Composite Fences

Composite fences use composite boards instead of solid lumber, set between posts as privacy panels. The City of Ottawa's Fence By-law treats them like any other fence: 1 m in a front yard and 213 cm in a side or rear yard on residential property, measured from the grade at the base, or from the higher side where the ground differs.

The by-law requires the finished side to face the street and the neighbours, so a composite panel's better face goes outward and the posts and rails face your own yard. A fence must also be kept stable, vertical and in good repair.

Composite boards are not one of the three materials the by-law excuses from the protective-coating rule (cedar, redwood and treated wood). Ask the installer what the boards' maker says about finish and care, and get it in writing.

A residential fence does not need a building permit in Ottawa unless it encloses a pool; pool enclosures follow a separate by-law and permit, covered on ottawapoolinstallation.ca. Locates are required before any post hole, free, and the utilities have five business days to respond.

Published Ontario installer pages put composite fences at about $55 to $95 per linear foot installed, and some styles cost more.