Yikes I'd be worried if their contractor is right, that your retaining wall is actually encroaching on THEIR property! Just because it's preexisting and no one had a problem with it before doesn't mean that will always be the case with these or future neighbors. I think it was smaloney up thread who said she has a similar concern??

So agree you should get the accurate assessment of the property boundaries. His rain water situation will probably be taken care of by the time his construction is complete. If not, that's his problem...unless your alleged encroaching retaining wall is contruibuting to it. Then it is your problem.

Could be worse, that last picture could be your view, but fortunately it's not.

Agree with the others that raised planters filled with tall fast growing plants would be a good solution at your back patio. Also how big is your patio? Does that table have to be that close to the fence?

That landscaping quote is ridiculously high if it's only addressing screening that side. Maybe taking advantage of what they sense is a desperate situation? Get a few more quotes for sure.

Olychick. Even those with "More money than God" have their issues with neighbors obstructing their views. Have you heard of the battle Larry Ellison's was having with his down hill neighbor allowing his trees to grow high enough to peak above his balcony and "block" his view of SF Bay? I think he even offered to buy the other person's property, but they didn't budge. He ended up buying another property down the block. Can't remember all the details, but here are a few posts you might find amusing.

Scroll down to the one that's titled "Just in, Birds Gotta Sing...." for the first of about 5 posts with pics on this nasty neighbor war.
http://sf.curbed.com/tags/billionaires-row

This looks like a summary and maybe links to the above.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Larry-Ellisons-Billions-Are-His-Neighbor-122884584.html

Marti8a, I have used a few different ones in different areas of my yard with success. They are pretty easy to maintain but after they reach 10' by 3' I do thin them out so the middles can get sun again. My three favorites are Miscanthus Grecillinus, silberpfeil, and zebrinus.

I'm sorry you have to deal with that privacy invasion, unfortunately for you it seems the gardens that were done was counting on no house in that area.

I would use tall trellises in every area where they have a window and make it wide enough so they can't see around it.

I'd plant something like star jasmine on it. Nice dense evergreen in Zones 8-11. If a different zone I'm sure you can find something similar. It grows fast and spreads but isn't invasive. Had it at my old house and had no issues removing it when redoing that flower bed.

How about something like this on the deck

{{gwi:1819063}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Star jasmine images

Good lord I feel for you. Do the type of trellis Oily pictured, I think it has the best privacy. Then add those planter boxes in lyfia's photo immediately in case someone calls the trellis a fence. Good decoy. :)

This winter do all the research you can on fast growing vines. I get very cold weather and I keep a Clematis vine in a large pot outside, not in the ground, and it comes up every spring.

That is just awful. You will enjoy the shutters though, they're great to keep sound, heat and cold out of the room.

Don't forget that you could use shutters outside on your deck, too, until the plants grow high enough to hide the view of the neighbor. They will work the same way, letting the breeze through while allowing you to decide how much of the house next door you want to see. You can watch for used shutters on Craigslist for this purpose.

People complain about the strict land use laws in Oregon...but there is a good reason for them! Precisely what you're up against.

Privacy aside, I'd be concerned foremost at this point with the erosion and water flow. The french drain abutting your property that can't handle the flow?? PROBLEM.

I can't believe your community code doesn't require a variance for building but your neighbors could be fined for a fence? Have you spoken directly with the building codes/planning department? You might need to camp out at their office. ALL records pertaining to the property are public record, so you can see site plans that are filed and you'll know what has been approved. I'd be on the contractors like white on rice if I saw any variation of that plan without notification from the local government.

I would also hold off on any major landscaping plans until next summer. The winter rains will give you a good idea of what you're going to be up against, and you don't want to put in a ton of money only to find that your yard becomes awash in mud.

"the person in the house walks along the rear property line and gazes at SIL when she is sitting out there and comments...."oh you are smoking ? " in a derisive voice...also won't let SIL use her fountain ..." it's SO noisy "..."

at that point I'd have yelled back 'oh yeah, I chain smoke. so does dh - does MJ bother you?'

and I'd use my fountain. drown out the fountain noise with some music...

i think the fast growing bamboo in containers is a good idea, along with the trellis idea. At least while waiting for other fast growing trees to get tall enough. Do some research online - it'll tell you how fast things will grow. I've checked into some desert trees for here - to bar the view of a few neighbors. I thank God that they are at least an acre away! Just the same I've been here a long time before these places showed up and I feel invaded.

maybe a telescope on your deck and they'll decide to put a barrier up on their side.

