<p>NYMomof2,
As I mentioned somewhere earlier, you may want to look to see if you can find the pipe markers in the ground before you pay for another survey.</p>
<p>I think I’ll suggest to Connie that she have her yard patrolled by a squad of attack ostriches! That should take care of the problem. I wonder whether they could be contained by an invisible fence? </p>
<p>Wait, I have another idea! What about keeping the bad kids out with invisible fencing? They’d have to wear shock collars, though.</p>
<p>lkf, I’m reluctant to disturb the markers again. But I’ll ask the town about how surveys are marked.</p>
<p>I have had to redo a survey in the past. If you call the same company to do it, it’s pretty straightforward to shoot one line.</p>
<p>I never knew chain link fences were so looked down upon. I live in an older neighborhood and they’re ubiquitous in back yards. In fact it was something I looked for when buying a house because our kids were small and having a sturdy, maintenance free, secure fence was a plus. Most people have vegitation of some kind along the fence line, it’s never seemed like an eyesore to me at all.</p>
<p>People around here have all sorts of back yard fences of the split rail and chain link variety. Not much wrought iron or white pickets though. And rarely in the front yards. Must be regional. </p>
<p>A backyard fence is great for small kids and pets, both to keep your own in and to keep uninvited ones out. ;)</p>
<p>6’ wood privacy fences are the worst in so many ways; block the view, rot out quickly, block the breeze, isolate neighbors. We used to live in a more modest neighborhood w/ 4’ chainlink fences. We could chat with neighbors over the fence, and keep an eye on their property if they were out of town. Flowers and vines and roses grew on the fences. In our newer, more upscale neighborhood, all fences must be wrought iron, stone or wood. Most people opt for the cheaper wood, and I really don’t like it. I wish the restrictive covenants would allow for friendly chain-link fences. :)</p>
<p>The only really tall fences I see are the ones that are required to enclose swimming pools. There is something really nice about sharing a lemonade (or a coffee or a beer) over a lower backyard fence.</p>
<p>Frankly, I prefer no fencing at all especially when we are talking acreage. To me, none are really that attractive (with the exception of stone perhaps). But as lkf says, you can’t really get around the 6-7’ requirement when you have a swimming pool. And the way developments are built these days, yards are so small that without a privacy fence a neighbor could sit on their lanai and look right in your bedroom windows. </p>
<p>So…unless you want to do the Big Love thing and share a backyard ;)…tall wood fences have become necessity.</p>
<p>Btw…here you can’t build a fence in front of the front slab line of the house unless it is an integrated part of the home (courtyard wall) made of the same materials as the home. NYMom, you may check on that to make sure Connie is allowed to shoot that chainlink all the way out toward the street.</p>
<p>[Okay…now I must go out the entrance and see the progress on the big oak tree. We just had another big thunderstorm, so I’m hoping the tree crew didn’t show up and we can have it for a little bit longer.]</p>
<p>omgosh…the tree is coming down. I’m really surprised at how much this is upsetting me. The contractor told me the rot was far worse than they expected, so it is the right thing to do. But I’m really sad about this. :(</p>
<p>ldmom-
How’d things work out with the tree-cutting? Inquiring minds want to know…</p>
<p>I’m sorry about losing the tree, ldmom. We have a huge oak, too, to which I am very attached.</p>
<p>The fence will go forward as far as the front of Connie’s house. Maybe we have the same rule here? The holly hedge, however, is going to go all the way to the street. I hope moats are illegal.</p>
<p>lol moats!..don’t even THINK it, NYMom…you don’t want Connie getting ideas.</p>
<p>Jym/NY - the entrance looks TERRIBLE without our beautiful tree! When I was out monitoring the removal (and taking pictures), our residents were driving in from work, slamming on their brakes and staring…I could see the horrified looks on their faces from 30 yards. But one thing the cutting confirmed…the ‘Old Grey Lady’ (My husband’s nickname for the tree) had heart rot all the way to the base of the tree. One huge cross section revealed the rot and corresponding hole that made up approximately 50% of the inside of the tree. There truly was no saving it…it was a danger to all who ventured near it. I took a nice picture of the rotted interior for the newsletter and hopefully no one will come to our house looking for my husband…lol!</p>
