Don Wiss wrote:
When I was young I learned that fence facing etiquette is to have the
pretty side of the fence facing outward towards your neighbors. My
questions:

(1) Is this a law in places?
(2) Is this the same etiquette in the UK?

Don. www.donwiss.com (e-mail link at home page bottom).

Don't know the answer to either of your questions, but I will share
something that will cause you to drop your donuts.

Assume you have a naughty neighbor - unsightly yard, dog on the loose,
droopy-boobed, over-weight, common-law wife that sunbathes in the nude,
whatever, and, as a result of this continued affront to the sensibilities of
you, your family, and all right-thinking people, you decide to erect a
fence.

After the sturdy, opaque fence is in place, here's how you twist the knife:
You present your neighbor with a bill for half the cost!

And he must (eventually) pay.

What! Am I nuts!

Nope. Follow along.

A contract is a meeting of the minds. When you began constructing the fence,
the neighbor agreed to its construction by not objecting. In law, this is
called "Assent by Silence," and a contract latches in place. When the fence
is completed, he is liable for half its value under the rubric of "unjust
enrichment." That is, he is benefiting from a project to which he agreed in
advance.

There are deviations from this basic rule: You build a fence out of marble
and your neighbor had in mind something less grand or you build the fence
before the neighbor was made aware of your intentions (he was out of town,
etc.), but, in the main, the foregoing evaluation is bullet-proof and your
small claims court will back you up.