How high should your fence be?

By Samuel Lutwama

Robert Frost, a famous American poet, is quoted as having said: “Good fences make good neighbours.” This is especially true in today’s litigious society, where homeowners can be sued for injuries that occur on their property.”

Putting a fence around your home enhances its beauty and value, prevents burglaries, theft and damage from stray animals. It can also save you from arguments with unfriendly neighbours. However, a good fence should be low enough to allow interaction with the neighbours while keeping intruders out.

Recommended height

According to the lands ministry, it is illegal to build fences that bar communication with neighbours. William Walaga, the ministry’s director for housing, says the Building Code stipulates that when one wants to build a fence around their home or premises, property rights should be respected.

The wall fence should be built on the owner’s land, not in the boundary line, because this is no-man’s land. Also, they should leave a minimum reserve of at least a foot from the boundary.

“The Building Code demands that the height of the fence should not go beyond three to four feet. Those building very high fences are doing it illegally,” he explains.

Muhammad Idris Nsereko, an architect and managing director of 3M Design and Construction Company, says there are many things to consider before constructing a fence. “Americans put up fences with the intent of maintaining boundaries with their neighbours.

However, in Uganda, the whole idea of erecting a fence around someone’s home is derived from the need for security, social status and character of the homeowner,” he says.

Nsereko advises homeowners to respect road reserves during the construction of fences. He says a minimum of 1.5 metres should be reserved on a small road and three metres for the main road reserve.

Choice of materials

Nsereko says the type of material to be used determines the overall cost of the fencing project. “The cheapest material would be bricks made from ordinary soil or clay,” he says. Nsereko adds that the choice of materials to be used largely depends on the homeowner’s tastes and preferences.

“Some people prefer concrete materials — stones, blocks and cement, but this will be mainly determined by one’s budget. Although a fences made of sand blocks, commonly known as a nine nine may be durable and nice looking, the financial implication involved is quite enormous,” he warns.

Abud- Wahab Nyanzi, an architect with JR Consultants, says: “The cheapest fence is a hedge (live fence). It will cost much less, compared to stones, bricks, blocks or stabilised bricks. It is environmentallyfriendly and performs the basic function of demarcation of boundaries. “The only low side to it is that it takes long to mature and needs a lot of care,” Nyanzi says.

If you opt to use stones or bricks, the location of the project may be a big factor in determining what to use. “For example, one might have stones mined from his site,” he says.

However, other factors remaining constant, it is cheaper to use bricks because most masons are familiar with them. Although stabilized bricks ensure quick works, they cannot be used alone due to their levels of dampness. Nyanzi says another material should be used on the foundations, before using stabilized bricks on the super structure.

Build in phases

According to Nyanzi, building in phases is the most logical way to complete a project. “It needn’t be due to hard economic times that a project is done in phases. Building in phases is a proven project management tool,” Nyanzi adds.

According to Nyanzi, construction of phases, including the foundation phase, walling, gate installation, plastering and painting. “If the main purpose of building the fence is for demarcation of the boundaries, it is important that the whole foundation is completed before proceeding to the next phase,” he says.

To comply with the building code that requires that the height of the fence should not go beyond three to four feet, Nsereko says one can build half the fence with bricks and then install artistically designed iron bars at the top. “This will give the home an attractive view, while maintaining good relations with neighbours,” he says.

Robert Nyanzi, a quantitative surveyor with Bikandema and Partners — Surveyors and Valuers, says, to enhance the beauty of the fence, stones can be used on the wall during the finishing. He says stone walls are resistant to water which may get logged underneath, hence weakening the wall.

According to Nyanzi, the cost of putting up such a fence wall may go between sh75,000 to sh95,000 per square metre. He says although wall fences are easy to make, poor drainage may cause them to crack.

“If one decides to construct a wall fence, he should use pillars and iron bars to support it, especially in areas with weak soils,” he explains.