For years, I believed there was one unquestionable rule about backyard fences. Everyone seemed to know it. Contractors mentioned it casually. Neighbors repeated it with confidence. Even people who had never built a fence spoke as if it were settled law.
The finished side faces the neighbor. Always.
So when I didn’t follow that expectation, the reaction was immediate. Conversations grew shorter. One neighbor stopped waving. Another asked—carefully—whether I had checked local guidelines. What was meant to be a straightforward home project suddenly felt like a social misstep.
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