Soundproofing a fence with vinyl

TXC

Mojisola said:

TXC said:

Re: whose fence it is...I have the crappy side so i assume its not mine??

Not so.  Whoever paid to put the fence up can choose which way round it goes - many people want the 'good' side facing into their garden.

Your deeds and/or your neighbour's deeds may tell you who is responsible for that boundary but that won't necessarily be the ones who paid for the fence.

oh right! i couldnt decipher what the red line in the deeds meant when i looked to find this out, its on the inside of the outline of the house (below) if anyone could help me? (its the bottom short edge which i share with the house in the next road over.

Newcad

The red lines on plans and deeds mean nothing other than a general indication of the boundry of your demise.

They are much too thick to actually pin down any boundary.

For example yours there would be about a metre wide when scaled to actual size.
Whilst they are usually thinner it's exactly the same issue with the black lines.

You'd need (to pay) a good boundry surveyor to pin the actual boundry down - if they could.

When it comes to boundry features such as walls and fences you have to read the text of the deed to see if it says anything about who is responsible for them and their maintenance.

carefullycautious

I would be growing a prickly hedge on my side. That ball would drive me insane!

ThisIsWeird

TXC said:

Hi all

Thanks for the help! Bit sad that soundproofing doesnt appear to be possible  

Just to address the common q's

1. Unfortunately yes I already tried the discussion route when I first moved in last summer - they were very unresponsive and the party line was "I have x amount of boys - so the ball will hit the fence, they dont listen to me"
2. Re: whose fence it is...I have the crappy side so i assume its not mine??

The fence panel itself is absolutely on its last legs from this impact, I can see through it to their garden and vice versa. In fact they've looked trhough it before now to see if their missing balls are in my back (and told me theyd done this - i felt really invaded!)

I suppose an option would be to wait until it breaks, then shoulder 100% cost of the replamcement but with the addendum that no ball touches it?

If their ball comes through, then you should return it - tho' no need to hurry. They should respectfully ask for it to be returned, and you return it with a smile (through gritted teeth) when it's convenient to you. Eg, if it happens regularly, then it's perfectly reasonable to say you'll certainly do so - when you are next out in the garden. If you are already in the garden, on your feet, then it would be churlish to not do so there and then. Add a "please be careful, as I have some xyz that could be damaged.."

If it happens simply too often - a few times per day, I guess- then it gets into the realms of being a statutory nuisance', where your rightful peaceful enjoyment of you home is being affected. Your call whether to act on that.

To fully 'own' a fence, it really needs to be fully within your land - Ie, on your side of the actual boundary line. If you can determine where the 'exact' boundary is, say the houses are identical/symmetrical, so it could be exactly in the middle, or if there's a feature like a wall or gate that could determine this, then you'd just need to ensure the new posts are placed with their backs touching that line, so the whole post is now on your land. Such a fence should then not be 'touched' by anyone without permission. Not painted, not screwed to, not kicked against. But, you'd have to be prepared to take action should they breach this...

Alternatives, as said, plant a hedge, but as long as a 'fence' also exists there, there will be noise as it's kicked against.

If it's genuinely an unreasonable noise intrusion, then you can contact your LA for help. Before doing this, I'd build up a 'case' - dates and times and duration and sound recordings. And a note of the ineffective conversations you've had. 

Horrible situation. But sometimes you just need to 'act' for the sake of your sanity.

Oh, and try not to blame - feel badly towards - the kids; it's rarely their fault, and this would appear to be no exception.

sugar-walsh

Can you plant something along your side? Wont help with noise,  but will.hopefully discourage them.pokong their noses through.

Also, keep in mind that most kids stop this irritating behaviour eventually...

Phil4432

Have you discussed this with the parents?  How did that go?

TheWorzelizer

I know what the sound of a ball being kicked against a normal garden fence sounds like. Its a very loud bang which can be heard throughout the house. Almost like a type of terrorism if it is happening every day around the time you have your dinner. It stops you wanting to go in the garden and relax with a cup of tea and read a book. Its bad that the fence is being damaged, but the noise is by far worse.

Today, an idea dawned on me when looking at the bottom of our fence so I searched Google for 'concrete fence blocks'. I now wonder if replacing our broken fence panels with 5 or 6 of these concrete base panels might stop the noise, and be less prone to damage. There may even be patterned ones that will look better on your side. Its just an idea so far but something I will almost certainly try before next summer. I would be very interested to know if someone tried this how they get on. Good luck.

I am searching for things like this:

Concrete Base Panel

Concrete Base Panel - Rock Face

Smooth faced heavy duty gravelboard

Concrete Interlocking Blocks