Fence Guidance - Granny Flat

[western_sydney]

I have my own ideas about where I should locate a fence to separate it a granny flat from the main residence on the property, but thought it would be good to take on the input from others. To make it easier I've included a couple of pictures to show the layout and also the gradient (the property is on a slight slope.

The blue is a retaining wall approx 60cm high. The yellow are the windows on the flat. Green is the garden shed. The granny flat has separate access down the western side by way of a new concrete path. Parking will be off-street in front of the existing house on a new concrete area.

I would like to keep both properties as private as possible, and having spoken to real estate agents would like to minimise the garden maintenance that the flat inhabitants will be responsible for. At the same time I don't want to close the flat in too closely with fences that will severely limit the amount of light that come into the windows - some sort of compromise on this front is what it required. One other consideration is that the main house will still require direct access to the garden shed that would store lawnmower etc.

This shows the retaining wall and slope of the block as well as the flat itself.

Any input on this is welcomed.

 

[ozsupra]

I would not have put the gap in the retaining walls and then I would have placed the dividing fence across these. I'm assuming that the driveway is common so the only issue is the garden shed. For that I would make the existing shed exclusive for the granny flat and place another between the main house and retaining wall. Remember you can house a mower in a large cupboard like garden shed.

 

[western_sydney]

Thanks ozsupra. The house is actually currently PPOR, which I should have stated in my original post. This is the reason why I still want access to the shed, and why I put the break in the retaining wall.

The above shows roughly where I was planning on putting the fence (in yellow). After talking to real estate agents the belief is that tenants generally won't want to have to maintain grass/a garden so from that perspective it's fine. My worry is that a 1.8m fence will block a lot of the sunlight from the windows on both the northern and eastern faces of the flat. The eastern facing windows are in the living area.

I could potentially stop the fence earlier down that side and maybe continue with a pool style fence down that side which would provide a clean line of separation but wouldn't offer privacy when in the yard or for the tennant when in their living room with blinds open?

On the eastern side of the flat there is around 8 metres from the edge of the path (that goes down the side of the flat) to the side boundary. How far is reasonable to place a fence from the path?

I am possibly overthinking this, but would really like to make the right decision first time to avoid having to move fences down the track.

 

[Blurbman]

While I agree that a person renting a granny flat may not want to maintain much green area, they will probably at least want somewhere to sit in the sun. The yellow proposed fence gives them nothing really and will cut down their sun. What's the point of building a nice place if nobody wants to live in it due to being in shade 100% of the time?

I recommend moving the existing shed. From the picture it looks like a normal garden shed which can be moved pretty easily. Move the shed forward towards the PPOR and run the granny flat fence all the way over the the other boundary. If there is a slab for the existing shed, then leave it to put an outside table and chairs on for the granny flat.

You could always offer to mow their grass as part of the lease, or say you can do it for another $10 a week. Keeps everyone happy.

 

[western_sydney]

Thanks Blurbman, one main reason for putting the 3x3m shed there is that it was really a wasted space otherwise - there are three large tree trunks around it and it's tucked away nicely behind them on a newly built concrete slab. So moving it isn't really an option.

I agree regarding the sun getting to the granny flat. Perhaps I could fence off a larger area and put a gate in there to allow access through to the shed.

Something like this:

 

[Ace in the Hole]

How did you get around not having to have a side setback?

 

[western_sydney]

How did you get around not having to have a side setback?

There is a side setback of 900mm +, the angle of the picture is probably slightly deceptive on that front.

 

[schweedy]

Whats wrong with running the fencline just behind the retaining wall, leaving a small garden bed on your side, put a gate in the middle/gap, then run it from the end of your retaining wall down to the side of the garden shed??? If you want to put up a 6ft fence, maybe got for, say, every 2nd panel, leaving gaps for light, then plant some climbers to add an extra level of privacy, that hopefully wont block all the light.

 

[western_sydney]

That wouldn't make a clothesline very accessible for the house. There's a garage at the end of the retaining wall and only a very narrow space between it and the wall - not enough to give access to the yard.