I like the telescope idea!

I'd only need a spyglass - at most - to see them :-) Too bad they have nowhere to put up a barrier and, with the 6' height limit, it would look like a LEGO wall or a matchstick fence. Seriously, they would just peer right over it like giants.

That said, I started doing some research and I found a lovely hinged, premade 84" high red cedar trellis. I think I could install two of those with some pots behind them with climbers, etc. Then, where we lost the tree, we could install a Little Gem magnolia in a gigantic pot. It will take many years for it to reach its full height - if it even could in a pot - but it should help screen that corner and provide the maple some shade (they don't care for intense morning sun which is what they have now that the third tree came out).

We have a small pergola over our dining room atrium door that extends into the front planting bed and I think that next spring I might enclose that with trellis material on two sides and then hang outdoor drapes on the open end that faces their house.

We planned to rebuild the deck - because we noted that the rear support beam is rotted (how did that get missed by the home inspector?) and the deck boards have clearly been pressure washed inappropriately one time too many. When we do rebuild the deck, I'll probably do a similar treatment there too with the screen and the pots. The deck is not vast, but I think a hinged trellis with some significant plants in pots should make that livable and not take out too much of our living space.

As for the lower garden...well, that's going to be more of an issue because of the close proximity of the retaining wall, the height needed, and the struggle to find something that will not have roots that will push through the wall. Right now there is just a tangle of feral roses down there. Sadly, even a 7' privacy trellis won't do too much there. That may be a job for plantation shutters! :-)

Does this sound like it would grow in in a way that would be pleasing to us? That's my goal. Retain my low maintenance, park like atmosphere while restoring privacy. I think it is also smart to start this project in the spring - after their house is finished - so I can see what the real issues are upon completion. I can hope that they will screen their AC units in a manner that is similar to ours (low wooden screen) since it makes things more attractive and deflects the noise (although our units are pretty quiet).

Thanks again, everyone. All your suggestions really helped me start to formulate a plan. And realize that I'm not really overreacting about the proximity of this house to mine. The LR Zoo is down the street - not on my street :-)

Grlwprls, I think your ideas sound great, as does your proposed timing. I'm sorry this happened, I know you were shocked and disappointed, but it sounds like you are fully committed to making this work, and I know you will! Maybe you'll actually end up liking your outdoor spaces even better than you would have if this hadn't happened...you never know! You have an excellent sense of proportion, scale and design, and everything will pull together over time. (Btw, I'd love to see pics of YOUR house...sounds adorable.)

I have a geography question. Where is AR? I know you lived in New Orleans previously, in a darling place that was at one time a grocery store, (if I recall correctly!).

Don't wait and hope that they will screen their AC compressor. I would bring this up directly to them and ask if they could please screen it as it seems like it will directly affect you.

Since they haven't thought about how they are affecting others so far I wouldn't count on them doing this unless it is pointed out to them.

I know I wouldn't be offended if somebody brought it up and I just hadn't thought about it, if mentioned nicely.

Grl, maybe you could try sitting in your favorite spot in your living room, looking out at that house, then placing your hand, palm down in front of your forehead. Then move it up and down, and closer and away, until you figure out where the bottom branches of a tree at different points would be to create a view out onto the patio below but have evergreen foliage hide everything above it. If you like the potential, plan for your landscape design to include trees that do this for you. The closer to your windows they are, the shorter they can be; there are a lot of excellent large shrubs that can be limbed up for this purpose, as well as small trees. The closer to the other house they are, the taller trees or bamboo will have to be. In addition to hiding your windows from the ground and upper stories, the shade trees close to your windows cast would provide privacy all hours of daylight even if someone was hanging over the fence trying to see in.

BTW, bamboo comes in clumping and spreading types. It also comes in varieties from 1' to 100'. I once appraised a property where a long-established large spreading bamboo in the back yard had marched across the yard and came through the detached garage's floor and roof (old lady, husband died 3 years before and stopped mowing, son lived 3000 miles away), totally destroying it. It had been kept out of the house--so far, but the back door couldn't be opened, and it went under and through the back yard retaining walls (destroying them) to invade adjacent properties up hill. That said, bamboo is truly lovely and can take very little horizontal space to create a...lovely screen. Think clumping varieties, though. :)

At the risk of being tedious again, make them fight to keep their AC on your side of their house. Everything else they've done stays on their property and can be mitigated, but the AC's noise will be a permanent invasion. It will come over and join you not only in your garden but in your house. You do not know enough to decide there's nothing to do but seal your windows and install wood shutters. At this point, neighbors and city know you're clueless and are hoping a little stonewalling will just make you go away.

grlwprls,

I don't post very often anymore but just wanted to say I hate your having to deal with this. I was sad to see that your family left NOLA and the remarkable corner grocery house. After hearing of you moving to LR, I hoped that you had moved into my favorite area of LR. By reading your description (didn't want to mention the area by name as you had not), you definately did and I was so happy that I could live vicariously through someone I don't know other than their screenname on a home website! I hope that you are able to find a solution and peace in your new surroundings.

