Fencing
Which side of the fence faces out
Which side of the fence should face the neighbour?
The convention is that the finished side — the one without visible rails and posts — faces outward, toward the neighbour or the street. Many HOAs require it, and some city ordinances do too.
The 'good neighbour' convention
On a standard fence, one side shows the framing and one doesn't. Custom, and often rule, is that the neighbour gets the finished face and you look at the rails.
It feels backwards the first time somebody explains it. The logic is that the person who didn't choose the fence shouldn't be the one staring at its skeleton.
When it's not optional
Plenty of HOAs write the orientation into their standards, particularly on fences visible from a street. Some municipalities do the same.
This is a common reason a fence has to be taken down and rebuilt, and it is entirely avoidable by checking first. We check before quoting.
The way around it
Board-on-board and shadowbox both read as finished from both sides, because the pickets alternate or overlap rather than sitting on one face of the frame.
That costs more in material and settles the argument permanently. On a fence that's visible from your patio and your neighbour's, it's usually worth it.
Somebody has to look at the rails. Decide who before you build.