Fencing in Co. Donegal

Under Class 5 of Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, a wall or fence around a house is exempted development if it stays within two metres in height, or 1.2 metres where it is in front of the house. Metal palisade and other security fences are excluded from the exemption regardless of height. If you need something taller or different, or the property is protected or in an architectural conservation area, check with the local authority before ordering materials.

There is no general rule in Ireland that assigns one side of a property to its owner, despite how often people say there is. Ownership and any obligation to maintain come from the title deeds and the Land Registry map for the property. Check them, or ask your solicitor, before removing or replacing a fence that may not be yours.

Concrete posts outlast timber because they are unaffected by ground moisture, which is where timber posts almost always rot, and panels slot straight into them so a damaged panel can be replaced without dismantling the run. Timber posts look better and cost less initially. A middle course is timber posts with concrete spurs bolted to the base, which keeps the timber out of the wet ground.

Usually because a solid panel caught the wind and the posts could not resist the leverage, either because they were set too shallow or because the timber had already rotted at ground level. Rebuilding the same fence in the same way tends to produce the same result. On an exposed boundary, letting some wind through with a slatted or hit-and-miss design puts far less load on the structure.