Trellis as Eye Sore Issue

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Retrofit

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Hey all,

Third year suburban hop grower here. I've learned a lot, I post a lot.

Set up: I have four plants on the side of my house- my neighbor a fellow gardener thought they were neat. A couple of the wives came over and asked me what I was doing- I said putting up hop strings. They thought it was weird, but end of season thought it was great I invest that much time in my yard in gardening. That was three years ago.

Last year I expanded to my backyard. I added eight plants that only one neighbor can see- the gardener that thought they were neat.

I made a 'first year trellis' pvc tubes- one for each hop. So I had eight 10' poles in my backyard. We called it the ghetto trellis.

Today I finished building the new trellis. It's poles that are set in the ground, but only 5' tall. Off season no one can see them. In season I attach 2*4's to them and have 11' poles in the back yard. Just four.

I thought four 11' poles is better than 8 10' PVC tubes. The 2*4's are thicker than the PVC. It's a stronger trellis, but I was told it looks 'big' because the 2*4's are thicker than the old crappy PVC trellis.

Am I totally nuts?

I get that I'm quirky. I'm the hop grower, and the neighborhood brewer/tinkerer, but I also think I'm a good neighbor. Everyone in my neighborhood drinks for free. No one complains when they put away a case of beer or take a 6 pack home. I don't want to pick a neighborhood fight, especially if I'm the jerk.

Any thoughts? I've seen a lot of guys that live in the burbs with bigger set ups than me? Is 11' pushing it in the suburbs? No one cared about 10' poles last year. And again, I had twice as many.

Sorry I'm ranting, I just put the entire day into the install and end of day (end product) I get this sneer from the wife and neighbor. I'm frustrated. I may be quirky, but I'm not a bad neighbor.
 
Are you sure they are actually annoyed with the trellis or are you just being a little paranoid? Did anyone actually complain? I mean, my wife gives me weird looks all the time and if I actually paid attention to them I'd be totally paranoid too!:)
 
As long as there are no city ordinances against height of poles you have nothing to worry about. Its your property as long as it doesn't create such an eyesore that it brings down the value of their home because its next to yours do whatever you want. Especially because its the backyard why worry?
I have 2 12 foot or so metal conduit poles stuck into a cement bucket that is partially buried in the ground with hop twine strung for a trellises and have never thought twice about it.
 
Let them grow! I also live in Aurora and have seen much crazier things people do in their backyard. My backyard is visible to at least 6 other houses and I recently put up a 10 ft. bamboo pole for my hops. I just started growing hops for my first year but have a feeling it may increase to what you have going on. Its a good thing that you are concerned for the asthetics of your neighborhood, but I wouldn't worry about it. If one of your neighbors complains just cut off their free beer!
 
I was planning on a 11-12 foot trellis and while I was building mine one of the HOA board members came by and told me I couldn't have anything over 8 feet in the back yard. As he was telling me this, I was looking around and spotted no less than five yards that had structures in excess of 8 feet, including his next door neighbor. I want to build a pergola over our back patio so I complied with my trellis and trimmed it down to 8 feet (gotta pick your battles). I personally don't think 11-ish feet is too high especially if it's aesthetically pleasing, but you never know what's going to annoy someone.
 
What about all those trees that are over 8 feet?

I have a line of Arborvitae along my property line that hit 18 feet a couple years ago. My hop poles are just about 19 feet and I let the hops grow to the same height. I do suppose you can try to be as aesthetically pleasing as possible by not using scrappy old wood and trying to keep it symmetrical. I went minimalist and use two metal poles that are not rusty. Having the whole thing removable at the end of growing season also goes a long way.
 
microbusbrewery said:
I was planning on a 11-12 foot trellis and while I was building mine one of the HOA board members came by and told me I couldn't have anything over 8 feet in the back yard. As he was telling me this, I was looking around and spotted no less than five yards that had structures in excess of 8 feet, including his next door neighbor.

That is why when I bought my house I told the realtor NO HOA's!!!

Waste of money and pain in the butt. If I want to park my trailer, with a half torn tarp, in my driveway for a week I can.
 
I suspect even if people don't like it now, they won't mind in a few months. The 2x4's will be gray and the plants look nice.
 
