Well that was odd... However, if the privacy fence is on their side and now they can't see their chainlink, I would feel free to plant whatever I wanted in front of the chainlink, and maybe something ON the chainlink as well.

How about removing the chain link all together? They come out pretty easily with elbow grease or chain attached to a truck or bobcat or tractor. Fence just wire tied to the poles. Most of the time, poles are pounded in. Sometimes encased in a bag of concrete. Truck w/ chain will make short work of it.

Of course ask the owners permission!

TMK, but they are not her fences to take out...

Plants, like the leyland cypress, make great screens. Maybe a small outdoor structure, like a gazeebo or arbor. Bamboo? Cheap, grows fast. A climbing plant?

Have you asked if you can remove? If you are footing the bill I doubt they would care. I asked my neighbor if I could replace the chain link fence between our properties with something nicer and they were thrilled.

Put up your own privacy fence. Talk to your neighbor about this b.s. too. Two fences unacceptable. Turn him into the city.

I think I would talk to them and ask THEM to take it out. If they say no and won't let you take it out, then grow something on it ... like 'climbing hydrangea'

This makes no sense, mabye your neighbors are aliens! Seriously though, I would confront them about it and see if the chain link fence could be removed. It shouldn't matter to them if it is serving no purpose. Growing shrubs to cover it up just takes square footage away from your backyard and creates something for you to up-keep, unless you WANT a hedge.

I wonder if they thought the chain link was yours. Sometimes people don't know, when things are installed before they owned house. Putting up another fence would only make their property smaller and generally people are a bit selfish and wouldn't want to do that.

@CMR- I did call the township that I live in, and they said it was the neighbors duty to maintain the area between their two fences....makes no sense because they cant see or access that area! Im stuck with a bunch of tall weeds in between fences. I guess I should swallow my irritation, walk around the block and ask if I can take the fence down. Grrrr.

... is there a chance that they think it is YOUR fence? ... maybe it was there when they moved in? ...

If its their fence, they need to remove it. If you decide to do it yourself, make sure you have their permission in writing. Don't leave yourself open to any liability.

@Brenda- they know its theirs, years ago we had an oak tree drop a branch on it, and we had to use our homeowners insurance to replace it.

Wow, they've got some nerve! Definitely cover your "posterior", get EVERYTHING in writing. Still think you should demand they take it down.

I have a next door neighbor that put up privacy fences inside their chain link, but only on the front and back side of the garage. So, I had this section between the fences that grew weeds and about a 18" section between their garage and the fence that had a lot of trash in it. We asked the neighbors if they would be ok if we took the fence down and she was fine with it. We also asked if she would mind if we stained our side of the fence and she said, "no problem". Granted we have a few different types of fencing now on each sides of our yard, but at least it looks nicer than it did.

Try Cali Bamboo Fencing (online). They'll ship you fencing made of beautifully stained bamboo that you can attach to the chain link fence. Their fencing is more like artwork than a boring wooded planked fence.

Curious to know what happened with the fence. We have a chain link fence separating our properties and one neighbor is extremely messy and piles junk along the fence for all to see while all the other neighbors are respectful and meticulous. We are considering adding a privacy fence on our side of the chain link as it would be inside our property line; thus, the neighbors won't be able to say anything but that would give them the freedom to continue piling their junk and leaving the chain link, as much as we would love to take it out, would protect our fence as well. I know they would not be interested in splitting the cost of a new fence so we feel this is our only solution to hide their mess and have privacy without getting into a neighbor dispute.

@hearofcda - an inexpensive solution is to purchase the plastic strips that can be interwoven in the chain link. Then start planting..shrubs and fast growing bushes, sunflowers, or a vine which will eventually fill in the area in front. Even if my neighbours were neat and tidy, I think I would go this route to make my yard more appealing

@Maureen, thank you we are unable to add the privacy strips due to the warping of the chain link over the years. I don't personally like the look of them for this purpose. I agree about the shrubs but it wouldn't be enough on the messy side, unfortunately.

I've got one better. We had a six foot solid cedar plank fence on all four sides. With the finished side out. The neighbor on one side decided he wanted to put up a four foot chain link fence. But instead of just doing three sides he did all four. Butting a chain link fence up against our wooden without a word. It has made maintenance impossible.

Kill the weeds. Then apply a 'ground killer'. This won't let anything grow for seven years. Then build your own fence.

HI -- Being that the neighbor put up another fence in front of the chain link ... maybe they assume the chain link is not theirs . If they think it's yours then you can take it down. Check with your city by laws ... there might be a caveat /by law against having that kind of fence there. Then it can be removed .