house boundary dispute (ish) ...! LONG STORY!

[octoandflash]

I have lived in my house next to my lovely neighbours for 10 years. There house is about 6 ft away and whenever fences etc have gone down we have split cost etc - never been a problem. Next door recetly got re-married ...

Between the two houses we both have a path running round the side of our houses to our gates into our backgardens. Between these two paths - the boundary - has been a strip of mud for atleast the past ten years. Our path is about 6 inches higher than theirs. So about a year ago the new man next door says something about the mud and in passing we agree a little wall would be good. So while we were having some garden work done recently I mentioned the mud to the garden man and he said he would remove it and build a little wall - two bricks high.

so this has now been done - BUT - instead of the wall running parallel with their house as per the deeds it runs parallel with ours - and for about 1.5 metres it reduces their land by about 6 inches - the width of the wall. So it starts on our side then crosses over. This wasn't intentional and had we checked the deeds before hand or even had it crossed our minds that the houses were built wonky - we would have had it built in line with their house.

SO .... they have tied a piece of string from the gate at side of house to a pole they have stuck in ground at the front end of the garden. Everything else follows this piece of string apart from the end of the wall which crosses over it - remember it is 2 bricks high.

DH is rather annoyed and has taken boys away for the weekend - which was already planned. I fear if they do anything silly he will cut down the tree she planted in our garden years ago! and a huge feud will start.

Do I say something or just leave the piece of string where it is or sort it out before dh comes back on sunday????

I personally am not going to take down that part of the wall and neither will dh! I am happy for them to sort it out if they are really that unhappy.

Is it unreasonable for me to say 'do what you want but its up to you to sort it out'? or do you think we should pay for the wall to be taken down at that point.

It is much tidier - there is no mud - their path is wider without the mud - but the wall does cross over by about 6 inches. It could be straightened inline with our path - but we feel if its a huge issue then they should just do it.

And - just to be childish - he has cut his hegde this week - across our side aswell - and taken about 2ft off the height of ours for about 1 metre - I haven't pointed this out to dh as he will cut her tree down!

did you pay for all the little wall to be built?

we have had a problem with our neighbour doing something kind of similar, she had her friend build a fence along the boundary (it was her boundary fence) but halfway down the garden, she has had a wall built, about a foot high, but it sticks out on to our garden about the width of a brick also, but the footings he dug are quite wide and come right over in to my boarders, so im left with a big concrete stretch. on top of the wall are fence panals so the height is about 7 foot, thus over the boundary height allowance. we didnt know she was going to build this wall (its not even bricks it's chunks of broken concrete built up as a wall.
we came back off holiday to found she had taken down the fence, broken off my trellis and the fully grown magnolia and trampled all over my flowers to build this thing.

anyway, things have got really petty between us now as she wont take the wall down and thus dp wants to take a sledghammer to it one night!!

so, if she was to say, okay, take the wall down if you put the fence up then we would do it and be happy as she is a single lady and saves her repaying her friend to do it again. but she wont. so maybe tell them tosort it out if they are not happy with it, but keep you bit of the wall.

sorry, long answer, but i got that off my chest too!!

Thanks! The area used to be mud and a complete mess and we did pay the guy to do the work. It looks really neat and tidy - small, well built and neat - before was just a mess. I thought they would be really pleased

They could take down the wall where it crosses onto their side - and we would be happy with that. But just don;t feel we should pay for it to be moved ...

dont you wish you lived in a field with no neighbours!!i wont start on about our other neighbours who knocked down a shared loadbareing wall!! we now have cracks running along the seams of the wall and cealing but apprently we cant do anyhitng about it now as they have done it with out buildings regs anyway. and he has just died from lung cancer so i feel bad having to go round and complain about the cracks when it seems petty compared to her husband just dying, but our house is cracking up.. i dont know what to do now.

i dont think you should have to pay either, if it was jointly talked about, its not as if its blocking their view is it!

my mil has just died too and maybe they feel the same about us and complaining.

I would be happier if they just cmae round and said they were going to change the wall.

YABU. You have pinched part of their land and haven't even gone and apologised. I'd tellt them they can rectify it now if they want to do so. You could also offer to sign a document saying that part of the wall was accidently erected partly on their land and can be removed whenever they want. Your dh is being unreasonable. You are - albeit accidentally - at fault here and should have tried to put it right already.

As for hedge trimming - you can mention that at the same time. Thank him for cutting it but say you'd prefer to cut your side yourself in future.

Thanks tatt - have already apologised to them and they never said anything else until the string appeared today.

Why is my dh being unreasonable btw and not me? Is that because he will cut down the tree that starves our lawn of water if they do anything stupid or because he won't pay for it to be changed? We are happy for them to change it if they want to - it is something we agreed to do and it was an accident.

Not saying you can't say was being unreasoanle btw - just want to clarify what you think!

I think I will just ask them what they want to do!

Just spoken to him -said would get it straightened - he sid yes - didn't seem too bothered tbh - so why tie a piece of fucking string between us ffs and get us all stressed out Now I am being unreasonable!!

The piece of string was probably tied there to see how much it mattered/ whether it was worth doing somethign about it/ what it would cost to put right. YABU to get so worked up over a bit of string. Suggesting you'd chop down a tree because of something you've done wrong is childish as well as unreasonable.

If you didn't want a tree in your garden why let her plant it? If you now find its too big then prune it or leave it until this has blown over then explain why you're removing it.

Put yourself in your neighbours place and it will all look quite different.

you built a wall cutting off some of his land, you should get the wall taken down or take it down yourself and apologise. if you both want a new wall rebuilt then split the cost.

I agree, you are being a tad unreasonable. You said you arranged for the wall to be built. Therefore you should have checked it was done properly. As a result, a mistake has occurred. I think you should have another chat with neighbours, and ask about the reason for the string being there. Then say, that as you paid the full cost of the wall first time round you cannot afford to pay to have it moved, but would they be willing to go halves on it with you? Then they have the option.

As for your husband saying you would chop their tree down? That is outrageous. No matter how much they may be upsetting you, going onto somebody elses property and cutting a tree down (or threatening to do so) is outrageous. I am glad I don't live next to you, I would forever be living on eggshels for fear of upsetting you.

I thank my lucky stars for our neighbour. Our fence is all over the place, in some places taking up space in her garden, and in some places taking up space in our garden. We are not bothered. We are neighbours, you just laugh about it - she said she would come and grow some carrots in the bit of her garden on our side of the fence, and did we want the patch of garden on her side of the fence as lawn or flowerbed? All said with a smile and a

I think you should get the wall redone at your own expense as it was your mistake. As you say, it's only 2 bricks tall so it won't take long and it would be a shame to ruin your relationship with your neighbours over something so trivial.

Our neighbours are INCREDIBLY boundary aware! Just after we moved in we had a side gateput in to stop our dog escaping (used to be an open gap. The brick post went onto their side by less than a brick, neighbour extremely unhappy!

His problem is that IF he ever wanted to build a wall instead of fence, he wouldn't be able to. We have agreed that IF & when he ever does, we will remove the brick post. He is happy, that was 7 years ago.

okay sorry, her tree is in your garden, but still, to chop it down would be childish!

all sorted

the string has gone and he has offered to cut our hedge