LarryDallas Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 I moved into my house in 97. Ever since day 1 a good 10-15 acers of land behind the house was undeveloped woods. Desite this in the past few years there has been more and more foot traffic in the back behind my 3 foot fence that is mainly ornamental. Now they started developing the land and will convert it into a park. They have cut the trees and at night I can see the headlights of cars on the road that is about 1/2 a mile away from my back yard. If I can see them they can see my house and into my house at night when the shades are not drawn. Eventually they plan to replant trees in the park so the nasty view of the road will be gone (in a few years maybe). BUT the problem I will face is increased foot traffic in the back. It would be okay if it was just people who lived in the area but I can see some people who are clearly not residents go by at times.My plan is to build a wood fence that is between 8-10 feet tall back there. All of my area has only the standard 6 foot fences because the area was built in the 50s in a time before things got really out of hand. The question is should I go to the city for the permits and inspections or just build it anyway?I know a city worker will come out and after looking at the fence will snoop around my property; NOT what I want. Besides I think these communists will not allow me to build one that tall anyway. What would you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 The architect sitting in my living room watching the game says you need to have the plans signed and sealed by a structural engineer if the fence is over 7 feet tall. As long as it is signed and sealed, there is no limit to height unless you have deed restrictions. Assuming you have a fence company build the fence, they will get it permitted (or you should make sure they do). If you back up to a park, it is likely to be seen. The penalty for a non-permitted structure is that you have to tear it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heightsfan Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Good Afternoon, hope your day goes well ! What is holding you back from obtaining the permit ? The time involved to meet with inspector ? The criteria on building the fence by code ? Maybe the inspector will notice others projects out of code ? Either way how would the city confirm and investigate if your home is NOT up to code standards ? And what penalty is involved if no permit was obtained for work done on your home ? Thank You Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryDallas Posted March 25, 2007 Author Share Posted March 25, 2007 I have never obtained a permit from the city of Houston for any project I did myself. However, in my work I had to get permits in a city that will remain nameless but is very close to Houston. All we needed to do was repair some stucco on a building that sustained ZERO fire damage but had the power cut to it because there was a fire next door.The red tape and PURE STUPIDITY of the people at that city was amazing. I even invited the inspector to take a look himself. The guy came out and saw the damaged stucco that the fire deparment had broken to spray water into the building when there was no fire but just smoke coming out from it since the wind carried it over. He could see as well as I could that all that we needed to do was fix the underlayment and add new stucco before painting. This was a job well under $1000. He did not allow it. First he said I had to apply to plumbing and electrical permits to get those inspectors out there. I also had to hire an engineer to come out and make an IECC (some kind of energy compliance code) report for $135. The general permit cost me $110. The plumbing one cost $50 and the electrical was about $70. They kept rejecting the plans I submitted because they wanted a licensed electrician to repair wires that were not damaged. The electrician cost me $3200 and he did nothing replace good wire with new wire (he said so himself). This replacement required busting up tons of sheetrock that cost about $800 to replace. A stucco job that could have been done in 2 days ended up lasting over a month playing phone tag with the people from the city.Inspectors are trouble if you are an individual dealing with them. I once had a major plumbing company do work on my pipes at home and they did it the legal way with buying the permit. The inspector came to my house, walked around for 5 minutes, and signed the permit and left. I suppose if you are a big company you get to know the inspectors and everyone gets in bed together. BTW, he did even go into the trench/tunnel they had excavated under my house. He literally just walked around the house once and left.If one comes to look at my fence they might find little things to get me to buy more permits and have them come back. I keep my property in good condition but they might say my patio foundation is the wrong thickness, the attic ventilation fans are out of code, etc....I really do not want them wandering around my home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Larry, sorry if I am laughing at your misfortune, but your inspector story is over the top. That being said, I doubt you will have any trouble whatsoever with a fence permit. The inspector has no business in your house, and will not go there. The inspector that came to approve my new driveway never even looked at the rebar on my property, instead only being concerned with the city ROW. Are you installing the fence yourself? If not, ask the fence contractor about the permit process. He will probably tell you that other than the time involved, it is no big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heightsfan Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Good Afternoon All, hope your day goes well !What exactly is a penalty from the city ? i.e. You had not pulled the permit for driveway would they make you destroy it and start over with permit ? I guess if there were any plans to sell your home in the future could that deter buyers even thought the work appears to be done neatly and correct ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 What would you do? I've used Houston Fence for the last 20 years. They will take care of everything so you won't have to deal with any inspectors. All you need to do is make sure how high you can build. The last job they did for me was about 125' of 7' cedar fence (6' vertical slats on a horizontal 2 x 12) with one gate. Excellent company-very proffesional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryDallas Posted March 25, 2007 Author Share Posted March 25, 2007 I will get quotes from a few companies but Home Depot is a 5 minute drive from my house. Since this fence will only cover the back end of my yard it is a DIY project by all means. Besides, the small existing fence is there so I do not have to finish the new one all at once. I can work a few hours on it each weekend and have it done in a month if need be. The most difficult part is digging the holes to set the posts in concrete. The 2x4s and fence boards are very easy to assemble. I don't know what the penalty for building a driveway without permits is but the guy next door to me did it backn in 03. I knew his contractor from a job I had back in 2002. They were brazen enough to order a large dumpster and park it in their front yard to break up all of the old driveway and put it in there. I think he did a 35 ft long 2 car wide driveway with 2 trucks of cement for $3500. Demolition and construction took 7 days. Police and constable cars went by as they patrol the area and no one asked a single question. Now the driveway cement is not bright white anymore with age so no one is none the wiser to what when on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westguy Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 (edited) Is the fence for privacy or because you are concerned about intruders. Because if its the former I don't think an 8 foot is necessarily more effective than a 7 foot one. If its the latter, then plant something thorny.edit: this is what I was thinking of. Edited March 25, 2007 by westguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.