The Ugly Fence

cheepskate_2

stick some clemetis, ivy and honeysuckle down by the border of the fence and you wont notice it so much. I think you have just got a bee in your bonnet and it seems to be getting bigger. its on his land. No doubt hes been moaning to all and sundry about his neighbour who wouldnt fix their fence:).
Rather than let it get into a dispute, the colour and look of the fence can be changed with immagination .

patman99

The usual rule is that if you stand with your back to the rear wall of your house, the boundary on your right hand side is yours.
To be honest, if it were me, I would remove the knackered fence, cut the posts level with the ground then build a 4ft blockwork wall.

Mojisola

patman99 wrote: »

The usual rule is that if you stand with your back to the rear wall of your house, the boundary on your right hand side is yours..

This is not true - it's a very persistent myth!

You only know whether you are responsible for any of your boundaries by looking at your deeds - it could be none or all of them.

kmmr

cheepskate wrote: »

stick some clemetis, ivy and honeysuckle down by the border of the fence and you wont notice it so much. I think you have just got a bee in your bonnet and it seems to be getting bigger. its on his land. No doubt hes been moaning to all and sundry about his neighbour who wouldnt fix their fence:).
Rather than let it get into a dispute, the colour and look of the fence can be changed with immagination .

I disagree with this. This isn't just an unsightly fence, it's a big ugly piece of dodgy engineering that is reliant on your structure, and looks highly unstable anyway. The risk of it falling on your house must be reasonably high.

I can't see why the fence can't just be better supported on the raised side. He has left a good bit of space up there, and could have put some supports into the ground rather than those spectacular flying buttresses against your very unstable looking fence.

Sounds like this is something that could have been avoided with more discussion beforehand, but you are where you are, and can't just ignore it now. It would be a reason for me not to live there - certainly not to buy, as I could imagine a neighbourhood dispute from day one! Not that you are planning to sell it, but it's something to keep in mind still.

Davesnave

kmmr wrote: »

I can't see why the fence can't just be better supported on the raised side. He has left a good bit of space up there, and could have put some supports into the ground rather than those spectacular flying buttresses against your very unstable looking fence.

This is the heart of the matter. The builder should have used 'reasonable skill and care' in constructing the fence, and it seems that he did not, so he should be given the opportunity to rectify the situation.

The chances are he won't, as this would mean disassembling the fence, digging post holes etc. In that case, it would be for the neighbour to pursue him through the small claims court, having first gained a written/photographic assessment of the problems & inadequacy of the present structure, and a quote for its repair, from a couple of reputable fencing contractors, one of whom could also put it right.

That's what should happen. The problem will be convincing the neighbour. If it were me, the way I'd do that would depend on the cordiality of my relationship with him, but in any event, it would certainly involve me in rebuilding my boundary wall.

pamelamalcolm

If it's in your boundary you have every right to remove that hideous fence!

Running_Horse

Assuming the boundary is the old leaning fence, then the new one hideous fence is probably not within his boundary.

LudaMusser

I`ve seen the photos and it does look like a really high fence coupled with the fact that you now have the old fence doing nothing more than supporting the new one. It`s a shame the old guy did`nt just have a word with you and say let`s remove the old fence, I`m getting a new one and ideally it would have been 2-3 ft shorter. The builder is a bodger who did a quick !!!!! job.
If your neighbour is approachable I would speak to him about removing your old fence and lowering the new one, is must block out quite a bit of sunlight if your sitting in the garden and generally make it feel like a prison.
My Dad`s next door neighbour planted loads of Bamboo plants at the bottom of his garden once new builds were built in the fields behind. They grew so fast and so high you can almost see them grew, they look really nice and give him alot of privacy, he also does`nt have to see the new builds and the wall behind his property

kmmr

Hi,

Did you resolve this?

kmmr

anoneemouse

Personally I would take down the old fence (even if it made the new one insecure - as that is his problem after all).

Then paint my side of the fence in a colour to my taste and put plants in that little bit of land that is currently a "corridor" between the two fences of a type that I liked and would grow up the new fence and think "well, at least I gained a tiny bit more garden out of this".

I think I would probably tell him in advance that that was what I proposed to do (not quite sure on that point). However, I wouldn't mention that, in the process, I planned on putting my plants on that little strip of land that is technically his garden.