<p>We’ll put in a 100 gallon or larger, or a machine-dug Willow Oak which is a much nicer oak …and a fast grower. But we’ll have to wait until fall when the temperatures cool and the ground has a chance to settle.</p>
<p>Btw…NYMom - anything happening with the fence? I keep hoping Connie has a change of heart and you are spared…lol!</p>
<p>Just an observation…
Anyone notice that once the OP returned and provided more facts/details about the situation, those who accused her of “bullying” that poor little old lady have gone away? IMO, it was the OP, not the little old lady who was “bullied”.</p>
<p>I actually didn’t think the additional details changed anything, but I just didn’t see the point of continuing to debate this. People’s values are their values, and they’re not always the same as mine. I don’t see how someone refusing to change what they’re doing, when what they’re doing is legal and not hurting anyone, is “bullying” but again, my saying so wouldn’t change anything.</p>
<p>I think there is a misunderstanding. I don’t think either the OP or the little old lady were bullies.</p>
<p>ON vacation - just checking email and in here quickly - didn’t really know the OP was back and my bullying comment was based on one of the OP’s posts and the letter that was about to be written - if written as such - and presented as such - I would consider that bullying to a degree. There are still 2 sides to this event - and we have been presented with only one - hard to make a real conclusion based on no info from the other side. JMHO.</p>
<p>Wow. I just checked to see if people were <em>still</em> talking about this fence-- and am shocked to see this thread is still alive. </p>
<p>I have to agree with the poster above who said,
I live in an older neighborhood, too, and most yards have these fences–especially the really fine old houses, though you can barely see the fences. They usually have jasmine or some other fast growing, flowering vine that practically hides all traces of them. We had a neighbor once we couldn’t tolerate, so we put up a fence (though not chain-link) some years ago. We love it and wish we’d done it as soon as we’d moved in. The awful neighbors moved less than a year after we put up the fence. I think they’d used our yard so much, that they couldn’t believe how small their yard actually was, once the fence went up. We planted illeagnus (sp?), honeysuckle, jasmine, climbing roses–they all grew very fast, and you can barely see the fence itself now. I love fences, and we actually have more greenery now, because of it, than we did before. I’d never live anywhere again without a fence. Truly. I think they’re great.</p>
<p>If you realy want control over what goes up (or not) in your neighborhood, you should move to a historic (protected) district, where everything–every minor thing you would ever want to do-- has to get approval first. Living like that for a few years usually cures everybody of wanting “control.” ;)</p>
<p>Jym–I was responding to what you said–“IMO, it was the OP, not the little old lady who was “bullied”.”</p>
<p>I don’t know that there was any bullying either, but I do think there was a lot of concerted peer pressure to change her legitimate actions which I found uncomfortable to see so supported. </p>
<p>Someone earlier commented on the misuse of the quote from “Mending Wall”. It’s true that Frost was not seconding the farmer’s platitude, but he doesn’t take the side of the speaker, either. Ironically, it sounds like the fencemending excursion, which is organized by the speaker who takes fences lightly, not the farmer who is takes their necessity for granted, is the only time the two neighbors seem to interact. </p>
<p>Perhaps that might be true of “protesting fences” too. Which is, of course, sheerest speculation, with no evidence on my part to support it, though none to oppose it, either.</p>
<p>We moved into a new neighborhood where the builder set up a homeowners association. I thought, this being America and all, that as soon as the last house sold we would all do away with all these silly rules. Well, AAARRRGGGHHHH, it only got worse. 10 yrs. later it has divided many neighbors and caused many, many hard feelings. </p>
<p>I can’t even paint my front door a different color without approval and the houses are all different on at least 1 acre lots( so who would even notice?). Yes, it does look “nice” but I can’t wait to get out of here. This kind of living is not for me. I guess I’d rather deal with the chain link fence and Connie.</p>
<p>garland,</p>
<p>My implication was that, to be honest, the term “bullying” has been thrown around on CC a lot lately. If one is going to use the term to mean “ganging up on in a harsh way” (I am making up this terminology), then I think I witnessed some of that directed at the OP here.</p>
<p>** again- just making an observation. Not intending to pick at a scab, as it were. Lets move on**</p>