Which Side of the Fence Faces the Neighbor? The Good Side Question

Why there is a "good side" at all

A standard wood privacy fence has two faces. One is the smooth face of the pickets. The other shows the posts and the horizontal rails the pickets are fastened to. The picket side is usually called the finished or good side; the post-and-rail side is the back. "Which side should face my neighbor?" and "my neighbor put the back of the fence toward my yard, what can I do?" are among the most-answered fence questions online, with hundreds of replies on a single thread, so you are not the first to wonder.

The usual convention

In most neighborhoods the finished side faces outward, toward the neighbor or the street, and the posts and rails face the yard of the person who built and paid for the fence. There are a few reasons this became the custom:

• It looks better from the street and to the neighbors, which is why many HOAs require it.
• The owner can reach the structure. With the rails on your side, you can inspect, repair and re-fasten the fence without going onto someone else's property.
• It is harder to climb from outside, since the horizontal rails are not on the outer face.

It is a convention rather than a universal rule. Whether it is required at your address depends on your HOA's covenants and any local rules, so check those before you build rather than after. Our post on privacy fence HOA rules in Tallahassee covers what associations commonly specify, and the Leon County fence permit process covers the permit side.

Styles that are good on both sides

If you would rather not choose, some fence styles look finished from both sides:

• Shadowbox or board-on-board. Pickets are fastened alternately to each side of the rails, so both faces look the same and air can pass through, which helps in storm season. Board-on-board overlaps the pickets so there is no see-through gap.
• Rails set between the posts with pickets centered, or a picket face added to both sides, give a cleaner look on each side.
• Vinyl and many aluminum fences are built to look the same from either side.

These styles usually use more material and labor than a single-sided fence, so they are worth pricing alongside a standard build. See what drives privacy fence installation cost.

Who owns the fence between two yards?

Which side faces whom does not by itself settle who owns a fence. The fence belongs to whoever built it on their own property, and where it sits matters more than which way the pickets face. If you are not sure where your line is, a survey answers that before any posts go in; see how close to the property line a fence can go. If a fence sits on the shared line and both owners want to split it, it is worth writing down who pays, who maintains it and which way it faces. Property-line and ownership disputes are legal questions; for those, talk to a real estate attorney or the county.

If your neighbor's fence faces the wrong way

• Talk first. Many neighbors simply did not think about it, or their installer made the call. A friendly conversation sometimes gets a commitment to add pickets or stain your side.
• Do not paint, stain or attach to their fence without permission. It is their fence.
• Check the HOA rules. If your association requires the finished side to face out, that is a matter for the HOA, not a neighbor dispute.
• Plant or screen your side. Shrubs, climbing plants on a freestanding trellis, or a planting bed can hide the rails without touching their fence.
• Build your own. Some homeowners put a short run of their own fence, finished side toward them, just inside their own line. That needs its own permit check and a clear survey line.

Planning a new privacy fence?

We talk through which side faces where, and whether a two-sided style makes sense for your lot, before we quote, so it is settled with your neighbors before the posts go in. Call for a free quote or see our privacy fence installation page.