Hi All,
Here is the situation – wondering if anyone knows and can offer advice on this:
We have a house where the neighbouring home is set lower than our property and therefore part of the fence between the properties is a retaining wall as well as extending above the ground level to form the fence between us.
Where the fence acts as a retaining wall (which is a good 30 metre section of it) it is being pushed down and is leaning quite substantially after being in place for 22 or so years and so it's time to replace the fence. It's currently being propped up on the neighbours side by posts to hold the fence upright and is looking quite precarious.
The neighbours have asked us to go halves in the fence, which is likely to be quite expensive given the work to demolish the existing retaining wall and rebuild it. I initially thought, 'ok, fair enough' but have since been told by some that I am not responsible for the retaining part of the wall as it is the neighbours block that is dug out below ground level, I am only responsible for the part of the fence above the ground level.
Is this correct, or is it a case of 50-50 expense on this? Anyone have any ideas on that?
Cheers,
Kaz
is it the fence leaning or the wall?
The retaining wall and fence are the same thing – it's like the retaining wall extends up beyond the ground level to form the fence – so the retaining wall and fence are leaning.
Kaz
Generally the fence is a shared cost & the retaining wall is the responsibility of the lower property owner. The two are not usually the same thing as they are usually made of different material eg blockwork & timber.
Why has the wall failed? Eg lack of drainage behind the wall? Have you raised your ground level above the natural ground? Ie overloading the wall. Did the ground flood? Is there an insurance claim to be made?
Thanks for that, I've been sourcing info from a variety of sources and it seems that this is indeed the case.
The wall is most probably failing due too old age – it's made of old railway sleepers (wood) and is over 20 years old.
It seems though we have to tread to carefully with the neighbours as we want to sort it out without it getting nasty!
Thanks,
Kaz
I suggest if u can afford it then go halves. Nothing worse then having a disgruntled neighbour. Ur neighbours to me are the best allies to have. Cheers
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