Fence advice - unusual conundrum

Apodemus

Actually, looking at that angle of view, it wouldn't be a big job to put in even a temporary fence - level with the top brick of the stepped portion.  It probably doesn't even need to be strong - something visual should keep a "sight hound" in!

AmmDram

Bendy_House said:

These are weeds?! I'd assumed they were plants!

Simple - weed-kill these, thoroughly - you don't want the roots to start undermining the stonework. Pour some bark chips over the soil behind it (there's a soil gap between the stone wall and the garage wall?) first it if you want, but just make spraying summat like Glyphosate an annual routine - 5 minutes, safe when it hits the ground or dries, job done.

The fence only has to be a trellis-type, so you can have as much access through it to spray - or even grab a handful of weeds - as you wish. But I would kill these weeds - they won't do any good.

Obviously, discuss this with your neighb first, as anything behind that stone wall will surely be theirs, if not even half the wall itself (or, perhaps, all the wall!) Explain that the roots of weeds and shrubs growing there will almost certainly damage the mortar between the stones, loosening them over time. No-one sees that strip, and no-one will have easy access to it after your fence goes up. So, weedkiller is the sensible option here, I think. Make sure they are happy with the idea.

I think you are over-thinking this. Put in that fence, and plant periwinkle or similar in the soil bed between the fence and the red brick wall - have it cascade over the wall. I picked some cuttings of some wild Peri recently - the easiest thing in the world to propagate - and it's lush, deep-and-ever-green, and you can have them in blue, white, and shades in between.

Yes, that sounds nice and I like the idea of a trellis type fence as it would still allow weed killing access, it’s just we won’t be able to have pre-made panels due to the uneven ground… it’s the logistics of getting the thing in place and it not looking odd. If it was flat or the panels were pre made for a slope it would work (not sure if that is possible)? 

The contractor who came out suggested it would have to be built on site and that due to the slope/conditions panels/trellis wouldn’t be an option, it would either be paling or feathered edge with no gaps. He suggested once the 5 vertical posts went in, they would then attach (what would on a flat surface be horizontal strips of wood) diagonally sloping strips of wood to then attach the vertical slats to complete the fence. 

Thanks for your suggestions. 

AmmDram

After considering everything suggested, we went back to the fence contractor today and have had a quote for 5ft trellis to be positioned a few inches away from the stone wall, to run for the full length up to the fence at the top. It won’t be flush with the ground level but as the stone wall will be close enough behind it, there should be no room for escape! Works out cheaper than the previous quote and seems like a good solution. Thanks everyone. 

Apodemus

Glad you've got it sorted!  Post up a pic of the hound when you get him!

AmmDram

Just popping back to say we had a fence fitted today! Abandoned the trellis idea when the guys arrived this morning as they said it would have huge gaps at the top end of the garden (so not really be fit for purpose). They instead built this. Just need to get some more work done to the house (and get rid of the garden rubble) and then we are all set for getting a dog! 

Section62

AmmDram said:

The deeds don’t specify who owns the wall. When I discussed it with the neighbour, she said we jointly own it, it isn’t ‘hers’. 

She is lovely and very amenable to whatever we need to do to make the garden dog friendly. 

Considering it retains her land though, based on what I have read previously, I would have thought it was her responsibility, but the previous owners of our house have patched up our side numerous times (though they said they were never asked to contribute to repair or upkeep costs on the forms when we bought  the house). 

In case it crops up in the future - the ownership of a retaining wall (if not specified in the deeds) tends to go with the party that needed/wanted the wall built because they were changing the natural ground level.

If there's nothing in writing, the fact your ex-garage area is significantly lower than the level of the path at the back, and having what looks like a retaining structure running along that boundary as well, would tend to suggest your plot has been dug down below the natural ground level - and hence the retaining wall along the side boundary would have been needed to stop the neighbour's garden falling into the hole the owner of your property had dug.  If that is the case, then a court may decide the wall is 100% your responsibility.

It appears the neighbour's garage has also been cut into the slope towards the back part, rather than being build on land which has been built up... but that's only my impression from the pictures and I could be wrong.

If the neighbour is willing to go 50/50 on the wall I'd take that - and if an opportunity arose to get that in writing without disturbing happy neighbourly relations then I'd probably bite their hand off to get the matter settled for eternity. (or at least for the peace of mind of your future buyer and their mortgage company)

Bendy_House

AmmDram said:

Just popping back to say we had a fence fitted today! Abandoned the trellis idea when the guys arrived this morning as they said it would have huge gaps at the top end of the garden (so not really be fit for purpose). They instead built this. Just need to get some more work done to the house (and get rid of the garden rubble) and then we are all set for getting a dog! 

WOOF!