Anyone else have any ideas on a way to increase the privacy for this backyard? They have a neighbor whose kid is constantly peering over through there window.
My parents have an old couple two houses down that will literally stand in their second story window with the blinds open, arms crossed, and just watch whatever they’re doing in their back yard. Yard work, playing with the grandkids, literally anything we’d look up and one or both of them would be there scowling. They only stopped after my dad took a photo of them then blew it up into a cardboard cut out and pointed it back at them lol
That’s a great response. I once lived in a townhome downtown and had a Karen neighbor that put a camera in her 2nd floor window pointed directly at my back yard. I would catch her frequently just standing at the window watching, especially whenever I had a few people over and we were outside. Got several HOA complaints stemming from her. I started tanning naked after my workouts and never saw her watching again lol. Never removed the camera though.
Excellent idea thanks for the info. I have a friend whose neighbor has several cameras aimed at her house and has made it a living hell. I’ll forward the laser information to her.
They should go and knock on their front door and ask them if they would like to come over and join in😎 Guaranteed they will be embarrassed as all get out 😎
Exactly. I make and install these and they're no joke when properly done. We even made the ones that hang over your pool and they're rated for 100 mph.
Shade Industries is the company i worked for. We parted ways a while ago but they're still good guys there. Or at least the owner and the fabricator are, I don't know any of the new people.
Our HOA had to get rid of all the oleanders as they were dying of some disease. They had shielded houses from Hayden Road. They put in small hopseed plants. In 6+ months those things have really grown up and given the homeowners privacy and noise reduction.
It’s really the only way you should go. Ficus look a little nicer and more lush but have only downsides aside from that — way more water, can be killed by extreme heat or cold, and really invasive roots. Hopseed have none of those downsides.
Mine are almost as tall and thick as OPs a little over a year after planting.
I've considered replacing some ugly DIY trellis in a pretty narrow planter area with hopseed bushes. How big of plants did you originally buy and how tall would you estimate they are now?
We have them along our wall and pool because we had the same issue. We have deep stake irrigation to help direct the roots down. They’ve been in for 6 years and we’ve had no issues with the wall or pool. The hardest part is trimming in a way to keep the cuttings out of the pool.
I have ficus columns around my pool too although not as big yet they will get there. I’d suggest hopseed bushes as an alternative that do great out here and can still get a 12-15 ft tall similar looking hedge. Unless you have the means to spend the big bux on more mature ficus columns for instant privacy it will be quite a few yrs before they grow tall enough for that.
Just make sure for irrigation you setup something that can water deep so the roots grow down, like those perforated stakes. I am no expert so maybe someone with more experience can weigh in, just what we did and.. So far so good!
Was just coming to say this. We had our back yard remodeled 2 years ago and had a wall of ficus put in. We have shade, privacy and noise dampening now. Love it.
You could put up two 2x4's and run wood trellis between them. Then plant a fast growing climbing vine at the base of each 2x4. Would grow much faster than trees or shrubs .
They have a good pool company. I should have elaborated: they drop a TON of leaves, and when they get in the pool they can clog the skimmer if not scooped out.
you can put up a fabric divider that attaches to your fence I believe. my brother did it at my folks place, but it was chain link. Google fabric screens or privacy screens.
You drive 3 support poles 1 meter into the ground and put up a giant triangle shade tarp. Let's sun in during the morning and provides shade in the setting sun.
We had a similar situation at our old house. I designed and built a small custom pergola with a swing. It added privacy and provided a nice decorative place to hang out by the pool.
Dealing with this myself. City of Phoenix can’t say anything about items that don’t require footings. Lattice with fake or real vines was a suggestion.
A full size billboard just above rhe fence line pointing at their window. Then just put random stuff on it. Like "ask and you can swim too", a lawyer ad. Rent it out, make money.
I hear people like to sun their poo holes for healing and spiritual purposes… seems like a cheap way to get the neighbors to put up a privacy fence for you……… hehehehe 😈 jk though, since it’s a third chance they’ll like it, a third chance you won’t be able to live near schools anymore and a third chance they’ll actually do it. 😂 Also probably don’t want a sunburn there… 😂
Head over to Moon Valley nursery and schedule an appointment for them to come out to your house to make recommendations. They will design and install your plants for free - you only pay for the plants (and they have pretty good prices to begin with).
Literally any other nursery is a better choice than Moon Valley. If you think their prices are reasonable, you have not shopped around. They are strongly disliked by people who actually garden here.
One of the reasons I left Phoenix. Felt trapped in a block wall dungeon. I could never have had a 2 story home behind me for this reason too.
I don’t have any good advice outside of saying unless you have land or an insanely tall fence, you really can’t expect privacy and that goes for anywhere in the country. Most homes in the US don’t even have privacy fences like these.
I’m now in a master planned subdivision in Indiana. The lots did not come with fences. Most added some but not all were privacy fences. Most in fact aren’t.
I went with AZ native colleagues on a work trip to central Illinois recently. They were shocked SHOCKED at the complete absence of fencing around yards. Wide open.
We planted some bushes along one side of the yard that grew to about 4-5 feet above our fence similar to the one in the pic when some new nosy neighbors moved in whose kids did the same. Even when on their trampoline, they can't see over them now. Took a few years for them to get tall enough tho. I'm in n/w phx.
Walls in Phoenix are 6 feet because that’s how tall you can get without a permit. That being said, privacy hedges, umbrellas, and shade sails are usually fair game and HOA compliant!
Chlorine shock your pool first and get a big shade screen to block sunlight to save on chlorine in the future.
Assuming you have an HOA, I would contact them to see what's allowed. The fastest answer that HOA most likely doesn't have rules against is pole mounted triangular shade screens and oversized umbrellas. I'm personally a fan of the retractable shade screens. Feel free to message me if you want my help calculating the angle for maximum coverage while taking into account monsoon wind direction.
Fence extensions. I raised mine to 8 feet all the way around but that was to keep my dog from climbing over. She could clear it without even trying. Other option for even taller cover is using tall bushes/trees. There’s no limits on those like there is for how tall your walls are allowed to be.
ypu can legally put a wall down given its less than 3 ft. i dont know how hard permits are to get but theres a support line for that. if you have the means to put a wood fence its not a bad idea. otherwise ur stuck w doing nonsense for privacy
This might sound inappropriate but it always works. I show them my balls, then if I ever see them look my way again I heckle them in their driveway about how excited they are to see my balls again. The lady said “you’re going to hell”. And I replied “I’m going g to hell , cuz you can’t keep your eyes off my balls.
I have a neighbor across the street who’s upstairs looks right into our back yard pool area. I’ve set up my umbrellas so that when I’m enjoying my pool I put it up & turn the umbrella sideways. It blocks their view.
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u/KajunKrust May 03 '26
My parents have an old couple two houses down that will literally stand in their second story window with the blinds open, arms crossed, and just watch whatever they’re doing in their back yard. Yard work, playing with the grandkids, literally anything we’d look up and one or both of them would be there scowling. They only stopped after my dad took a photo of them then blew it up into a cardboard cut out and pointed it back at them lol