Fencing Facts
The Age
Wednesday July 30, 2003
Whether it's for the sides or the front, choosing a fence can be fraught with frustration, as Janet de Silva reports ...
The front fence can make or break a home. But choosing the most appropriate style for your property is only half the battle.
Many home owners do not realise that they must apply for a permit from their local council to either build a new fence or replace an existing one. And some councils are notorious for being difficult when it comes to providing fencing permits. Many fencing contractors point to a lack of consistency both between and within various councils, resulting in costly delays.
According to the Victoria's Res Code provisions, the maximum height of a front fence must not exceed 1.5m unless the fence faces a declared main road, in which case it can be 2m.
These regulations also apply to home owners replacing old fences. In other words, if your old fence is 2m high, don't assume you will be allowed to build a new fence of the same height.
Residents in areas affected by heritage overlays often face additional restrictions. And there are restrictions concerning fences on corner blocks that are close to traffic intersections.
But when it comes to serious grief over fences, it is probably side or rear fences that are the most problematic. A report on fencing in 1998 by the Victorian Parliament Law Reform Committee noted that neighbourhood disputes about fencing had increased significantly over the years as the variety of materials used to build side fences had increased dramatically from the days when Melbourne was the 'paling fence capital of the world'.
The committee noted that neighbours were far more likely to argue about what kind of fence should be erected, its colour and its height.
Unlike front fences, which come under the control of councils, side or rear fences are a civil matter.
Disputes arising from side or rear fences should be directed to the State Government-run Dispute Settlement Centre hotline on 9603 8370.
The Law Reform Committee has produced a user-friendly guide on your fencing rights - The Layperson's guide to Fencing Law - which can be accessed on the website www.parliament.vic.gov.au/lawreform/fences
Beyond the pale
The standard five foot four inch paling fence was originally designed to prevent coach horses from grazing the neighbours' shrubs, yet permit neighbours to talk over the fence.
How much?
A stylish front fence can add significantly to the capital value of your home and easily pay for itself if you get it right.
Here are some cost estimates of popular fencing styles:
• Picket fences: One of the most popular styles, timber picket fences are ideal for period homes, particularly Victorian and Edwardian houses.
Mark Lloyd, of Old World Restoration & Picket Fences, supplies picket fences in
a range of timbers, including Australian cypress pine and Indonesian merbau - the latter being the more expensive but having the benefit of being knot-free and also being more stable and resistant to cracking.
Mark offers more than 15 styles of picket fences, with the so-called 'rise and fall' variety - where three pickets rise as they reach the feature post and reduce in size on the other side - being the most popular.
Picket fences usually fall between the range of $160-$250 per linear metre.
• Cast-iron: Highly decorative, bluestone-based, cast-iron fences are most suitable for Victorian houses.
Graeme Bird, of fencing company Perry Bird Pickets, estimates the cost of a highly decorated, cast-iron fence with larger spears and rods at $3500 per linear metre. This would include a pedestrian gate.
By contrast, a basic cast-iron fence, without footings, might cost several hundred dollars a metre, depending on the length.
• Woven wire: Also known as ornamental wire, these almost-transparent fences are great for showing off the garden.
Mark Lloyd says this fencing style works well for many types of housing and he recently completed a job for a weatherboard home built in the Sixties.
He estimates the cost of a 15m, woven-wire fence that is 1.2m high at $3000. This would include decorative driveway gates and a pedestrian gate.
• Brick fencing: Frank Faro, of Australian Brick Fencing - a company that has done a lot of brick fencing for the Sanctuary Lakes residential development - says most of his clients opt for rendered brick walls.
Frank prefers to use traditional clay bricks rather than concrete bricks.
He estimates the cost of a rendered, 1.8m brick wall at $1100 a linear metre.
The cost of an un-rendered 'face' brick fence would be $700-$800 a metre.
• Ripple iron: With soundproofing qualities comparable to brick fencing, ripple-iron fences are a popular choice for homes situated on main roads or where full privacy is desired.
Michael Polites, of Ripples Fencing, estimates the cost of a 12m (1.8m high) ripple-iron fence (made from BHP Colorbond) at $3700. This cost includes driveway gates, pedestrian gate and timber priming.
The iron age
Whether plain or highly decorative, wrought-iron work adds a sense of timeless elegance to a home like nothing else.
The simplicity of iron as a material allows it to blend with almost any style of house, including contemporary homes that often cry out for a bit of handcrafted detail.
The owners of modern homes increasingly make up the clientele of glass and metal artisan Anna Charlesworth, who has built a career out of adding wrought-iron detail to the inside and outside of some of Melbourne's best homes.
Anna, who is pictured (right) with a pair of her doors at a Hawthorn house, trained for five years with glass and iron artist Mark Douglass.
She says a lot of the work on modern homes has tended to have simple lines as opposed to the curls and twirls associated with traditional wrought-iron work.
"Even a very simple iron door can create an elegant and dramatic front entrance," says Anna, whose work over the past 13 years has included everything from decorative balustrades, stair railings, table bases, window grilles to driveway gates.
Anna says prices for her front entrance doors start at $2000. She can be contacted on 9397 4222.
© 2003 The Age
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