming azaleas and crepe myrtles along two sides of the property. In summer it was beautiful, a tall hedge of green swaying in the breeze, the leaves rustling, and birds fluttering to and fro between the branches. The greenery bordering the property gave a sense of seclusion. But in fall and winter when those evergreens lost their leaves and all that was left were scraggly looking branches no longer hidden by lush green leaves, it was a different feeling altogether.


A view of the backyard and its many layers of trees and shrubs

A view of the other side of the backyard. Her Majesty's temporary pen is on the right.

After The Mister and I addressed the reasons why we would like a fence, we began discussing what type of fence we wanted as well as what to do with the shrubbery and trees surrounding the property.

I've got to admit that I was leaning towards a four foot high chain link fence and keeping the shrubbery. In our previous home, Her Majesty was contained by a chain link fence which looked into our adjacent neighbors' properties. If we could keep our shrubbery, we would maintain the woodland, rustic feeling as opposed to being open to the main street and surrounding properties. I was concerned that removal of the shrubs would mean an increase in noise and a decrease in wildlife for our yard.

We also discussed using what is commonly called in this area "goat wire" since our primary concern was to keep Her Majesty enclosed, the goat wire fence would keep her penned in the yard and allow us to install it very quickly.

The Mister was sold on a solid wood privacy fence. He felt that this would give our property the most attractive look, fit in with the neighborhood, and fulfill the need to keep Her Majesty enclosed.

And since I am nerdy, I created a Pros and Cons table for our options.

We decided that resale value through curb appeal and regaining our yard through the removal of trees (although this was hotly debated under our roof) were high factors on our list behind containing Her Majesty. Since all of the options would contain Her Majesty, the wood privacy fence seemed to best fit our wants. Shortly thereafter, The Mister and I perused through images of privacy fences on the internet and found the most useful source of inspiration from a website called Fence Workshop. (Note: Fence Workshop has no idea who we are. We used the photos of residential wood privacy fences on their site to gather ideas for which type of fence style we liked best, or rather that we could agree on.) The fence that we agreed upon was the Polaski style wood fence.

Next up, removal of the shrubs and trees.