Its a fence one .

[pavillion1]

We are having our garden landscaped the fence between our neighbours and ours was falling apart so even though it is actually neighbours fence we let them know that we are willing to replace . They said fine but can we make sure its like for like we said yes no problem.

I admit i didn't specify to our landscaper the fence had to be exactly the same i just said same height and we have chosen to replace the wooden post with concrete.
This hasnt come cheap . Upshot is the neighbours have gone mad about the new fence and demanded they at least get the better side of the fence which we have agreed to but im now feeling abit hard done by as yes ok its not exactly the same fence panel but it is a. stronger panel with concrete foundations .

Wow, posters are going overboard trying to skate the OP.
The new fence looks a million times better.
Can you ask them to leave it a few weeks and see if they get used to it?

The panels in the photo don't look "falling down and requiring replacement" though.

The point is, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of the fence. It wasn't OP's to replace.

@Whinge @SoupDragon the photo shows two panels in the old run. It does not show what is or was going on further down the fence line, or the prior condition of the fencing that has already been removed. The fence that came out is about as cheap as you can go and showing signs of rot, this is predictable when the panels have been set to the ground where they become permanently wet. If you have dogs etc, it wouldn't be secure at ground level once damage starts to build up.

This is valid. The op really should put the old one back and put hers in front of it,

And? It's still doesn't show a fence that is "falling down" and it definitely doesn't show a "like for like" replacement.

OP you'll get 20 years or more out of the new fence provided it's not angled into the prevailing wind. If a panel fails, simple job to swap out. Ignore all the people being ridiculous over minor aesthetic differences. If you were my neighbour I'd be grateful for the obvious upgrade.

Yep, I agree with this, the only difference being I would have offered to contribute

The fence was knackered , The posts were decaying and swaying in the wind .

Why did you agree to replace it like for like then put a completely different fence in? Fucking hell 🤣

The original fence was fine and probably cheap enough to replace. I’d be out there taking it down if I were your neighbour. It’s not a ‘minor aesthetic difference’, you’ve made their garden look shit.

The fence shown in the photo looks like it would still have some life in it, ie if it were my fence, I wouldn't be rushing to replace it. The original fencing is "double-sided", so you can understand why they might feel badly done to having the "inside" of the new fence, regardless of whether that's the right way round for that type of fence. Just have a better approach with your neighbours the next time you move.

It doesn't matter - it's not your fence!

It's not a "minor aesthetic difference" 🙄

But even if it was, it wasn't OP's fence to remove or replace to begin with! If she wanted a different fence she should have built one on her own property and left the neighbours one alone!

The new fence is far nicer and more modern.

The new fence is garish and brash. Prefer the old one. Doesn't matter though does it, because it's not the OPs fence to replace and she promised them the same.

I would imagine the issue is the concrete posts - in the past these weren't used for private home fences really, more institutional or council-type fences, so people might feel that they are ugly/lower the tone, even though you are correct that they are stronger as posts. I suspect the neighbours knew the fence was theirs but were happy for you to pay for it to be replaced, until the concrete posts appeared. They probably think that if you had told them it was going to be concrete posts then they would have said no, and maybe stepped up and taken responsibility themselves for the rickety fence, but they were not given the opportunity.
Look into whether the concrete can be painted to better blend in, or perhaps some climbers could be planted with trellis supports over the posts.

Again, that's totally irrelevant.

If they don’t like the panels then they can pay for new ones which they would’ve had to do anyway. Honestly I couldn’t sniff at a free fence and posts no matter whether it matched or not. I keep my garden very nice but my neighbour has flipped some panels so now I have half of them painted brown and half not, I didn’t pay so I won’t be complaining! Another neighbour has replaced my owned fence in a style I definitely wouldn’t have chosen because they like/wanted it. Again, free fence!

That's quite a difference if the rest of their property is surrounded by horizontal slats. Quite a mismatch.

I didn't even know there was a 'bad' side of the fence. I find having the railings down one side of my property quite helpful for my garden ornaments and hanging plants. Someone has to have that side and I don't think it looks awful.

We had this with a previous neighbour, they were so precious over their particular fence, it was rotten and looked like it was about to fall over, not the safest thing when you have young kids. However, as it was in their boundary when we were doing our garden up we offered to replace the fence at our expense and even offered to paint their side for them. They didn't seem offended that we asked just that we could paint our side if we liked.

They were not having any of it so we opted to have a fence in front of it, same height and you could not see the other neighbours fence from either side. They were fuming when we did it, I never understood why, unless they were upset that we didn't think their fence was good enough 😬

It was the same for the front fence, it was so rotten but something they didn't want replacing, I was so grateful when the wind took it out 😆 we did replace it but had to do like for like, it wasn't my cup of tea the type of fence panel but just went with it for peace sake 😅

That isn't relevant OP. Mistakes happen, sure, but you ARE in the wrong here and it isn't OK in my opinion, to just shrug your shoulders and say that you don't know why they aren't happy, just because you paid for a new fence. You seem to think they should be grateful.

Vertical fences mean that they can see you and you can see them through the slats. Maybe they preferred the horizontal, overlapping boards for a bit of privacy? If you don't get on with the neighbours anyway, you might regret the vertical panels quite quickly yourself.

In addition, how sure are you that the new fence is exactly on the border between the two properties, when the slats at the back of the panels have to be taken into account?

In any case you are being very unreasonable to expect them not to be upset at the replacement panels when they are not for like, which is what they gave you agreement for.

If they don’t like the panels then they can pay for new ones

No - they can bill OP for new ones seeing as though she's the one who destroyed their property 🤷‍♀️