Fence questions we get in North Hollywood

Installed, wood comes in at $30 to $60 a linear foot and vinyl at $40 to $70. Chain link is the cheap end at $18 to $40, and wrought iron the expensive one at $50 to $120. What moves you around inside a band is how long the run is, how hard it is to get material to the back of the lot, and the grade you pick. A short line behind the garage prices near the bottom. Add a security driveway gate and you are at the top.

Chain link, at $18 to $40 a linear foot. Put it on an alley line or a dog run, not out front where the whole block sees it. When you want six solid feet, wood buys the most privacy per dollar, and 150 feet of cedar usually lands between $4,500 and $9,000 installed. Vinyl at that same height costs more to put in, and in exchange you never sand or seal it.

Not for a normal fence. Stay at or below the height the code allows and the City of Los Angeles asks for no building permit at all. Three things flip that: going taller than six feet, building a wall that retains soil, and touching the public right of way. Any of those goes through LADBS. HOAs are rare on North Hollywood blocks, so city code is normally the only sign-off in play.

The City of Los Angeles caps a residential fence at six feet in the side and rear yards, and at 42 inches inside the required front yard. Corner lots and driveway openings add a visibility triangle where nothing goes above 42 inches, so a driver pulling out can see the sidewalk. Taller than six feet has to be permitted through LADBS.

In most cases, yes. California Civil Code section 841, the Good Neighbor Fence Act, treats the reasonable cost of a boundary fence as a shared obligation, split evenly between the two owners. The law asks you to hand your neighbor at least 30 days written notice first, laying out the problem, the fence you intend to build, and what you expect it to cost. The statute asks for two more: say that the cost is presumed to fall evenly, and give your timeline. You two can divide the bill differently if you both put it in writing.

Depends entirely on what you buy. Cedar or redwood gives you roughly 15 to 20 years when it gets sealed every few years, and chain link lands in that same 15 to 20 window. Vinyl will go 20 to 30 years and often longer while asking almost nothing of you, and wrought iron can push past 40 as long as the powder coat stays intact. Sun is what wears out a wood fence in North Hollywood, not water: the valley floor only collects about 12 inches of rain a year.

A solid six foot vinyl or wood panel is the answer on the close lots common here. Both block the view completely with no gaps and cut some boulevard noise. Vinyl needs no upkeep and holds its color; wood costs less up front and gives a warmer look. For a shared line, a board on board or double-sided panel keeps the neighbor happy too.

Carefully, and it is part of the estimate. On a narrow North Hollywood lot we plan how panels, posts, and concrete reach the work area, often by hand through a side yard or a rear alley, before the crew arrives. We also check the survey on the older homes where the property line is unrecorded, so a shared boundary fence stays a friendly project rather than a dispute.