Shannon

Someone upthread asked what the house looks like - here's a YouTube of the real estate listing. I suggest turning down the volume (the music is awful).

I will say that it photographs better than it functions. And, since we've lived here two kitchen cabinet doors have completely fallen off their hinges and all the pantry roll outs disintegrated and/or fell apart. You would think we are a conquering army as much as we've taken out since we moved in!

We'd like to restore some of the interior charm - but you can also see the yard in this video. It was a bit more leafed out when we did our tour.

Here is a link that might be useful: Real Estate Video

Grlwprls, your house is lovely but I am worried that you have given away alot of your privacy by sharing the video. It has your address on it. Is there a way you can pull this link? Sorry, just concerned.

Wow, such an adorable house, Grl! Very charming, and it looks quite well maintained. Congratulations! So, AR is Arkansas! (I thought so, but wasn't sure, lol.) What took you to AR?

It's a public record that I bought the house, so I don't sweat it too much. You could find me through a pretty simple internet search, unfortunately. That's just the modern world.

Oh my lordy, small, small world! After reading all of your posts regarding your LR house, I tried to imagine all of the houses that I could remember being for sale within the last year or two up there and this is one that I could remember. I am so glad someone who will love it and take good care of it bought it. I loved this house from the street and on the realtor sites. I really liked the way it sits in relation to the street and other homes. Just to let you know, I AM NOT A STALKER! I am just someone who spends time in other cities for various reasons and while in each city I explore and learn about the great neighborhoods. The last time I was in LR was last June for several days of Football U so you can understand why and how I spend my time. Now I am really sorry about the neighbor situation!

Shannon

I'm a little confused on the concept of them suing you for YOUR retaining wall encroaching on their property. Assuming you didn't build it, if it's on their property, doesn't that make it THEIR retaining wall? Just make sure you don't plant anything or even run the lawn mower over that last 17" of yard. If they want the retaining wall gone or moved back, they will have to do it -- you have no obligation. And I believe any changes they make cannot adversely affect your property. So this argument of their property manager is just bullying.

It's the same as if a previous owner had built a fence over the property line onto a neighbor's property -- that neighbor has the right to tear it down and the PO or NO has no obligation to maintain it.

But I'm not a lawyer. Better ask your dad.

What a charming house. I hope you are not having buyer's remorse, which I think we all get to some degree. I think you will be able to solve the privacy problems with new plantings.

I agree, it sounds like the retaining wall is their headache, not yours.

Do try to relax and enjoy your pretty new home.

My parents lived in a suburb of Pittsburgh and everyone had to deal with a steep slope. They discovered after moving in that the retaining walls of both neighbors on either side had been erected over the property lines and were actually on my parents' lot. They did consult an attorney and he informed them that the walls were indeed theirs. Unfortunately when one of the dry laid stone walls toppled after a heavy rain my folks had the expense of repairing it - or watching their side yard erode.

I thought that I would update to tell you all that after our Christmas Day snow, the snow pack came rocketing off the neighbor's metal rib roof, taking out our fence and doing significant damage to our retaining wall. Thank god no one - human or canine - was in the yard when it happened, because it was scary enough to watch it from the comfort of our living room.

Also we reworked the hard scape along the fence line - just a week or so before the snowstorm - and planted camellias that should grow into a solid hedge over time. Some were damaged when the fence was toppled. The maple was spared, though.

Sigh. We also have major water intrusion under our house - right at the point where their lower gutter dumps out. They are very nice people, but it surely is not fun dealing with all these issues.

I would shoot myself. What a nightmare. It ought to be illegal. That's the good thing about having HOAs or strict, annoying local regulations.

On a lighter note, there are lots of houses built very close to each other. I was admiring some old homes today but thought to myself that I could never live with my neighbor's windows 6-10 feet away from mine. So, a lot of people might actually be used to those situations and not mind it, if you choose to move at some point.

