Personally I like the alternating as it gives it less of a "wall" appearance and feeling.

Horizontal OR vertical alignment, alternating the planks forms what is known as a "good neighbor" fence (appearance the same on both sides) and that tends to be a favored approach in many urban and suburban properties with relatively small lots. Privacy is the same either way, alternating or not.

@gardengal48 My other neighbor isn't splitting the fence with me (they are cheapskates) so I'm less keen to care about them honestly...

Privacy wise at least the alternating ones I have seen show more of my neighbors lots through the alternating boards. It's likely fairly limited but I've still noticed it...

Alternating is much more attractive ( to me).

Not sure if this is any concern to you, but dogs (and people) are able to climb the alternating fences more easily. Our down the street neighbor had to redo their alternating horizontal fence after their dog was climbing up and over.

Depending on how you stagger the boards on alternating, it could require more wood. The solid would be easier to stain too.

IMO the alternating fence is more attractive. It would also be good for climbing vines, which would increase your privacy. And honestly, unless someone is peaking through the fence boards, I doubt privacy will be an issue. I have a horizontal wood fence with about an inch gap between each board. There is no privacy issue at all, I'd really have to strain to see anything in my neighbor's yard and even then it's a tiny sliver of vision. Build what appeals to you and enjoy it every day.

P.S. The cheapskate owner of the home next door wouldn't contribute a dime to the fence project so I get your irritation.

Is the neighbour a ’cheapskate’ or just someone with fewer financial resources than you (e.g higher mortgage, paying for children’s university education, health issues with medical costs, lower paying jobs etc…..)

@woodyoak he is a landlord with multiple properties. My neighbors on both sides of me (he is behind me) have stated similar "lack of budget" with him. Since he doesn't live at the property, of course he cares less about what the fence looks like.

TD D - I’m not sure what the situation is re real estate where you are, but here a multiple property owner could have a high debt load, depending on when they bought the properties, interest rates (which have started rising…) and rental revenue. With rising interest rates potentially causing property vales to stabilize or even fall, that might very well impact on what a ’multiple property owner’ is willing to spend on something like a fence if he/she considers the current one adequate.

You're very nice, woodyoak, for giving cheap landlords a pass. But in my case the house in question is definitely owned by cheapskates. They live in California, have owned the property next door to me for many years and refuse to put a dime into the house unless the property manager has a melt down (rats in the attic, black mold, a bedroom window falling out of the frame, etc.). The fence between our properties was damaged by trees they failed to maintain. I asked them to make a small contribution towards a new fence and in return I'd project manage everything, including tree work and pay a much larger share. No go. They reluctantly removed a diseased tree only after I had a letter from an arborist stating it was in danger of falling onto our houses and they feared a lawsuit.

The value of their house has risen 5 - 10 times over their original purchase price (public record). They keep jacking up the rent because we're in a tight housing market and a desireable neighborhood. Luckily the property manager is excellent and does the best she can to keep the house habitable for the young families who rent it.

I'm not anti-landlord at all, but there are some real cheapo property owners who care nothing about their property or the neighborhood. It's where the term "slumlord" comes from and they give good landlords, the majority of landlords, a bad name.

BTW, the mortgage interest rate of my first home was 15%. Yes, rates are rising but are still historically low. And it's not an excuse for bad behavior.

It sounds like your neighbour does have problems! I was just concerned that, in your initial posts, it wasn’t clear whether there were specific issues or generalizations being made. BTW, the mortgage interest rate we paid on our first house was about 11% - but the mortage was also only about 10% of the average mortgage of a first-time homebuyer around here now while salaries are not proportionally higher for young home-buyers. The same sort of economics can affect ’multiple property owners’ so seemingly obvious assumptions re their financial status can be wrong. Around here real estate debt loads can be very high relative to incomes and very worrisome in a rising interest rate environment.

I appreciate the additional context and discussion of mortgage and costs for landlords - totally get it - but this is also just a thread about fence options :) 

Thanks for everyone's feedback!

Fence styles: you'll get more air flow through the alternating boards. The solid stockade-type fence blocks breezes.

Do you have a dog or dogs? My dog would stick her nose between the horizontal slats if there is space between to interact with dogs or children on the other side. That would not be ideal for me since it would put my dog at risk of getting poked or potentially nipping a child (not that she has before, but it's always a risk to consider) or trying to get at a neighbor dog.

I also think you have even less privacy with horizontal alternating boards because if you're standing or sitting at an angle, you can see through the gap more easily than you can on vertically alternating slats.

If the alternating boards were making contact instead of having a gap, that would alleviate my above concerns. It certainly looks nice if neither of those issues are of concern for you.