A high fence on a corner lot gives privacy to the side of the house and the back yard; however, it also creates a dead frontage to the adjoining street. These fences are very visible parts of the public realm, and are also usually unattractive. This bulletin presents options for secondary street fences, high fences between a back yard and a street.
The primary purpose of secondary street fences is to provide privacy and security to the house and backyard. They can also allow viewing of the street from the house and backyard, to make the street safer. In some instances, a gate for vehicle or pedestrian access is included.
Some local government authorities require these fences to be 80% or less of the length of the lot, presumably to limit the length of dead street frontage and to provide easier observation of the street from the house.
“A side boundary fence must extend no more than 70% of the lot's length, starting at the rear boundary.” Bankside, Rowville, Victoria
Likewise, sometimes local government authorities require gaps in the fences to help keep ‘eyes on the street’. Unfortunately, this also has the effect of allowing eyes into the backyards.
PROVIDED BY THE DEVELOPER?
The estate developer has a choice of providing the secondary street fencing, or leaving it to each lot owner.
If the developer provides the fencing, all the fences are constructed to the desired standard. However, the developer must pay for the fencing and must organise with the lot owners and the fencing contractor when to construct it.
If each lot owner provides the fence, they pay for it and they organise the contractor. The estate may end up with different lengths, heights, materials and colours. Lot owners will often buy the cheapest possible fence type and are likely to install the same fence on all sides. The fences may or may not comply with the estate’s design code – and they often don’t.
FENCE OPTIONS
Standard fence heights are 1.8 m or 1.95 m.
Typical materials are timber palings, factory-coated sheet metal, PVC, and aluminium slats. Face brick and rendered masonry are also material options.
Colours are virtually limitless. Timber fences can be left unpainted and unstained. Within a year they weather to a mid-grey. They can be stained to maintain a 'timber' colour, or painted any colour. Metal and PVC come in a wide range of colours.
The fence's members can be slats, boards, louvres or panels, placed horizontally or vertically. These can be arranged to be solid or with gaps. Additional elements can be plinths, caps and exposed posts. These elements can be in matching colours or in contrasting colours.
Some options for secondary street fences are shown below.
1. Lapped timber palings with plinth.
2. Lapped and capped timber palings with exposed posts.
3. Factory-coated steel panels.
4. Timber palings with gaps.
5. Horizontal timber slats with gaps.
6. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
7. Horizontal aluminium slats with gaps.
8. Horizontal aluminium boards without gaps.
9. Aluminum slats, solid to 1500 mm height, with gaps above.
10. Aluminium louvres, slanted up to the inside
11. An indicative colour range for aluminium slats and louvres.
ISSUES
Maintenance. Timber fences require the most maintenance. A regular clean and replacement of rotting and damaged palings can extend the life of the fence. A metal fence is easier to manage and can be kept looking great with a simple clean to prevent dust and rust accumulating.
Minor damage to a paling fence may mean a few palings need to be replaced, whereas the same damage to a sheet metal fence may require a whole new panel.
Graffiti. Graffiti is most likely on solid fences, especially in locations with less casual surveillance, such as along secondary streets or reserves. Repainting painted surfaces is relatively easy, while resurfacing and colour matching factory-coated metal is harder, especially if the colour has faded.
Views through. Views through a fence may be possible from the street into the lot and from the lot into the street. For increased privacy, the area of permeability can be reduced to the front part of the lot, or a certain height above ground level. Most gaps allow two-way views, but louvres are largely one-way. Shade cloth and other fabrics applied on the lot side of the fence may be a visually acceptable method of blocking the view.
Climbability. Horizontal members with gaps provide footholds that can be used to climb a fence. To minimise this risk, start the gaps at least 1 m above the ground, or make the gaps less than 50 mm.
Aesthetics. To achieve consistency of the design, material and colour of fences seen in the public realm, an estate's design code should require one type and colour. This includes return fences, wing fences, and fences beside public open spaces such as parks and streets. A fence with gaps is typically more attractive than a solid one.
COST
The cost of different fence types relative to the base option of a plain pine paling fence are shown in the table below.
Figure 1: Cost of each fence type, per meter, installed, Melbourne, July 2024.
WHEN TO USE EACH OPTION
Timber palings are the cheapest option. When lot owners are responsible for installing the fence, this option is likely to give a consistent result. Capped timber palings with exposed posts is more attractive than a plain uncapped fence. If painted, the colour can be controlled by a design standard to ensure consistency.
Solid metal sheeting is best when timber rot, water or termites are issues. These fences last longer than timber. The colour can be controlled by a design standard to ensure consistency.
Timber slats or palings with gaps add visibility. These are more suited to secondary frontage fences when lot owners are paying, as they are cost efficient and can be completed at the same time as a fencing contractor installs the lot's interlot and return fences.
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) fences don’t rot and are claimed to neither warp nor fade. The colour range is small. PVC fences are recommended in coastal locations where salt spray and wind may damage timber and metal.
Aluminium slats can be solid or have gaps for increased visibility. They have a very long life, and look better than a metal panel fence. The size of both the members and the gaps can vary, to provide more or less visibility to and from the public realm.
Aluminium louvres are an expensive option. Horizontal louvres can provide visibility views out but not in. Most lot owners are unlikely to want to pay for this type of fence, especially in a first home owner estate.
Figure 2: An attractive secondary street fence - timber slats, gaps, exposed posts, and a recessed section behind a planting bay.
RECOMMENDATIONS
If the owners of the corner lots are to install the secondary street fences, we recommend the design standard requires the fence to be the same material as the interlot fence. This keeps it simple and means the fences are more likely to comply. A timber capped fence with exposed posts is the better quality option.
"The corner fence must be made from: exposed timber posts; timber rails; a 150mm bottom plinth; lapped vertical timber paling facing out; and timber capping." Harlow, Tarneit, Victoria.
Aluminium slat fencing with gaps is an option when the estate developer will install the fencing and wants to set a high standard.
"All fences on the street boundaries must be made from decorative Woodland Grey slatted aluminium." Sophia Waters, Chisholm, NSW.
