Putting in a chain link fence

[96Firebird]

I'm looking to get a fence, probably black coated chain link, to contain my dog in my back yard. I got a quote for $3700 installed, so I was thinking about doing it myself. It doesn't seem entirely difficult, rent a post hole digger, buy the posts, fencing, gates, accessories, and basically put it all together. Get concrete for the post footers and mount the posts, attach the fencing and stretch it, secure it all and call it a day.

Does anyone here have any experience with installing chain link? Looking for tips to make sure it all goes smoothly...

 

[Raizinman]

Check with the city to get a permit. Check with your neighborhood rules for permission. Check with the utility companies for electrical/gas/cable lines. Check with a surveyor to make sure where your property line is.

Having done fencing before; for the most part, this is at least a two man job, so find yourself a good friend or two to help.

 

[96Firebird]

I have the permit application, got that when I moved in a little over a month ago.

I don't believe the neighborhood has any rules/restrictions, no HOA or anything.

I have a friend who does surveying for both property lines and sunken lines, so I will get with him and map everything out.

I do have a property line issue though, which was found when I had the guy come out to give me the initial quote... It seems my neighbor has a couple trees and a little wooden "yard ornament" on my property. Here is an image from Zillow, and while Zillow isn't the most trustworthy source, it is about dead on where we measured from my survey map that I got at closing.

Black is where I am planning on fencing, but with the fence not being on the property line, does that cause any issues? I don't really care much about the land I am losing to my neighbors, I don't think it is worth having them move trees and potentially the corner of their garden. I also want to leave space in the back to plant some trees in the future, I want to try to muffle some of the road noise from the road back there.

Any issues if I don't put the fence on the property line?

 

[pmark]

There shouldn't be any issue besides from you essentially giving up land property. I would put it on the property line, but it depends on your relationship with your neighbor...

The problem with putting up a fence yourself is the digging if there are a lot of rocks in your soil. My backyard had huge rocks buried and the fence project took much longer than anticipated because of the difficult digging. Also getting the posts to all line up takes precision work so you need to allocate more time for that. For the most part I would do it DIY again, but just know it is not a quick project. You will also need a fabric stretching tool.

 

[mizzou]

oh my god, $3700!!?

does that cause any issues?

It could, potentially. Although I've found plot maps with satellite overlay accurate, they are not 100% accurate. There could be a fluke and the line be off by several feet. The only way to know for sure where your line is, is to have a survey.

If I was going to go and put in a fence around the furthest extents of my yard, you may as well get a survey done to know exactly where the fence can go. Also, talk toy our neighbors and make sure you are on the same page about placement .

In my area, you can't build anything within 3 feet of the property line. Since my surveyor I paid for was accurate within inches, I built my structure 4 feet from the property line just in case.

 

[Blain]

Get your property lines surveyed.
It shouldn't cost a lot, but will inform you and give you peace of mind.

 

[NutBucket]

Yeah, it may not "matter" to you but if you give up your property like that the neighbor can claim ownership at some point. I wouldn't do it (and it has nothing to do with being nasty).

 

[lxskllr]

Yeah, it may not "matter" to you but if you give up your property like that the neighbor can claim ownership at some point. I wouldn't do it (and it has nothing to do with being nasty).

Adverse possession doesn't happen as much as people like to think, and has a fairly stringent set of requirements. I'm pretty sure it's impossible in a platted subdivision.

 

[DrPizza]

Regardless, you should still talk to the neighbor about it. Point out that you're willing to allow them to use your portion of the property. They may be unaware. I doubt it would cause any sort of argument.

Chain link is pretty simple to install. The fence itself is dirt cheap; most of the expense is in the poles. You can also check into the concrete - some people put concrete in for every vertical pole, others only do it at the corners (the last 2 poles). I suppose this probably depends on your soil conditions. Though, I picked up almost 300 feet of fencing, poles, etc., on Craiglist from Rochester. $100, but I had to take down the fencing and pull the poles out myself.

 

[KentState]

Don't skimp out on gauge of the chain link. As far as surveying goes, I was able to get my yard done for around $250 and it's not something that could be easily disputed. We couldn't find the corner stakes ourselves so it was worth it. You may be able to locate them for your yard which would make it easy.

 

[Gardener]

I can understand leaving an unmowed hedgerow in the back as a buffer zone, but it seems like a PITA to not place the fence at the P/L or else you are running your mower inside and outside of the fence.

Get a survey, if your neighbor is over a foot or two towards the back corner, I wouldn't worry about it. But if you put a fence 5-7' feet inside the surveyed property line along a border where there is already a possible encroachment, I think that you are inviting trouble.