Can I paint my neighbours external wall...?

littleblue735

Hi any advice appreciated

Along one side of my garden boundary I have the external wall of my neighbours large two storey extension. They never fitted a fence alongside their boundary so my patio goes right up to their wall.
The length is probably about 30 feet along my garden so it makes the area feel like a walled garden and I like it so I'm not moaning about the extension!! (done before I bought the house)

Its a dark red brick and very overpowering so I think if I paint the wall white up to 6ft high along the length then it would feel lighter.

I get on well with this neighbour so I'm going to ask her permission even though she will never see it unless she comes into my garden.

My question is - as long as I use proper masonry paint I assume there's no risk of damage etc to the wall...? I know she will ask me this.
Also if she refuses then I assume its classed as damage to her wall if I go ahead?

moneyistooshorttomention

I've never heard of masonry paint damaging walls yet.

As long as painting it is all you are doing (ie not power-washing and/or rendering it beforehand!!) then I dont think it could possibly do any damage.

I took the view in my last house - anything cosmetic only could be done to my extension wall that I personally couldnt see (but was, understandably, aggrieved when something was attached to it). I was also livid when I discovered, after the event, that some render had been illicitly put up on that bit of my wall. I dont do render by choice and its not the norm in that area of the country....

In reverse - I took it that it was okay for me to do "cosmetic only" work (ie painting) on the other neighbours wall that they couldnt see.

Its the norm in these circumstances to give/take "cosmetic only" normal painting.

Be aware that the law does not allow attaching anything (even paint) to a neighbours' house - and, in your circumstances, it might be as well to be in the clear by mentioning it to the neighbour first. A reasonable bit of notice - ie not 30 minutes flat literally (as I was given by previous neighbours - ie when they'd already got the stuff sitting there in their yard ready to go - AND they didnt mention they were planning on using render!!!!!!). Telling someone with 30 minutes notice is worse than a fait accompli imo.

Your neighbour will probably not be bothered about it - as long as paint is all you use and painting is all you do.

Mojisola

littleblue735 wrote: »

My question is - as long as I use proper masonry paint I assume there's no risk of damage etc to the wall...? I know she will ask me this.

Also if she refuses then I assume its classed as damage to her wall if I go ahead?

I can't see why it would be classed as damage if you paint the wall but she could insist on you removing the paint without doing any damage to her wall.

TheCyclingProgrammer

Only if she says you can, otherwise no, you have no right to paint her wall. Bricks don't need to be painted, but once its painted its very hard to go back again and you've now got to maintain the decoration over the years.

Would be far easier to put a fence up or some kind of screening.

TonyMMM

You can only do this with her permission, anything else is asking for trouble , and a lot of expense if you had to remove the paint afterwards.

Silver-Surfer_2

Mojisola wrote: »

I can't see why it would be classed as damage if you paint the wall but she could insist on you removing the paint without doing any damage to her wall.

Have a read of the Criminal Damage Act then, it's no difference to grafitti on a railway bridge if you don't get permission to do it.

DaftyDuck

Many an older house has been seriously damaged by painting with a "good" waterproof masonry Dulux or Sandtex... So, yes, masonry paint can do untold damage to a property. Equally, you have no right to paint it without permission of the owner. I'd get it in writing before getting the paint oput too.....

teddysmum

Fine if the neighbour agrees, but otherwise , why not put up your own fence or trellis ?


Where patio meets brickwork (ie no soil), you could easily grow climbing plants in troughs.


Plants on trellis would look much prettier than a part painted wall.

27col

teddysmum wrote: »

Fine if the neighbour agrees, but otherwise , why not put up your own fence or trellis ?


Where patio meets brickwork (ie no soil), you could easily grow climbing plants in troughs.


Plants on trellis would look much prettier than a part painted wall.

Exactly my thoughts. Just hide the wall with trellis or whatever you fancy and painted a light colour..

tired_dad

IMHO paint will look awful. 6ft of paint then red brick. No thanks. The paint will weather and lichen/mould will form. Will need maintenance. As suggested, careful planting/trellis/lighting is what you need.

littleblue735

OK many thanks, its as I thought. Plus I didn't really think about maintenance over the years.
I did think about trellis and I'll ask her if she minds me attaching it to the walls.