Neighbours garden trellis

[minmoo2]

Advice wanted- my neighbour got new fencing put up last year, the guy who was doing it popped round to say she wanted trellis added and wanted to paint it a very dark grey and was I okay with this. I said I’d rather not as it will look really weird against my fence, but he did say he couldn’t really only paint half one colour and not the other as it would bleed through. Fast forward I agreed and job done. However, because it wasn’t put on using proper tall posts and just stuck on, half of it fell off during winter, leaving a very tired looking fence.
Fast forward & about a month ago, I came downstairs to find a man in my garden who had lifted up the fence panel to go underneath to let himself in! He was drilling ugly wooden blocks onto my side of the fence so he could attach her new trellis!! I said erm no, that looks awful & you can’t just climb under my fence!! He told me my neighbour said it was ok for him to go in!! Anyway he took the bits off and went back & added it all on her side & the new trellis, which was unpainted so didn’t match the stuff that was still holding on from winter. Last week I came home to see she’s had someone paint her side and left mine, so my side is half done with paint drips too!
I’m actually a bit baffled & shocked, we’ve never had any kind of falling out, we’ve spoken small talk before etc but she now runs inside if she sees me (obviously knows she’s behaved weirdly!) what should I do? I’m happy to just paint it myself so save bother, but I don’t know what paint it is & need it to colour match & also kind of wonder why I should be paying for a pot of paint etc. it’s making me feel really uncomfortable having a neighbour who doesn’t seem to care about consulting a neighbour, I can’t understand why she wouldn’t knock & say, so you want your side painted (just the trellis bits not the fence) or even acknowledge that it’s like that. I feel if I just go & start painting it with no communication I’m behaving as oddly as her & it makes it even odder! Help!

Just pop a note through her door as she clearly doesn't want to speak to you asking her if she plans to paint the other side of the trellis as it looks poor from your side. Tell her you are happy for someone to come into your garden to do this as long as there is advance notice. Or ask if you can paint it to match in and ask what product she used. You will need her permission for this if the fence is her responsibility. I agree it looks half done with the fence panel not matching the trellis.

The twat should have painted the trellis before it was put up. If the fence is on the boundary, then they had absolutely no right to come into your garden and fix things to it on your side of the boundary. Bloody cheek.

Whose responsibility is it to maintain that side of the boundary OP? Usually the owner's responsibility tends to be the fence on the right hand side as you look out of the house windows into the garden. It should be marked on the deeds or in the legal paperwork, and should have been ascertained by the solicitor dealing with your purchase.

The man could have very easily lifted the fence panel into the neighbours garden. Attached the trellis and painted both sides of the fence if the owner had given a shit about the OP. It’s obvious she doesn’t care which is why she thought it was acceptable to send him into the OPs garden to trespass.

OP I would be as irritated as you. If you can’t afford to get your own fence and put it inside your garden boundary then my advice is to try and talk to her. See if you can paint your side or perhaps a bit of weathering will make it look better over time. She’s handled this very badly.

Might be off topic a bit but you could grow a climber like a clematis up the fence, or a hardy fast growing shrub?

I love that picture. It shows exactly why the neighbour needs the trellis!

Well, seems obvious to me that she’s now confused what IS acceptable to anyone fence-wise, hence the weirdness.

Just go round and say, as cheerfully as you can manage, ‘New trellis looks good - I’d rather have my side painted too to match. What colour is it?’

Then buy the paint and get on with it.

That blue-plastic-black-netting thing is much uglier than the trellis. You don’t recognise that because it’s something you’ve chosen rather than had imposed on you, but to an objective viewer, it’s more of an eyesore.

Also, do you have a plastic shed?

It doesn’t look great, especially the big gap. I’d need to fill that in with something like a bird feeder or a bit of wood.

I have a similar neighbour who does what she likes, never asking permission and tells tradespeople that I’m okay with whatever she’s planned (that impacts me) when, if asked, I wouldn’t be.
Selfish people think once it’s done, it’s done and there’s not much recourse getting those types to undo it, unless you’re willing and rich enough to go to court.

if you can’t be bothered (understandably) asking her about the paint colour, I’d just get a tin of black fence paint (will make the trellis disappear) and redo the whole thing. She’s unlikely to see it, unless drips go through to her side, and what is she going to do about it anyway? I know people like your neighbour are maddening when they pull these stunts, but it’s pretty small stuff.

It's not rocket science or it's not brain surgery. 😁. Leaves conversation

@cushioncovers - duh… methinks you didn’t get the joke

Just paint it to match

As people keep pointing out to me it’s not my trellis to paint. I don’t want to paint my side of fence black & I’m not bothered about that, it’s that half the trellis is painted and half is light brown wood- looks crappy- she painted all her side black.

but I don’t know what paint it is & need it to colour match & also kind of wonder why I should be paying for a pot of paint etc.

The reality is that, if it is her trellis she can piant (or not paint) it any colours she likes. She can give you a side that is covering in multicoloured splotches if she wants. I'd be grump at that, but it's just the way fences are.

If you want something different then you will need
a) permission to paint it
b) to provide the supplies

You don't need a colour match (though can ask for one). You just want all four panels to katch, so could paint all four the same colour. However, as you need permission, it would seem sensible to ask for the brand and colour she used.
You could erect a second fence, just inside this one - with matching trellis on top. That might also 'mask' it.