I have only had time to read a portion at this point. Just wanted to sympathize. Very heartbreaking.

The snow thing is obviously a very serious issue and should give you a lot of leverage. Whoever is responsible for designing that monstrosity should be in deep trouble ... and they have no heart or conscience.

I'm so glad you posted again because I was wondering how things have worked out for you. So sorry to hear about the snow damage. What did your neighbors say when they found out?

Your neighbor needs to install snow guards to prevent avalanching snow. Many areas have regulations that prevent a home owner from directing water from their roof onto a neighbor's property. Perhaps they need to extend the downspout to direct the runoff toward the street. My neighbors dug 2 dry wells to handle the water from one of their downspouts. Unfortunately our soil is heavy clay and the dry wells are inadequate in a heavy rain and the water still flows onto my property.

Here is a link that might be useful: snow guards

Thanks for the update, but I wish it was better news....the water intrusion issue sounds like a nightmare! At least with time the plants will continue to grow....

I too am glad you posted again with an update, but so sorry for the terrible news. This is an absolute nightmare no homeowner should ever have to endure. It's bad enough when your own home has problems. When the neighbor's house causes your issues, it's discouraging, at best. At least they are nice. Time will tell how nice they really are in terms of long-term, permanent solutions to this mess.

Oh, no! I hope that there are regulations in place in your area that will make the neighbors have to pay for the repairs, and to mitigate further water damage.

My dad's back yard always had water puddles after a rain, because the yards of the houses on either side ran downhill into his yard. But the basement was never wet.

Then one neighbor asked for a zoning variance to build a huge three car garage and extend his driveway and create a turn around pad in his tiny back yard--which, in an old urban neighborhood like Dad's, meant that the garage would cover 90% of the tiny back yard. Dad went to the zoning meeting and spoke about his concerns about drainage.

The city sent out a surveyor, and the final outcome was that the huge garage could be built, but the neighbor would have to pay to remediate any water damage that occurred on Dad's property. The neighbor was "urged" to take that into consideration when building.

He did not do so. Cue Dad's basement flooding twice in one month, when it hadn't had any water in it for the 30 years Dad lived there. The neighbor had to spend $30,000 to install drains and fix the landscaping to prevent the flooding. It would have been much cheaper if he had done this while the construction work was going on.

He was furious with Dad and never spoke to him again.

My neighbors may be nice, but their project manager is a class A you know what that starts with an "a". I stepped outside this morning to advise him (nicely) that my insurance company recommended against having him repair the fence/wall (as did my father, who is an attorney, since their contractor doesn't work for me, I have no recourse if I am not satisfied with the repair) and he went off on me. One of our tree tops snapped off during the storm and we were advised by the city to put it on the right of way for collection. Which we did; however, at the bottom of our property their ROW and our ROW are pretty darn close, so he starts telling me how he has to clean up my branch that is on his client's property. And then he starts yelling at me about how "he could be a good neighbor" if I wasn't so rude every time he has to talk to me. First of all, I'm never rude. Direct, yes. Rude, no. And he also isn't my neighbor. He is the employee of my neighbors. He says there is nothing wrong with my retaining wall and fence, so it will be interesting to see if he lets his crew set their ladders up on it in its current state so that they can replace all the gutters that ripped off in the snowstorm.

My insurance agent gave me quite an earful the other day about the proximity of this house and its impact on my house. Sigh.

Too bad you don't have a recorder going when this class A arse goes off on you!

It sounds like you are handling things very well. But even if you did have an attitude, how could they blame you? Really, what would they be expecting?

I'd let my lawyer handle everything, including all communications, if possible.

I'm not going to give me response, because you know what it would be, and I know what yours would be in turn.

Yes. I know, marcolo. But, since the house went in and they put a ton of concrete out, we've had water in our basement. There was a damp spot high up in the far corner of the basement when we bought the house, but we remedied that. Now we have significant standing water on the side we share with their house. It's changed my perspective. We contacted an attorney after the snow damaged our house and retaining wall. Before, there was no variance, so we had nothing. Until that snowpack came crashing into our yard, that is. And if their contractor's position is that our fence is "fine" why was he asked to fix it? Because "fine" would suggest it is normal to have a fence nearly flat against the ground, right? ::cough:: I am actually looking forward to having my lawyer and insurer do my dirty work. Because they are nice. Really. :-)

In my experience - there are men that do not know how to deal with a direct woman. They automatically think we are B@@ches! Let a man be direct and it's ok..LOL
Anyway, just wanted to chime in and say I'm sorry that you are going through all this and have damage to your home over thier home being built practically on top of you.
If this contractor had his you know what together - he would not have built so close, he would have recommended his client downsize alittle or something.
Your neighbor may be "nice" - but what where they thinking when they saw how close they would be to you??

