Putting up a taller fence.. How to tell neighbours?

G_M

agrinnall wrote: »

Just put a 6 foot fence up inside the walls, then you don't have to worry about who owns what. I would only tell the immediate neighbours as a courtesy, what you do in your own garden is entirely your own concern.

I disagree.

This is not simply about what the OP can legally do (yes, of course he can erect a fence on his own land ie inside the walled boundary), but is also about neighbour relations.

OP is planning to live next to these people for the next X years (2? 5? 10?....) and if relations go sour it can become uncomfortable, if not a nightmare.

Far better to at least try to deal with this amicably.

* as guest101 suggests, invite them to tea (no idea where he gets the cake idea from)
* explain the plan & ask how they feel
* make clear there's no cost to the neighbour
* ask who owns the wall, and if it's the neighbour ask if it's OK to attach a fence
* ask what kind of fence they'd prefer (trellis? lap panel? screen?) - if they're involved in the decision they'll be more amenable to the idea
* be prepared to compromise (eg a 2 foot fence instead of 3) if it looks like the neighbours would be happier with that


*check strength of wall first - if it's old with crumbling mortar it might need repair first

Follow up with a polite 'thank you' note (especially if it's the neighbour's wall) confirming what you've agreed.

ceh209

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Surely its just a case of whether you own the walls concerned or no?

That's what we thought after we erected a 3ft fence in our garden (new-build, came with a 6ft 'privacy panel' closest to the house but then nothing) on the boundary we own.


3 days later our neighbours deign to tell us they don't find it 'aesthetically pleasing' and would we mind taking it down and contributing half towards a 6ft fence instead (remember it's not their boundary). Er no, sod off, we've just put in what we wanted!


18 months later they took down our fence with no notice and replaced it with their taller one, spraying it with green paint which went all over our patio doors and took hours to clean off. The wood from our fence disappeared, we could have used it for firewood.


Haven't spoken to them since because I'd only have a go at them. I know I could make a fuss but I don't want a neighbour dispute on our hands and they've given us a couple of extra inches of garden by building the fence in a slightly different place.


On our row of new builds the only people who are actually sociable are us and our neighbours on the other side - we're also the only ones in the row who have built a 3ft fence, and it's certainly helped towards us becoming better friends.


So OP.... TALK to your neighbours and find out who owns what boundary, otherwise you could seriously alienate them.

Guest101

ceh209 wrote: »

That's what we thought after we erected a 3ft fence in our garden (new-build, came with a 6ft 'privacy panel' closest to the house but then nothing) on the boundary we own.


3 days later our neighbours deign to tell us they don't find it 'aesthetically pleasing' and would we mind taking it down and contributing half towards a 6ft fence instead (remember it's not their boundary). Er no, sod off, we've just put in what we wanted!


18 months later they took down our fence with no notice and replaced it with their taller one, spraying it with green paint which went all over our patio doors and took hours to clean off. The wood from our fence disappeared, we could have used it for firewood.


Haven't spoken to them since because I'd only have a go at them. I know I could make a fuss but I don't want a neighbour dispute on our hands and they've given us a couple of extra inches of garden by building the fence in a slightly different place.


On our row of new builds the only people who are actually sociable are us and our neighbours on the other side - we're also the only ones in the row who have built a 3ft fence, and it's certainly helped towards us becoming better friends.


So OP.... TALK to your neighbours and find out who owns what boundary, otherwise you could seriously alienate them.

Theft and criminal damage just left unreported - society is crumbling I suppose.

moneyistooshorttomention

Mojisola wrote: »

This might be the best option. If you are going to put a fence on top of a wall, make sure the wall is strong enough to cope with the extra stresses.

If you're not in a windy area, you may get away with it.

Which is a good point. I decided to do exactly what you have in mind, ie a 3' high fence on top of a boundary wall of mine (which I duly can - because it is mine).

My builder then promptly informed me that it would never stand up to the winds in this area and my wall had been badly-built in the first place and so that might come down with the fence (and 'tis true that I can see it was built by a bodger of a builder). Hence going with his suggestion that I just put up a fence my side of my wall
(though you do have to be careful that adjacent neighbours don't use that as an excuse to try and claim ownership of your wall in the process).

ceh209

Guest101 wrote: »

Theft and criminal damage just left unreported - society is crumbling I suppose.

And it'll do more damage to us when we have to reduce our house price when we sell because we reported our neighbours for that.

DRP

we have a about 5m of privacy fence (~2m) near the house, then the remaining 15m or so that is standard (1.2m?) height.

Might be a compromise to do similar, and it would be easier to broach/discuss as you wouldn't be completely shutting out the neighbours.

jfdi

Our back garden was like that when we moved in, low fences and lots of tall shrubs/small trees for added seclusion.
It was lovely and encouraged lots of wildlife, whilst still giving little gaps (not near the house) for a natter if we wanted.

Cue 2 new lots of neighbours and they both banged up 6ft fences within weeks. Loads of the bushes etc were ripped out, the foundations for the fences killed off half our plants, the spray they painted with (one side) covered half our pots etc and we now have half the garden in permanent shade (east, west garden) added to which we hardly know the people.

Do think carefully before you do it, it can wreck the friendly neighbourhood feel of a street before you know it, although I know it's the thing for total privacy these days!

PS - and I'm 57, but this all happened 15 or 20 years back.

moneyistooshorttomention

Guest101 wrote: »

Theft and criminal damage just left unreported - society is crumbling I suppose.

I must admit that I was sitting there absolutely gobsmacked that those neighbours were allowed to get away with the criminal damage, theft and taking hours of effort to remove their paint splatterings from this posters' house.

The police would have been sent right round to that neighbour to read them the Riot Act and that would have been followed by taking them to Small Claims Court for the money they owed me for my fence and my labour removing their paint.

prosaver

you have the right to put up a fence no higher than 6 foot. just say your doing it.. i did ..
my neighbor even wanted it higher ..
lol

Guest101

ceh209 wrote: »

And it'll do more damage to us when we have to reduce our house price when we sell because we reported our neighbours for that.

So social responsibility is left in the gutter because it might affect your wallet? - Well each their own.