 

[BestInvest]

get a stump grinder and get rid of the tree stumps. Either move the shed forward, or give it to the tenant and install a slimline shed against your ppor. Or leave it there, and put the fence how u have it in option to, but run it diagonally so it ends where the pink gate is for the shed so its fair for both u and tenant

 

[western_sydney]

They're actual trees, not stumps. The council wouldn't allow me to remove them.

 

[western_sydney]

These are the options I'm currently weighing up:

(1) Provide a small yard space off the side of the flat that includes the shed with the provision that I will need to access the shed (on occassion). Will providing this access be a significant detractor for tenants?

(2) Provide no real yard space (there is an 8 x 2+ m concreted area out the back of the flat with a raised garden bed accessable through a sliding door from the flat). No maintenance for the tenant, access for me to the shed but will this limit the tenants and limit the amount of time they'd want to stay?

(3) Provide a small yard for the tenants and lock up seldom used equipment in the shed. Keep the lawn mower and frequently used things in the garage and let the tenants know in advance if I need to access anything in the shed. Best for the tenant in terms of space, but it's a small amount of lawn that they'll need to maintain without anywhere to keep equipment. I don't mind mowing the lawn there but then this removes the privacy aspect and then might as well have a gate there!

----

From my perspective option 2 would be the easiest and best for me. It would likely work for many tenants but would limit some who want some green space. I had another look and having a fence running down the side adjacent to the path wouldn't block all light from the windows, but wouldn't be very pretty to look at out of the windows.

Option 1 seems like the most manageable compromise, but will a tenant mind me coming into their yard every fortnight or so to grab the mower and do the lawns?

 

[brazen]

Why not place an ornate gate across the front of the new granny flat (instead of a solid Fence), perhaps with some short hedge or shrubs behind it? This will allow the sun to shine through but people wont be able to overlook each other. Once you return the fence towards the rear fence, you can use a solid fence. This should maxmise solar access and privacy, no?

Cheers,

Brazen.

 

[tcocaro]

fence option

western_sydney,

I think the fence design should be a little more logical. Having a fence just 2 or so metres behind the courtyard wall will create a strip of land in-between which is close to useless. The fence design should have been done together with the courtyard wall design so they work in unison.

The courtyard wall as it stands now with its stairs looks like a "entry" way to the granny flat itself. One option would be to incorporate it into the fence design (see attached).

As for the back area the fence either can give a larger portion of land to the granny flat or to the house itself.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Tim

 

[DaveM]

Personally I would mostly go with what tocaro has shown, with the exception of no ornate gate at the retaining wall stairs. The GF has a direct path with what looks like a ramp, so why divert the entry to the steps and have tenants walking behind the house to get in.

I would do a timber lap and cap fence with gate starting at the south west corner of the house and up the side path and across the retaining wall, and with the alternate fence line in cyan that tocaro proposed.

The section at the front of the GF I would pave as well as around the east side where I would also do a small section of grass and a fence/post mounted clothes line for the GF. A clothes line at the back on teh south side would be useless.

A timber lap and cap fence is nicer to look at than colorbond, and you could plant a narrow garden bed with some climbing/screening plants to make it more pleasant for the GF outlook, but will give you minimal garden maintenance.

 

[western_sydney]

This is probably what I will end up going with. Spoke to the real estate agent and she felt that potential tenants won't have an issue with me occasionally coming into that part of the yard (via a gate) to get out the lawn mower if it means that I will be mowing their part of the lawn as well. They will get some extra space and some grass and won't have to worry about maintaining it.

Down the track if both buildings are rented out it will be easy to put a lock on the gate and the granny flat can use the shed for keeping lawn equipment and whatever else they like, whilst the main house can keep it in the garage.

There is a good 4-5 metres between the top of the retaining wall and the path around the granny flat, so I don't think putting a fence near the path will create an unusable strip of grass.

Access to the granny flat is down the western side of the house on a newly laid concrete path. This allows an entirely separate entrance to the flat. The opening in the retaining wall is entirely for use from the main house and more or less lines up with the back door of the house.