Mate erected fence backwards
Discussion
During the furlough period a mate set about renewing his fences.
He's used the triangular rail bolted into concrete posts and taken some time making sure the boards look great.
The only thing is, he's done it the wrong way round with all the boards facing his place rather than on the outside following the old fence line.
It's taken a while but his neighbours are beginning to complain and saying what they think of him..
Is there a good way to fix the triangular rails on the wrong side of the posts and rebuild it?
Pulling the concrete posts out and replanting them may be difficult!
He's used the triangular rail bolted into concrete posts and taken some time making sure the boards look great.
The only thing is, he's done it the wrong way round with all the boards facing his place rather than on the outside following the old fence line.
It's taken a while but his neighbours are beginning to complain and saying what they think of him..
Is there a good way to fix the triangular rails on the wrong side of the posts and rebuild it?
Pulling the concrete posts out and replanting them may be difficult!
A fence is a fence, it is not unreasonable to put the good side facing you if a shared boundary and you foot 100% of the cost. Seems entirely fair.
As long as it is on the boundary / same as old fence, the 2" difference which side the panels are on make no difference.
If neighbours are being arsy & unreasonable, and the fence is on the boundary, ask them to prove him wrong!
As long as it is on the boundary / same as old fence, the 2" difference which side the panels are on make no difference.
If neighbours are being arsy & unreasonable, and the fence is on the boundary, ask them to prove him wrong!
Edited by Andeh1 on Tuesday 27th October 13:47
mikeveal said:
They're called arris rails.
It is convention & good manners to put the good side of your fence towards your neighbours. You are not compelled to do so.
Isnt it more than convention but because the fence boards follow the line of the boundary and the posts are firmly on your land?It is convention & good manners to put the good side of your fence towards your neighbours. You are not compelled to do so.
By putting the fence on the wrong side of the posts he's given them batches of 6ft x6inches of his garden?
The question was whats the best way to rectify it if you decide you want the fence on the other side of the posts after all?
I used to always prefer the look of a fence when the good side was facing into the garden, and always wondered why it was usually done the other way around. But nowadays I prefer the good side to be facing the neighbours, it just looks right when looking from your own garden.
Personally if my neighbour erected that kind of fence I don't think I would care which way around they did it. But I guess if one side of your garden had the fence with the arris rail on the inside, but the other had it on the outside then it might look odd.
Personally if my neighbour erected that kind of fence I don't think I would care which way around they did it. But I guess if one side of your garden had the fence with the arris rail on the inside, but the other had it on the outside then it might look odd.
I replaced all of my fences on a boundary that originally had the "good side" pointing towards the neighbours. As I footed the bill, there was no way they were getting to enjoy the good side 
Luckily, my neighbour was happy that they had been replaced and that they now look great (there were lots of broken panels), rather than being a petty so and so.
Luckily, my neighbour was happy that they had been replaced and that they now look great (there were lots of broken panels), rather than being a petty so and so.LeadFarmer said:
I used to always prefer the look of a fence when the good side was facing into the garden, and always wondered why it was usually done the other way around. But nowadays I prefer the good side to be facing the neighbours, it just looks right when looking from your own garden.
Yes, completely agree. I now see it as that way the fence is keeping the neighbours out rather than them doing the same to you, if you see what I mean. As seen above, everyone has their view of which way the fence should be erected, as your mate has also found out. But in attempt to start discussion on your actual question regarding options to change...
Its not clear from your OP exactly what has been used. But my understanding/experience of closeboard fencing is that the posts have rectangular mortice holes, and hence the arris rails are not triangle shaped when they slot into the post mortice. Therefore you could in theory turn them over. However, you cant actually slide the arris rails out once the posts are set in the ground. You could cut one end of the arris rail right at the post to remove. If it were a timber post then you could use a simple triangular arris fixing to reattach once flipped over. But that might be difficult to attach to a concrete post.
That said, the OP refers to the arris rails being 'bolted' to the posts, which is not clear what exactly that setup is.
Its not clear from your OP exactly what has been used. But my understanding/experience of closeboard fencing is that the posts have rectangular mortice holes, and hence the arris rails are not triangle shaped when they slot into the post mortice. Therefore you could in theory turn them over. However, you cant actually slide the arris rails out once the posts are set in the ground. You could cut one end of the arris rail right at the post to remove. If it were a timber post then you could use a simple triangular arris fixing to reattach once flipped over. But that might be difficult to attach to a concrete post.
