No Dig Fencing

Hi All,

I am seeking opinions about no dig fencing. Do you consider them permanent structures? I recently purchased several panels of no dig fencing to install around my back yard at my new house. The covenants state that permanent structures need approval (still under developer control) before installation. I do not consider these no dig fences as permanent because they can be removed by just pulling up the ground stakes. They are actually quite nice looking and made of steel with some decorative scrolling. My purpose is to erect a temporary structure to keep my small dog corralled.

I am not interested in erecting a 6 ft. privacy fence just yet. I will be moving at the end of September and want to get a feel for the neighborhood before deciding on a permanent option. It is common in my town for neighbors to share in the expense of erecting boundry fences. It may be prudent to wait until next Spring to decide on size and type of fence and if my neighbors are agreeable or not to sharing that expense. I may decide to keep the no dig fence permanently if it remains a suitable option. So far the neighborhood has only one type of fencing. It is 6 foot, wooden privacy fencing. This makes me a little nervous. I don't want to create a conflict over the fence issue right away but I want the convenience of the no dig fence at this point.

I don't intend to seek permission from the developer to erect this fence. Any thoughts or opinions would be appreciated. Thank you.

all fencing, permanent or temporary is going to require an approval from the developer or the ACC committee (which if you are still under Developer control will be the developer, or their team).Best to play nice and try to get your approval or they will make you take it down.

Thanks Melissa. I know you have fence issues with your neighbors. However, my situation is different than yours. There are no fence specifics in the covenants. Fences are not mentioned at all, so essentially no guidelines. It is not yet an HOA except that it is under developer control. The developer allowed my future next-door neighbor to purchase an adjacent lot to erect a 20 x 20 storage shed. I don't think the developer will be very picky. The fence is so easy to erect and take down or move there is no concern there at all.

What I don't want is to begin my relationship with my new neighbors to start off with any potential problems. I am very mindful of keeping neighborhood harmony and being a good neighbor. To clarify, the fence will be erected in my back yard just a little beyond the concrete patio of 10 x 16. It will go from one corner of the house to the other corner. The fence is really nice if any of you care to google no dig fencing. There are multiple options from vinyl to steel to wood to composite. I just happen to find this steel fence on Facebook Marketplace at a very reasonable price. My intention like I said in my first post is to make it a temporary fence through the Fall and Winter.

I am not trying to be cute and circumvent any rules as JohnT38 mentioned. There are no rules. The development is in its early stages. There are multiple contractors on site everyday with equipment large, small, and noisy. I don't think my small, temporary fence is a big issue.

My reason for posting, is to gather opinions about the aesthetics of this type of fence. Afterall, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I tend to be very tolerant of outside aesthetics but not everyone is. There may also be some conns to this type of fencing that has not occurred to me. Thanks again for any replies.

JohnT38 stated "Sure you are. The very fact that you made this post is because you know it's questionable. Do the right thing and get permission first".

Ok John. After reviewing the posts so far, I agree. I needed to get permission before erecting the fence. I wouldn't say I was ever being cute. As a 66 year-old, I haven't been cute for years. HA!

I did call the developer's real estate agent between these posts and she said the fence would be fine.

My new home is in a development targeted to middle class owners. It's mixed use in that there are apartments, townhomes, and stand alone homes in the development. The covenants are just not that structured or restrictive. I am an acute observer of my surroundings. I noticed that several of the neighbors store their garbage cans in the front or side yards. My future next door neighbor planted a few vegetable plants in the front yard of their newly owned vacant lot. The covenants are specific on that regard that vegetable, flower, and rock gardens must go in the rear yard. This may be hard for many of you to believe because many posters here live in much more restrictive HOA's. This one is not. I am okay with that. The house has what I am looking for at this stage in my life.

She is not the real estate agent of the builder. She is on the developer's board who happens to be a real estate agent. This was a citywide project to address the housing shortage in my city. People on the board are people in the real estate profession to address that need. They are purposefully not making it too restrictive or the homes too expensive to attract people in a certain economic demographic.

You presume to know the situation but you do not.

I agree.

One of the common problems is when under developer/declarant control, they allow all sorts of things as they just want to sell homes and keep people quiet.

I certainly agree with that. I don't see the developer turning it over to an owner's association any time soon. The developer plans to begin expanding to the adjacent area next year. I could be dead or in the old folks home by the time that happens. But you never know. The housing market is so unpredictable these days.

I am mainly curious about what posters think of this type of fencing. It is not your typical wooden 6 ft privacy fence that perhaps many of you are used to seeing. That is probably what I will put up next Spring. It may be vinyl or composite. I will take some time to research these materials over the Winter. I am mainly just seeking a temporary solution to contain my dog and the potential reaction from my new neighbors. I think many of the posters here take a common sense approach so was seeking opinions.

Good for you. You sound like someone we have been hearing from since November 2020. MOVE ON ALREADY!

Sorry I wasn't clear about that. I did say she is on the developer's board. What other board is there to speak to? It's not an owner's association yet. It's under developer control.

Wow, DavidG45, that is unfair. Are you implying that I wasn't being truthful?

It doesn't matter. I will take my own advice and move on. I will enjoy the convenience of my beautiful no dig fence through the Fall and Winter.

Yep cheaper to pay the fines and say the HOA is being unfair. Figure you can make it till fall until they take legal action. Great idea. Glad you asked for opinion.

You are going to install it no matter what but you did ask opinions. I'm a little confused about what a "no-dig" post is - do you just take a hammer and pound it in? Probably pretty easy to do in Nebraska black soil but wouldn't work most places. Also I hope you don't have a big dog because it's not going to be very sturdy. Finally, have you checked your local building codes? In our county even a "no-dig" fence like this would require a building permit.

You pound the posts in the ground with a hammer. It is easy in Nebraska soil. It's sturdier than you think but our dog is only 15 pounds. My husband put it up at our current rental home just to see how it would look. Our neighbor happened to see it and he commented on how nice it looked. He took it down because we have a combination chain-link fence and wooden fence. It looks better than either of those. I can see why it might not work well in rocky soil or for bigger dogs. Believe it or not we have no back door or side door at our rental. We have two exits, the front door and out through the garage so taking the dog out is not so convenient. We have to put her on a leash then out the front door then open the gate to put her in the fence. That is one reason I am so excited to be able to let the dog out the back door and into a fenced in area at my new home.

I haven't checked with the county on a permit. Thank you for pointing this out.

I must be doing my free advice job right if I am being called a "Cyber bully". I got called a "Turkey" once too. Took it so personally I made mashed potatoes. Love the passive aggressive people of this world...

Is it just me or do you feel like you just had an MLM advertisement of no dig fences?

Passive aggressive much? Love the veiled threat... LOL. Oh but that's not what I said will come next...

Should point out that NO you were NOT given permission. One person on the board said "okay". You did NOT get board approval. Plus you are just advertising "No dig fencing" for whatever reason. Like is there an MLM out there for Fencing I am not aware of?

Why is anyone "jealous" over a no dig fence when I put up a shadow boxed stained fence approved by my HOA? A no dig fence sounds not that interesting to me at all. I don't care.

Number one it is you taking what I typed as hateful. I can not control how someone takes what is stated. That is all on the person who takes it that way.

Not going to try to manipulate people either by some fantastic guilt trip. Really people going to kill themselves or cut themselves over free advice and opinion? That is the best you got to manipulate people? Please homey do not play that.

Plus I honestly do not care about your fence thingy. You asked opinion. My opinion is that you ASK for HOA permission before installing. Which is not opinion but FACT. It is what you do in HOA after all.