Would you consider leaving the chainlink fence and securing split reed fencing from rolls over the fence. I use this stuff(typically 6 foot tall by 16 foot long) alot to cover up old ugly fences that are too expensive to replace, and each roll is less than $30. In your climate it would take alot more winter abuse, but could still reasonably last at least 3 to 4 years. The weave is thick enough that it would block most weeds from poking through, and you could plant fast growing vines in front of it, especially if you also secured welded wire mesh over the split reed fencing to allow for a twining vine to grow up and cover it. The welded wire mesh typically comes in 5 foot by 7 foot sizes, so if laid vertically, you get some extra screening height for vines to cover.

Wow, thanks for the fast reply! You know, I've seen that stuff and thought about it, but between the very active squirrels and cats roaming the fences and the weather conditions, I'm afraid it wouldn't last long and might be more trouble than it's worth in the end. And still several hundred dollars or more. I'm inclined to want a more permanent solution, but I do know that wood will require maintenance. It's a tough one....

I think I'm looking for an excuse to justify spending the several thousand bucks on a wood privacy fence if someone's got a solution for dealing with the neighbor's weed issue and maintaining the thing, since that would provide the most instant gratification and probably be good for resale value, depending on how long we're here and what kind of shape it's in by the time we sell.

Too bad I can't build a solid stone wall out there. Well, actually I think the rules are pretty liberal whre we are, but I don't think we've quite got the resources for that...!

If you use wood fencing, why not use something like cedar and just let it weather? That would save the need for frequent re-finishing.

Or how about metal? I know it wouldn't appeal to everyone, but I really like the look of evenly rusted steel. The links below show some very cool steel fences. Hope you're inspired!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/samgrover/41063531/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/waltnixon/256040230/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/khushroo/148087259/

Hi, I'm covering a chain link fence on my slope with cedar and redwood boards that have been thrown away. I'm sanding and painting them, but they could be left weathered if you like that look (much less work!). Even though these fences have been hanging for 30 years, they're surprisingly sound. Some have major cracks or rotten bottoms because they were touching the ground, but cutting a couple of inches off the bottom gets rid of the rot. If you pick up old boards, you'll lose 10 to 25 percent to existing damage. Most of the time, they're ripped down, but if you offer to take them, they can be more careful or you can dismantle them yourself and take better care. I've sanded about 250 of them and have found no wood eating insects. 2x4's can be attached to the chain link, then the boards would be fastened to those. A small 'foundation' could be made from bricks or any solid material to help keep the weeds out on the bottom, then the fence boards could be hung a little higher. Any shape can be cut on the boards with a jigsaw. The fence can have a scalloped look, etc. just by cutting the boards. You wouldn't have to remove the chain link and almost all the materials used for this are free. My fence is about 120 running feet and will cost between $100 and $200 total. A good clue to a fence being torn down is seeing a few pallets of cinder blocks or slump stone, etc. in a driveway. If you email me, I'll send you pics of my fence progress. It won't be posted here till it's finished, probably a few months yet. You may get interesting ideas by posting this question on the Garden Junk forum. Hope that helps, Linda ps The metal fences posted by surf-grrl are wonderful!

I would advise against any "fence sharing" with any neighbors. I can see that being problematic. Been there. owning your own fence that is entirely on your own property to do and replace when you will is best.
Do you own the chainlink? The neighbors? Shared? Find out first. If it is yours, tear it down. If shared, put those rolls of reed against it. i think those look nice.
Fences have legal pitfalls, so check before you mess with any of them.

thanks for all the ideas. I love the idea of creative metal fencing, I'm totally into that modern look, but I don't think it would fly, here. I do feel a certain responsibilty to the neighbors in terms of not putting up something that would be problematic for them in the way of maintenance or just an eyesore (beauty being in the eye of the beholder), though apparently the people behind us weren't concerned about that. I couldn't understand why they would butt a wood privacy fence right up to the chain link - it has made an impossible weed situation for us on this side of it because you can't get the weeds out from in between. I guess our only other option is to butt up our own fence there and sandwich the chain link, but we'd still have the weed issue growing through any slats in the wood. On the other 2 sides, there is just chain link, and nobody really seems to know who owns what or exactly where the property line is. I guess I need to go to the assessor's office and find out before approaching anyone about it. Klim - good suggestion on the shared fence thing, though the only problem with putting it inside our property line and being the "owners" of it is that if we need to do any maintenance, we have to get into our neigbor's fenced yards to take care of the other side. The fences pretty much divide the lots around here. I'm not sure the temporary reed fencing is a good idea in this climate, it's still expensive, and I don't really want to spend the money on something that won't hold up. Although I guess mixed fencing isn't entirely out of the question if done right. I'm thinking ahead to resale value, since we don't intend to stay here indefinitely, but maybe 10 more years. Who knows what a wood fence will look like in 10 years, though.