I'm not sure I can picture the setup. I know I was thinking pvc originally, but that was vetoed. So I'm not sure how your new setup could be worse than that. I have 3 arrangements. 2 strings on the house, 7 on a wooden extension on the side and above my shed and 8 strings attached to a cable. The cable runs between 2 trees and is about 22 feet tall.
 
Retro, I have 13.5' of 6x6 poles that are there year round now and going to add a 4 ft extension this year...

I would say you're fine, but every neighborhood is different.
 
I went with a 20 ft 2x4 for my 8 Centennial plants and a basketball hoop pole without the backboard for my 6 Saaz plants.

I DARE my neighbor to complain because his two massive trees have messed up my back fence and his branches/leaves are completely encroaching my property line. haha
 
I have the same problem with the HOA here. Nothing over the fence line unless it is vegetation and only what is appropriate according to the HOA. I used very small trellises that will inhibit cone production but it was better than nothing.
 
That is why when I bought my house I told the realtor NO HOA's!!!

Waste of money and pain in the butt. If I want to park my trailer, with a half torn tarp, in my driveway for a week I can.

Mine isn't as bad as most. $10 a month to basically cover snow removal and pothole repair. The thing that annoys me is the enforcement seems to be very selective (e.g. all the other structures in view of my backyard that are over 8 feet). I'd offer free beer to the board members but I live in Utah so a lot of my neighbors don't drink.

All that said, I think my next house will be in a non-HOA area hopefully with a big enough lot for a small shop/brew shed and a couple dozen hop plants...on a really tall trellis.
 
Dude, I hardly think you are the jerk. I tend to subscribe to the idea that if I own the property, I do what I want... As long as it is legal. Keep in mind, I am a Kentucky native who now lives in Western Maine. People there, and here, tend to not be too picky.
A couple years ago, my neighbor (who also has his law office in his house) started a huge back yard project. It is still only 1/3 completed. He came over one evening while I was grilling, to apologize. I gave him a beer. Why do I care? It's not my backyard!
 
Well a lot has transpired since I made my first post. First I tore the whole thing down, which was easy- I used bolts instead of nails/screws. The plan all along was I could disassemble it for winter.

I used a 4*4 as a base pole and I put 2*4's on the side. I lowered it to 8.5' making it shorter than the previous year and I was mad, but quietly mad. On the weekend my neighbors gathered for a neighborhood bonfire and I handed out a case of beer- probably more to my neighbors. I pointed out the beer wasn't just home brewed, it was made with home grown 'organic' hops. The trellis came up. I said, "I'm working on it- I want it as tall as possible with out being your crazy neighbor."

I have one neighbor who can see it and he was talking about it is 'bit crazy'. His wife got DRUNK and she said, "It's not that big a deal." Later she said, "With the trees we can hardly see it." I gave her beer to take home and her husband finally said, "I was just giving you a hard time..."

Somewhere at this site there is a guy who make a telescoping trellis and that was my inspiration. I took the 4*4 posts and drilled two holes for bolts. In the 2*4's that go on the edge, I drilled holes at 1' increments. So my trellis starts at 8.5' and I can raise it as the season goes. I didn't tell anyone this is my plan. I already got the drunk wife/husband approval; "I was just giving you a hard time." But what's done is done.

Currently it's 8.5' I have the option to raise it. I can raise it to 12.5' and next year if I rebuild the base posts I could raise it to 16.5'- but I'll probably never do it. I shelled out all the beer at this neighborhood fire pit party. Maybe they forgot how handy it is have a brewer as a neighbor.

Thanks guys for all the comments. I was really taken by surprise this year. Me growing hops isn't a surprise to anyone. In fact the association sent a guy to my house for a proxy vote. I never met the guy before and he said, 'So your that hop guy." I smiled (not know where this is going) and said, "Yeah." He said, "That's cool, can I have your proxy vote?" I said sure and gave him a six pack as well. This is Chicago-land. If I need to bribe a neighbor or three- that's what I got to do!

My hops are up and my world is well. :)
 
Awesome having everything worked out! I was reading your thread thinking, shi*, Im going through the same thing. Trying to figure out how high I can go with my hops without pissing off the neighbors.

If they drank it'd be easier ;)
 
Good outcome, Retro. I find homebrew buys good favor with all my neighbors except the teetotaler old lady that calls the village about everything. But, my hop trellis is village approved now, so forget her!
 

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