Good Neighbour Cedar
The good neighbour fence: cedar shadowbox, finished both sides.
Pickup at NorthStar Building Products, 240 Ellwood Drive West, Bolton, ON L7E 4W6: in stock, ready next business day (Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 5:00). Come and see one at the yard first if you like.
5.0 on Google from 8 reviews by fence panel customers, checked 28 September 2026
“6 ft × 8 ft” is the nominal trade size. Measure your run against the true dimensions before ordering.
Need a different width or height, or a matching gate? Built to order and quoted by hand. Ask for a custom quote.
Posts for this run.
1 panel in one straight run hangs on 2 posts at 96 in. on centre: one at each end and one between every pair.
Posts are pickup-only. If you want the panels delivered, pick posts up separately or call 647-569-2163 for a lumber delivery quote.
Corners and gates change the count. Price the whole run in the fence calculator.
Why we built it this way.
A good neighbour fence is a fence that looks the same from both sides. On a standard fence the boards face one way and the neighbour gets the rails and the fasteners. On this panel the boards alternate from one side of the rails to the other, each one overlapping the gap the board behind it leaves, so both yards see a finished face of Western Red Cedar. The pattern is also called a shadowbox or shadow box fence, and on a shared property line it settles the question of who gets the good side before anyone asks it.
Straight on, it reads as private as a solid fence. At a sharp angle there is a narrow sight line between the staggered boards, which is the honest description of every shadowbox, and the same gaps let wind and a summer breeze through instead of loading the posts the way a solid face does. If a run needs zero sight lines from any angle, a pool surround for example, buy the Solid Privacy Cedar instead.
Every board is 1×4 Western Red Cedar finished S1S2E, so there is no rough side and no splinter side, on 2×3 rails, built flat in a jig at our shop in Bolton, Ontario. Nominal 6 ft × 8 ft, a true 72 in. tall by 96 in. wide: set posts at 96 in. on centre and it hangs between them like every panel we build. Cedar needs no stain to last and weathers to silver-grey; a penetrating oil stain holds the amber if you prefer it. The same pattern in brown pressure-treated wood is the Pressure-Treated Lattice Top. Custom heights and board spacing on request.
- Item
- NS-410
- Size
- 6 ft × 8 ft (true 72″ × 96″)
- Pattern
- Shadowbox (good neighbour): boards alternate on both sides of the rails, finished both sides
- Boards
- 1×4 Western Red Cedar, S1S2E, no rough side
- Frame
- 2×3 rails, built flat in a jig
- Privacy
- Semi-private: reads solid straight on, a narrow sight line at a sharp angle; air moves through
- Finish
- No stain needed; weathers to silver-grey, oil stain optional
- Options
- Custom heights & board spacing
- Origin
- Built in Bolton, Ontario, from BC Western Red Cedar