I'm glad you have some pros involved. It sounds like you could be in for a long haul. I hope the right people do the right things and I will be wrong.

"And then he starts yelling at me about how "he could be a good neighbor" if I wasn't so rude every time he has to talk to me."

And I'd like to add. What could be more rude and un-neighborly than building a house on top of another person's home like that.

Just wanted to say that I was in your old neighborhood a few weeks back. Had a poboy at Domilese's. I wish you well in this endeavor!!!!

I've read your tale with great interest and sympathy, heightened by the fact that a 60,000 foot nursing home is going up directly behind me (yes, I knew it was coming.) What I have to keep telling myself is, it's not my family, it's not my body, it's not any of the really important stuff. Basically it boils down to money. Sometimes things don't break your way and you lose money-- it happens.

I think you are quite right in determining that the PM is an a*** and a defensive a***. This is not a popular project and he is feeling attacked, but that's not your problem. I would not waste your breath second-guessing his hostility towards you. I am a great consensus builder and seeker myself, and it is very hard for me to be at odds with people, but sometimes I have to recognize that just because they feel strongly about something doesn't mean they're right.

Re the water issues, in our area you are technically not allowed to increase water flow onto another property with your building activities. Presumably you've also checked the setback requirements for your area. While my own situation is by no means decided, I do find that attending meetings and jumping up and down (in a rational, consensus seeking manner ) can make a difference. Originally the project was three stories and it was changed to one story-- I don't know if my (genteel) shrieks helped, but they may have. The engineer did tell me that my pictures of flooding in the retention pond did affect his drainage plans. If you had great pictures and documentation about the water damage, at the least you might get a variance to improve the landscaping between lots. In time good landscaping can cure almost any sin, but of course time is the deciding factor.

I feel for you. Right now I am basically surrounded by a commercial building project after six years of bluebirds and peace. We bought a lot in the middle of town because we wanted to be within walking distance of everything. We knew the large lot behind us would be developed, and hoped that it would be tolerable when done. Tolerable remains to be seen-- every morning I wake to a rising tide of dirt behind me as they raise the grade behind us. There's going to be an eight foot plateau a few feet beyond my six foot fence. Landscaping is supposed to cure all these ills, but it's hard to see how at the moment. After talking to the silver tongued developer, I'm thinking briefly, "It's okay! It's going to be fine!" Half an hour later the spell wears off. But-- at the end of the day, it's not my husband, not my kids, not my body. The other stuff I can recover from, and you can too :)

A living fence, if you choose the right privets and cedars, cypress, etc, can be totally established in 3 years. If you should have a water issue, you can hide a well in the privets and the tax collector guy will never see it. Don't ask me how I know this but I once had 500 roses and a lot of shrubs and trees.

Gwprls, any updates? New plans with spring?

demeron,

Thanks for asking. We modified our flower bed along the fence line late in December and planted some camellias that should, in time, fill in and fill up the space between our houses.

I actually feel like we need a softening layer between the edge border of annuals and bulbs - maybe hostas since we don't get a ton of sun over there. There's no way we can completely block our view, but at least we can minimize it. We just don't have space to really pack the area with plants without redoing the entire yard - which is an expense we don't want. We already had to repair our fence when the Christmas snow came barreling off their metal roof.

Gotta love a $1000 insurance deductible! (not) And, we had to have the basement encapsulated to deal with the standing water and resulting fungus on our floor joists. To say this has been a difficult neighbor relationship would be an understatement, but not one professional - from the structural guy, to the guy who first dealt with a small water intrusion issue before we moved in, to the exterminator who has treated the house for *years* will stick their neck out and claim that the new house is causing us water issues. I am beyond frustrated.

Thank goodness that i just love this house and the inside updates have been very fulfilling. In fact this morning I am working on my foyer accent wall. And the kitchen is *perfect* in all ways. I couldn't be happier with the result. Now, we just need to layer in accessories and the first floor living spaces will be exactly where I want them. Trouble is, you really can't rush that step of decorating. Takes time to find the right doo-dads.

Your gardening looks great!!

