Bullwhistle and cynandjon, thanks, that definitely makes the most sense. If you look closely at the plan, their fence is close to the property line so we could take ours down. We both moved in about 4 years ago and I think they were shocked to see an uncovered pool next door as they had a couple of toddlers and so they fenced in their entire backyard. We were also a bit shocked by the pool (certainly not the reason we bought the house) and one of the first things we did was have the ugly cover installed for safety reasons. Any suggestions for a good style of open fence to replace the chain link at the bottom and to tie into the side of the house at the top? Their fence drops from 6' to 4' just behind where ours turns the corner (I'm sure they were trying to cover our ugly fence :-)) so it probably makes most sense to tie in there to maintain the 5' height in the pool code. We don't really want a solid fence for the new part, especially at the top end where it ties into the house as we'd rather look out from the porch through a fence into the yard. And at the bottom, a 5' solid fence would really shade the already shady region below.

peachies- If this were an in-ground, concrete pool, there would be no problem. However, it's entirely possible that they will come up under an aboveground pool and puncture the liner. How do I know? I went on a bamboo dig 2 years ago where a guy had bamboo planted next to his 40' diameter koi pond. In three years the bamboo had gone under his 60 mil liner and punctured it in multiple places. I don't usually believe in installing bamboo barrier because there are easier methods to control rhizomes...as long as you can get at them. In your case I would recommend putting in barrier or just having bamboo in large pots as a screen.

Thanks for the feedback. Now that the fence is up, what's the best way to dig out the current grace between posts? I can't just mulch/rock on top can I? I have 190 ft of fence to deal with.

Also, we need to put a small retaining wall on left but it doesn't need to go the whole way down..wondering if I can incorporate that into fire pit and make a bench.