My friend has just bought her first home. She is sorting out the garden and asked if my partner could come and sort out an old tree stump for her. He was trying to get the last of it out and braced himself against the fence. The fence broke, a section has come away from the a main post. It's her front fence and not shared with anyone.
Partner tried to fix it but the wood is rotten and when he tried to push it back in to nail it in place, it fell apart more. Friend is obviously a bit upset about her broken fence and she has clearly been told by her mother that we should be paying to replace the fence. Partner says the fence broke because it was rotten and would have needed to be replaced anyway, he is happy to help her build a new fence but doesn't think we should pay for the materials.
What should we do in this situation? Should she make an insurance claim and we pay the excess? Should we make an insurance claim for damage to her property (I dont even know if we can?)? Should we paid for a professional to look at to make sure it definitely cant be fixed? Is it enough that he says he will build her a new fence but he doesnt feel he should pay for the materials? I really don't want to fall out but no good deed goes unpunished, does it? Should have just told her to get the professionals in when she asked if he could help her :(