A few houses on our street have no side yard fences at all, and it really looks nice. I've got like a 3-4 foot wide strip on the east side of the house bound by a chain link that runs the edge of the neigbor's driveway, and what a pain to work in there. He can hardly open his car door in the driveway, either, because of that fence.

In reading over my 2 reply posts, I realized I'm kind of shooting down everyone's very thoughtful ideas...maybe I should re-phrase a bit - I would like to find a sturdy, relatively permanent alternative to the existing chain link that will be acceptable to those living on other side of it. I think we are actually required by the city to put the "ugly" side with the cross supporting beams facing inward, even though it's a back yard, so it's actually better for our neighbors than for us. Plus - we'd be paying for it, since I know none of our neighbors is inclined or able to pitch in on a nice new wood fence. Not that we have the spare bucks, either, but I so enjoy the way the front garden came out that I don't know how much longer I can put off doing the back yard - the one I will be actually looking at all day.

I should mention that neither of us is particularly handy or has the time for a major installation, so we'd have to have it professionally installed unless it's a super easy DIY project.

Maybe someone experienced in neighbor negotiation who has worked out this small city lot and yard boundaries thing before could chime in?

I must say I'm re-thinking the idea of just screening the chain link with tall plants, but that won't obscure enough of the truly awful view of the house and yard directly behind us.

Won't roundup take care of that weed problem between the fences? Easy and inexpensive.

In a previous home I replaced all the fences at my cost because neighbors didn't want to pay. But they were falling down and it was worth it not to have to see them.

Round-up, Oh my gosh, no. We only do organic. I read that we all have Round-Up in our body tissues because it's used so extensively and is in our water and food supply. I've had very good luck with weed control using ground cover and good mulching. After about the 3rd year, I barely had to pull anything in my front bed this year. We get rid of the ones in the driveway cracks pretty easily with a manual edger - or whatever that thing is my husband uses- a small, spikey wheel on a stick.

And yeah, we are willing to spring for the new fence just so we can enjoy it, though it would be nice if the neighbors pitched in. We know that's not going to happen, though.

At this point, given what I know the back yard is going to cost even as a DIY project on the gardening part, I think I'll be trading a kitchen renovation for landscaping. Unless we hit the lotto. *sigh*

I am as organic as all get-out myself - to the extent of watering almost only with greywater and rainwater - but have resorted to Roundup for exactly the problem you have: neighbours who don't control their weeds (there's a joke there, but unfortunately it doesn't work on the actual neighbours :-)). I'm not at all tolerant of people who use roundup routinely as an alternative to hoeing or bending over and plucking a weed, but this situation can be handled no other way. We had just put in extensive hardscaping a couple of years ago when it became apparent that the new neighbours next door were not going to stay on top of a morning glory problem. Digging under our concrete slabs and paver patio a few times a year is simply not on our agenda, so any tendrils that come through the fence get the soak in dilute roundup treatment. The house has just sold again so maybe we will luck out with gardeners this time.

The problem you have is, however, one that would require repeated applications, which you won't want to do. The only alternative is a really impenetrable fence - concrete blocks, and I think it is what I would consider in your position. You could do a manufactured block meant for retaining walls, or you could do natural rock, but I think the best would be masonry blocks (done properly so they don't buckle or fall down) faced with stucco or natural rock or reed fencing or bamboo or whatever rocks your boat. It would be make a feature out of an eyesore, and might hold the weeds back.

KarinL

This is not exactly pretty, but if you got old shag carpet and laid a strip between the fences, it would stop the weeds. It would be years before weeds grew on top of the carpet, at which point you could pull out the old and put in another strip. The landscape cloth they sell is too flimsy and lightweight, but a good heavy carpet will stay in place. If it's brown, it will be unnoticeable.

