Neighbour asking for half fence costs

david1951

Mojisola wrote: »

How it is at the moment is that each house, except for one house at the end, pays for one fence

Based on the information so far, there is no requirement that the neighbour needs to replace a broken fence with a brand new one.

missile

Mojisola wrote: »

The current arrangement is fair - everyone pays for one fence.

Not as I understand this. the guy at one end of the terrace would pay for one, but the guy at the other end would paying for both fences on his property? :beer:

katieb168

Hello,

Not sure if this helps but we replaced a fence recently which was on a boundary with a neighbour. We couldn't tell from the deeds who was responsible fpr the boundary and didn't know who put the fence up originally but the fencing guy who came round said you can usually tell by seeing which side of the fence you are looking at. If you are looking at the back of the fence with the vertical batons like we were then chances are the neighbour put it up (because if you pay for it you like to see the nicer side). That said, it was a plant from our garden which had caused damage so we were happy to replace the fence. So glad we did as it is a much nicer and tidier fence now and neighbour seems happy too.

Katie

Aylesbury_Duck

katieb168 wrote: »

Hello,

Not sure if this helps but we replaced a fence recently which was on a boundary with a neighbour. We couldn't tell from the deeds who was responsible fpr the boundary and didn't know who put the fence up originally but the fencing guy who came round said you can usually tell by seeing which side of the fence you are looking at. If you are looking at the back of the fence with the vertical batons like we were then chances are the neighbour put it up (because if you pay for it you like to see the nicer side). That said, it was a plant from our garden which had caused damage so we were happy to replace the fence. So glad we did as it is a much nicer and tidier fence now and neighbour seems happy too.

Katie

Similar to my story. However, the fence guy's advice is contrary to usual custom. It's usual (although entirely up to the purchaser) to give your neighbour the courtesy of the good side.

On my fence, it's posts and vertical overlapped boarding. On a long run, the post side is visually much more interesting than a long, bland sweep of planks, so I was happy to give my neighbour the courtesy of the "good" side and have the posts my side!

katieb168

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

Similar to my story. However, the fence guy's advice is contrary to usual custom. It's usual (although entirely up to the purchaser) to give your neighbour the courtesy of the good side.

On my fence, it's posts and vertical overlapped boarding. On a long run, the post side is visually much more interesting than a long, bland sweep of planks, so I was happy to give my neighbour the courtesy of the "good" side and have the posts my side!

That's interesting, hadn't heard that before but it makes sense too. Guess you can't use the 'seeing which side you are looking at' as a way to find out who paid for it then! We are fairly new to home owning so still rely on advice from others as we go along. Luckily we didn't have much to replace as we have a fairly small garden. It looks so much better than before so very happy.

Aylesbury_Duck

That's the main thing. No point in getting into squabbles about fencing if it can be mutually arranged. Best wishes in your new home.

moneyistooshorttomention

katieb168 wrote: »

Hello,

Not sure if this helps but we replaced a fence recently which was on a boundary with a neighbour. We couldn't tell from the deeds who was responsible fpr the boundary and didn't know who put the fence up originally but the fencing guy who came round said you can usually tell by seeing which side of the fence you are looking at. If you are looking at the back of the fence with the vertical batons like we were then chances are the neighbour put it up (because if you pay for it you like to see the nicer side). That said, it was a plant from our garden which had caused damage so we were happy to replace the fence. So glad we did as it is a much nicer and tidier fence now and neighbour seems happy too.

Katie

I'm wondering if the side of the fence that faces is an area thing.

I've always understood one gives the nice side of the fence to the neighbour (ie why would one expect a neighbour to look at something ugly just because one had elected to put a fence up?).

Since moving here - I've had a workman tell me the same (ie taking the nice side of the fence for oneself) and I see a noticeable number of gardens where the fence-owner has taken the nice side for themselves. As I've been used to the fence owner taking the bad side for themselves - then my thoughts are negative ones about someone else lumbering the neighbour with the bad side. My neighbour has done that to me - and I'm not pleased about it and have had to hide it (in order not to get annoyed about it each time I spot it). I've been driven along a whole road where they had all been antisocial and faced the wrong side of the fence out to "the world at large" and it's definitely a factor that would have put me off living there.

Davesnave

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Since moving here - I've had a workman tell me the same (ie taking the nice side of the fence for oneself) and I see a noticeable number of gardens where the fence-owner has taken the nice side for themselves. As I've been used to the fence owner taking the bad side for themselves - then my thoughts are negative ones about someone else lumbering the neighbour with the bad side. My neighbour has done that to me - and I'm not pleased about it and have had to hide it (in order not to get annoyed about it each time I spot it). I've been driven along a whole road where they had all been antisocial and faced the wrong side of the fence out to "the world at large" and it's definitely a factor that would have put me off living there.

I don't believe in 'good' or 'bad' sides to a fence, although there are certainly lots of bad fences about.

It makes good practical sense to face the posts and rails inwards, as they provide excellent fixing points for plants and plant supports. After all, few intelligent people would consider a bare fence beautiful, or an end in itself.

On the outer side of a fence bordering a road or pavement, it's not usual to require fixings for plants. If I saw a road full of fences faced wrongly in that context, I'd consider it odd and maybe down to the perceptions of one contractor.

Hit and miss fencing, which is less susceptible to wind damage than panel or overlap fencing is rarely seen in this country, presumably because it's a little more expensive to produce and doesn't give that feeling of 100% privacy people appear to crave. It doesn't really have a good or bad side, but in our increasingly windy climate, it makes the best sense IMO if a fence is required.

I plant hedges.

paddy's_mum

Posts and rails on the outer side also gives hand and footholds for the more larcenous among us

Zola.

I stuck a good tall fence up in our garden and didn't ask either neighbour for any money.

I did it for me, I wanted the privacy and it seals my castle in!

It was well worth it.