Ask the Architect

Replacing a fence with a wall

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Q. I have a fence in my front yard and want to replace it with a wall because I live on a main road, and cars have crashed into the fence a few times and I’ve had to replace it. It’s hard to understand that someone would hit your fence, damage property and just drive off, but they do. Maybe a wall will stop them better and keep my property safer. Do I need a permit?

A. I hope you asked this because you already had a permit for the fence. Most municipalities want you to apply for a permit so they can check the height of what you plan to put up. A wall isn’t like a fence, because it’s considered a built structure, which requires a correct footing, and must be constructed so it doesn’t come apart or fall down, which sounds like what you want. I know, right now we could solve one of America’s biggest problems if we built a wall … around certain presidential candidates … and got them to pay for it!

Walls, in some communities, also require review by a zoning board, because they’re required to meet distance-setback requirements from property lines. Some communities don’t address low walls, because they’re below the height requirement. For example, one town doesn’t regulate or require a permit for anything under 8½ inches high, while another community allows anything under 1 foot high without a permit, simply as a landscape border.

You need to ask your building department plans examiner for a specific interpretation before deciding what to do. I always do, because interpretations change based on recent events, recent official decisions or policy changes. It makes sense not to consider something low a built structure, because its height doesn’t exceed its width, and for that reason it wouldn’t lean or fall over. But building something to resist a moving multi-ton vehicle is another matter, on many levels.

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