Hmmm... concrete block. Never even thought of that. I wonder if our budget could accommodate having one built. Even one just a few feet high could have another type of fencing mounted on top. Well, it's certainly something to think about, though I've not seen anything like that in this area unless it's a house just behind a business on a main road. I wish I had a crystal ball and knew how long we'd be here.

You know, it's those damn ghetto palms that are the worst culprits. It drives me crazy the way people let those go. I guess we are on the wrong side of the tracks because I don't see ANY in the pricier neighborhoods to the north of us. It's a sumac forest in the yard behind us, and I pull several hundred sprouts a year in our yard coming from one of their giant sumac trees. I've misssed a few along the fence line (on the OTHER side of the fence in a different neighbor's yard) that are now too thick around to yank.

Oh, BTW, no judgment on the round-up, I'm just still scared of it. I've been working for years on chronic health stuff, and the only thing that's made improvements for me is lots of internal cleansing and avoiding synthetics and chemicals. Don't want to undo any progress I've made.

Another option... I have been trying to assess our situation vis a vis a neighbour's pesky tree (love trees, just not having one grow on top of me) and have discovered that you may be able to legally induce the landlord to control those weeds via a nuisance ruling from a court... I'm not a lawyer, but the online (Canadian) case law shows that judges do understand that you have a right to peaceful enjoyment of your property free from nuisance emanating from the neighbours, and that plants can be such a nuisance.

But I still think a concrete block wall, attractively clothed, might work for you for not a lot of $$.

KarinL

We have run into the same situation. The neighbor to the left grows icky grass right up the fence line, so it's always getting in my border. I avoid Round-up; not because I have organic convictions but because my garden is too densely planted. I'd surely kill something I want!!

Instead, I manually rip the grass out from under the fence.

The fence is 15 years old and so weak that it's more a vision barrier than any real containment. We talked to the neighbors about going half-sies on a new fence, but they haven't been interested.

Our neighbor to the right grows invasive plants that are trying to spread to our yard (under the fence). In desparation, I pounded metal cookie sheets down into the ground next to the fence to prevent her plants from spreading. May not be textbook, but it works. I covered up the cookie sheets by buying more plants to go in front of them!!

I hope this helps!!

This has been an interesting thread to follow as my neighbor also has a chain link fence that seperates our backyards and they allow their weeds to grow full life cycle, I'm especially fond of their bind weed that I pull out of the garden all season, they also have fence hoppers like orange ditch lily, yucca, ginger and bishop weed.
On my side I have bleeding heart, columbine, iris, etc. so I don't want to use round-up but I am considering pounding in some sort of barrier.

I don't know whether you plan to have lawn all the way up to whatever fencing you use, or garden bed, but if you do use plantings in front of the wall or fence, you could plan to maintain a sort of "DMZ" between plantings and wall or fence. So your actual garden soil would not be mounded up right up to the wall, but you might have a narrow stepstone pathway between it and the wall. This might not be as necessary if you followed the suggestion of concrete block. But with a wooden fence, it keeps the dirt and moisture off the fence, provides a little path for you to get behind shrubs or perennials for upkeep, and makes a less hospitable environment for spread of weeds, plus more options for weed control.

I encountered this when I made a planting bed in front of part my wooden privacy fence. I needed to go right near the fence in order to have room in front for a seating area. I used an edging and airspace barrier a couple of inches from the wooden fence so the fence is less in danger, but the greatly improved soil (and watering) right near the fence line made the neighbor's vinca major and ivy very happy so it started coming up in the bed, whereas it had not been doing that before.

So while I want to extend the pre-fence plantings to more of the fence, in these other areas I mainly want to break up the fence monotony, and I have several feet of depth I can use, so in my next iteration of this I plan to just leave a strip of the existing gravel and poor clay soil at the fence line, and plant farther out from that, using the little hellstrip to discourage weeds, and the ornamental plantings to hide this little pathway.

Roundup (on occasion) is still my friend.

dianepmt--
ALL of the studies I've looked at say exactly the opposite...that Glyphosate poses virtually NO risk for buildup in tissue. Particularly when used according to directions. Can you point me to the studies you are referencing? Thanks!

Round Up is a problem

National Geographic says so as well...

Moms Across America - tested for glyphosate in Moms