For a few of our problematic windows that look directly into neighbors, I applied privacy film to about halfway up. I know I can take it down when we move and for now I never worry about closing the blinds for privacy and get all the light I need. I see this being used more and more in cities and I don't think it looks too bad from the outside. From the inside I don't even notice it, just enjoy the blue sky without worrying about being spied on by the lady next door.

Your landscaping is lovely. :)

I so understand your frustration with losing privacy. We bought this home, on a hill, beautiful view out back ... until 2 yrs later, when a gas drilling company bought the 7 wooded acres behind us. They have zero rules/regulations, and can put their industrial site anywhere they want, with no special zoning. Now we have no trees back there, a noisy compressor station that runs 24/7 ( sounds like a freight train), 12 huge gas storage tanks that spew emissions, and semis that load up 24/7, all on a flat, 7 acre gravel pad. It's a nightmare for me and my neighbors.

Anyway, I hope things will improve for you, I understand how discouraging it can be.

So here's the end result. Well fed, well watered, and well-tended. Sadly, our maple really got stressed last year with the full sun and the drought and then, I suspect, it took on some damage from the Christmas snow storm. But we're babying it and hoping it recovers fully.

Our roses look *gorgeous* this year. They are just loaded with buds and I think I finally got ahead of our whitefly problem.

My next job is trying to strip the paint off the fieldstone arch around the front door. I don't anticipate that being an easy or fun job. But I still can't understand why anyone would paint those stones. They look like Disney stones since they are a weird blue grey.

That house still is homely, though.

How pretty and charming. I love seeing your house -- kitchen, foyer, etc.

Too bad the nearby house is such a discordant style.I don't remember all the details of the story anymore, but I would just go put in a line of arborvitae. Even if you have to give up some patio space. And a fence too. Why suffer?

BTW I always hated arborvitae for its DrSuess-ish yellow-green color. But we put a few in in our old house and I dont recall the species but they were so much nicer than the ones we grew up with!

In urban areas, they create backyards with incredible privacy, inches away. Luckily the house next door is not so tall. I really think you can make it disappear.

Garden looks beautiful and I think your camellias will be fabulous when they grow up and fill in. So glad the inside is going well :)

Here's mine. We just had some grading done and 12' trees installed. Personally still going through the dialectic of learning to live with that giant building behind me!

Just a thought - Studying your photo of the pergola area and thinking of your plan to cover/close-in the pergola, (for obvious reasons!), a much more expensive option (!) if the area gets enough sun would be to pull up the walkway, replace with arborvitae, and place the walkway where the plants are, as the real estate taken by the walkway opens your property to the neighbor rather than function as a privacy barrier. You would then have private use of a little more of your yard. Should your lovely maple not make it, and If the current pretty plantings ultimately not provide sufficient blockage, I would - like another poster suggested, put arborvitae there also. sigh...I feel your pain. Have been following - hope you continue keeping us updated when this thread tops out.

These pictures make me thankful to have twelve acres, even with all the upkeep! The house next door to yours is just awful looking, at least from the back.

One thing about the snow--- in many municipalities people with metal roofs are required to put snow stops on the roofs several feet up from the eave edge. The purpose is to prevent a big amount of snow from sliding off and killing someone. The stops are sized and spaced according to code. If your neighbors won't install them I would start looking for a sturdier fence, because yours will be flattened again under the same conditions.

You have a beautiful home and garden but that really is close! I probably missed it but why couldn't you put in a board on board privacy fence on that side? You could raise it at the bottom for extra height.

kswl,

Since the snow was quite the novelty to my child and my dogs I was so incredibly grateful that none of my loved ones were frolicking in the yard when that snow came down. The sound of it was pretty terrifying. I heard it creaking and then, with a loud *whoosh!* it all came barreling down and smashed that fence flat in an instant.

After the event, the A**hole Contractor said that "they" were going to "handle it" and figure out something that would keep the snow from ripping their gutters off again. Just last month, the A Contractor came back and reinstalled the gutters in the exact same manner - and nothing that will keep that snow from rocketing off the roof should we get snow again.

My neighbor is the architect of the house as well. So you would think he would know about the snow stops. All my Canadian friends were *shocked* that there weren't any on his roof.

I guess it's a design statement, but they never did anything to finish the cement blocks that form the foundation. And the red windows and the brown paint just remind me of a Tootsie Roll pop. And not in a good way.

Sadly, there's really no point to spending the money to build a 1.5" higher privacy fence. The city won't give me a height variance and my fence is 4.5" feet tall on that side. I could go to 6' - but it won't make much of a difference.