A WOMAN who was sick of her neighbours peeping into her garden has revealed how she made a DIY privacy fence for just £19.
Although having a friendly rapport with our neighbours is great, often we want to prevent them from being able to see into our gardens, so that we can live privately.
And one woman has figured out a super cheap method of doing this, which also doubles up as a outdoor cinema, for romantic film nights.
Taking to TikTok, the DIY pro, known only as @radar.gold online, shared the simple trick she used to prevent her neighbours from peeping.
Outside her house, the woman has a large patio roof, held up by two thick beams of wood.
The patio looks right out onto her neighbour’s garden, meaning they could easily peep in whilst she is trying to enjoy a nice relaxing moment outside.
To combat this, the woman purchased two 12×9 canvas drop cloths, which she purchased for £19.
She fixed the cloths onto the wooden beams using a staple gun, wrapping them around the structure, to give a gazebo effect.
The thick canvas completely hid the inside of the patio from view, allowing the woman to finally relax in peace.
The video has likely left many people impressed, as it has gone viral, racking up 133,000 views on the video sharing platform.
TikTok users raced to the video’s comments section to share their thoughts.
One person even suggested that the screen could double up as an outdoor cinema.
“Omg and you could probably project movies onto it”, they said.
Replying to this, @radar.gold said: “OMG yess!”
A second person commented: “I want to do this on my patio.”
A third person said: “This is such a good idea!”
IT'S very important to know your rights if you are embroiled in a fence row with a neighbour.
How do I know which side I own?
A boundary feature can be a fence, wall, hedge, ditch, piece of wire, or sometimes even just the edge of a driveway.
The only way to know for certain who owns what side and to avoid any neighbour disputes, is to refer to the title plan or Land Registry.
In this, the T mark is used to indicate who the boundary belongs to and therefore who is responsible for its upkeep, say pros at Jacksons Fencing.
Larger developments tend to have some indication provided by the builder, but there are no hard and fast rules
People often think they are responsible for the left (or right) hand boundary wherever they live, but there isn’t any legal basis for this.
You can check with HM Land Registry to see which boundary feature you are responsible for.
Often households can’t get hold of the paperwork but experts say they shouldn’t panic.
Homeowners can guess who owns the fence by checking where the rails are.
Pros say: “The fence is typically facing away from their property so that their neighbour gets the ‘good’ side.
“This is the most secure way of facing fencing so there are no rails for anyone to use to climb into your garden.
“This is then repeated with the neighbour on the other side to ensure that each home has both a ‘good’ and ‘bad’ fence side.”
Walls and fences are often built on the land of the boundary’s owner with the edge of the wall marking the limit.
While professionals agree a glimpse at the fence can give you a hint, it’s not foolproof – so you can’t be certain.
Fines and punishment
It is recommended to always check legal documents before making changes to avoid hefty fines.
There is no law that the neighbour has to get the good side of the fence, so it’s completely up to whoever owns the fence.
Fencing pros have suggested: “It may be worth selecting a double-sided panel with no ‘bad’ side as both sides look the same and rails are concealed within the fence panel.”
If one boundary backs onto a road or footpath you can install the panels with the rails on the inside
But if it’s installed on the outside, it can provide an “easy ladder for burglars to enter your garden”.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Property Litigation Association have created a mediation service to help neighbours resolve disputes over their property boundaries without resorting to court action.
RICS also provides a list of surveyors who could assist in boundary disputes.
If a dispute continues, it is ultimately a court that makes decisions, but they do not like such disputes being put before them.
Changing a boundary
If you want to change an existing boundary, such as replacing an old fence with a new one, we always recommend discussing with your neighbour first and making sure it is all agreed.
The registered titles can help you to reach an agreement, but only if this information has been added.
In terms of decorations on a fence legal advisers recommended asking around over who actually first installed it.
But they also urged caution before getting to work on amending the fence without getting more certainty yourself – since there is a danger of actually being prosecuted for criminal damage.
How high can a garden fence be?
The height of the fence is measured from your ground level, this can have an impact when, due to slopes in the ground, your garden may be at a higher level than your neighbours‘.
A garden fence can be as high as 100m but you need to get planning permission if it’s over than 2m.
However, there are some complications to this.
If you are thinking about front garden fences, restrictions state that fences alongside a driveway can be a maximum of 1m or 3ft.
You would need to get planning permission for putting a trellis on a fence of 2m.
But, if any plant that you grow on that trellis exceeds 2m, you do not need to obtain a permit for the growing plant.
A fourth added: “Looks great! Made a big difference.”
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