There are lots of perks to living in Fort Garry, not the least of which is having two community centres available on either side of Pembina Highway; you never need to worry about crossing one of Winnipeg’s busiest streets to enjoy recreational activities!
Depending on your perspective, there can be disadvantages to living near a community centre - if you’re living on Derek Street, it’s not impossible to imagine that a baseball or Frisbee might end up in your yard. A fence can help.
Fences can also help reduce the noise that comes from traffic near the community centre; they’re also great if you have a driveway on a back alley, where a fence can reduce noise from other traffic in the alley.
In this article, we’re going to explore how privacy fences can help boost privacy, comfort, and safety for homeowners in Fort Garry; let’s jump right in!
Fence height is one of the most important considerations when making a privacy fence. Too short? You’re not getting any privacy. Too tall? You might violate Winnipeg’s zoning by-laws.
The City of Winnipeg’s residential fence by-laws state that a fence cannot exceed 2 metres (6 feet and 6 inches) in height. Fortunately, that’s tall enough to stop just about anyone from looking into your yard.
You can install a fence that’s 2 metres / 6’6” in height, but that doesn’t mean you should. A fence that’s too tall could obscure the view from your windows; if you’ve got a beautiful view past your backyard, a very tall fence might not be the best bet. This isn’t a major concern for most homeowners in Fort Garry, where back alleys are incredibly common, but a fence that’s too tall can make some people feel fenced in - even if the view outside is just a back alley!
When you call us, we’ll take the view from your windows, the view from outside your property, and your feelings about obstructed views all into account before designing the ideal fence for your needs.
We’ve already discussed the fence height rules; your fence cannot be taller than 2 metres / 6’6” on the rear or sides of your yard. Property lines are another important consideration; you can build your fence up to and along your property line, but not on or over your property line unless you’re sharing the fence with your neighbour.
That last point is important; if you have a good relationship with the neighbours to either side of you, you can opt to build shared side fences. These shared fences can be built on the property line, and you can arrange to share the costs of building and repairing the fence.
We love the use of wood fences for backyards in Fort Garry. Wood lends itself to a natural aesthetic that matches well with all of the large trees in the neighbourhood. Our wood fences are also built to withstand Winnipeg’s weather; we use high-quality fence posts that remain stable even when the soil moves.
For design, wraparound fences tend to be a good fit; they give you privacy all around your home. U-shaped fences are extremely popular; they give you privacy on 3-sides, while allowing for a lower fence (like a chain link fence) at the front of your property, where the City of Winnipeg mandates lower fence heights (a maximum of 1.2 metres / 4 feet).
We’ve talked a lot about fence height in this article, but there are three important points we still want to touch on: Sunlight, wind, and neighbours.
First, sunlight. In the Northern Hemisphere, south-facing windows get the most sunlight each year. When your fence faces south, it can be a good idea to keep it a bit shorter to allow more sunlight through and to reduce the size of shadows cast by your fence.
Next, wind! The strong winds here in Winnipeg are part of the reason that we pay such close attention to the quality and depth of our fence posts. Wind is also one of the reasons that we recommend wood privacy fences, which are strong enough to stand up to serious gusts.
Last but certainly not least, neighbours. We highly recommend talking with your neighbours before putting a fence up; your fence may impact their property and their view. We also highly recommend putting the nicest side of your fence toward your neighbour’s property or the back alley; doing so will also boost the curb appeal of your property!
Most backyard privacy fences in Winnipeg (and in Fort Garry) are 152.4 to 182.9 cm / 5 to 6 feet tall, depending on all of the factors we’ve discussed.
In most cases, a 182.9 cm / 6-foot fence is more than tall enough to block anyone’s view into your property or home, even from their main floor (blocking views from tall windows is much more difficult). Basically, if your neighbour isn’t being intentionally nosy, privacy fences should stop them from accidentally peeking into your yard!
No permit is required to build a standard residential fence; just talk to your neighbours before building it!
Wood fences are the way to go. Though they do require some maintenance, they’re hard to beat when it comes to privacy.
There are methods for extending the height of your existing fence (like adding a privacy lattice), but these methods rarely look good - and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you could end up accidentally breaching by-laws. We recommend replacing your shorter fence.
Provided it’s properly built and supported with solid posts, absolutely.
Ready to improve privacy and boost the curb appeal of your Fort Garry property? Contact Peg City Fence Pros for wood fencing in Winnipeg today!