That said, the OP refers to the arris rails being 'bolted' to the posts, which is not clear what exactly that setup is.
kryten22uk said:
As seen above, everyone has their view of which way the fence should be erected, as your mate has also found out. But in attempt to start discussion on your actual question regarding options to change...
Its not clear from your OP exactly what has been used. But my understanding/experience of closeboard fencing is that the posts have rectangular mortice holes, and hence the arris rails are not triangle shaped when they slot into the post mortice. Therefore you could in theory turn them over. However, you cant actually slide the arris rails out once the posts are set in the ground. You could cut one end of the arris rail right at the post to remove. If it were a timber post then you could use a simple triangular arris fixing to reattach once flipped over. But that might be difficult to attach to a concrete post.
That said, the OP refers to the arris rails being 'bolted' to the posts, which is not clear what exactly that setup is.
found this image online but it has rectangular recessesIts not clear from your OP exactly what has been used. But my understanding/experience of closeboard fencing is that the posts have rectangular mortice holes, and hence the arris rails are not triangle shaped when they slot into the post mortice. Therefore you could in theory turn them over. However, you cant actually slide the arris rails out once the posts are set in the ground. You could cut one end of the arris rail right at the post to remove. If it were a timber post then you could use a simple triangular arris fixing to reattach once flipped over. But that might be difficult to attach to a concrete post.
That said, the OP refers to the arris rails being 'bolted' to the posts, which is not clear what exactly that setup is.
I need to go and see if theyre the same
A pic would help in this situation.
mikeveal said:
They're called arris rails.
It is convention & good manners to put the good side of your fence towards your neighbours. You are not compelled to do so.
No, but it's the convention. And while I get the 'if I paid for it, then I should look at the good side', it seems a bit unfair if your neighbour has gone with the convention and you haven't.It is convention & good manners to put the good side of your fence towards your neighbours. You are not compelled to do so.
LeadFarmer said:
Personally if my neighbour erected that kind of fence I don't think I would care which way around they did it. But I guess if one side of your garden had the fence with the arris rail on the inside, but the other had it on the outside then it might look odd.
It's just what happens - the houses (end terrace and semi) that I've lived in in London have this - generally you own one fence on your garden's sides, and in a street, you know which is yours (right or left) and yours is the one with the rails. You're supposed to ask before painting 'your side' of someone else's fence too.I know exactly the fenceposts you mean. The ones that accept the triangular batons, which are bolted though the post.
Why doesn't he just bolt flat 4x2 timber batons to the other side of the concrete posts and then board the vertical boards onto that?
Surely that's an easy solution? (and his only option if he doesn't want to dig out a load of concrete posts)
He will have to chuck the triangular baton lengths away, and buy some flat timber batons to bolt on the flat side of the posts, but thats his own fault for making the mistake.
He will also have to sit looking at concrete fenceposts with triangular notches cut out of them, but again, thats his problem unless he wants to dig all then posts out and buy new ones.
Why doesn't he just bolt flat 4x2 timber batons to the other side of the concrete posts and then board the vertical boards onto that?
Surely that's an easy solution? (and his only option if he doesn't want to dig out a load of concrete posts)
He will have to chuck the triangular baton lengths away, and buy some flat timber batons to bolt on the flat side of the posts, but thats his own fault for making the mistake.
He will also have to sit looking at concrete fenceposts with triangular notches cut out of them, but again, thats his problem unless he wants to dig all then posts out and buy new ones.
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 27th October 15:16
The thinking is that each neighbour puts the good side on their neighbours, so each house ends up with one good side, and one not as good side.
OP's mates neighbours have ended up with two not as good sides.
Wouldn't be as bad if they were wooden posts, but concrete posts fully exposed as per that pic (as opposed to in the middle of two wood panels) look rubbish so feel for the neighbours if they are indeed seeing as per that library pic.
Also if like that pic, bolts are sticking out, they could injure someone...
OP's mates neighbours have ended up with two not as good sides.
Wouldn't be as bad if they were wooden posts, but concrete posts fully exposed as per that pic (as opposed to in the middle of two wood panels) look rubbish so feel for the neighbours if they are indeed seeing as per that library pic.
Also if like that pic, bolts are sticking out, they could injure someone...
Edited by hyphen on Tuesday 27th October 15:16
mstrbkr said:
Would help if they’d got the correct thickness for the arris rails in that one, to match the recesses in the posts. That’s really untidy.
And trimmed those bolts too. If I suddenly had all those concrete posts in my garden when before I had a smooth fence, I'd be unhappy too.
Did your mate take wooden posts out and put concrete in?
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