Party Walls & painting

[GreyBird84]

So we share a wall with neighbour.

For context - Relations are non existent due to our extension. Councillors & Police have been involved to provide some context. Neighbours issue is jealousy - they actually copied part of our extension but was under permitted development so we could do nothing. Not that we would, we just want to get on with our lives but they appear hell bent on being involved in ours.

So we share a wall. They have painted their side of the coping & their wall side a colour that matches their house but not ours. Fine for their side of the wall but not the coping. Our house is grey with a coloured front door their house is black clad with a coloured door & they have painted all of the coping to match their front door.

So clashes with ours & as far as im concerned they should only have painted their 1/2 of the coping especially considering it's not a standard coping colour.

So would I be fair in getting a solicitors letter drafted to them?

Wow! Is this a joke? I understand how frustrating neighbourly relations can be, but must admit that you do sound bitter and heavily over invested in this.
They copied your extension? Did you trademark your design??! I was always told that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Now they've painted your half of a shared coping an unsightly colour? I understand it is irritating that their choice of colour is "in your face" every time you come home - but I think you'd be mad to open another dispute over something so trivial - remember all this will have to be disclosed when you come to sell.
Who owns the wall? If it's a joint boundary then technically I suppose you could paint one strip your colour and one strip theirs but I think it would look pretty silly. Or did one or the other of you actually pay for this actual wall, in which case I think that person would get the final say on the colour.
Living cheek by jowl with other people in a city terrace or similar, you have to accept that other people have different tastes and opinions to you. If you want all your own boundaries, I think you should move to the middle of a field!!

They copied your extension? Erm, sorry but this makes you sound a bit weird to me.

Coping: If it bothers you that much, paint your bit.

Yes actually I think the fact that they objected to our plans & held up the building works by 10 months & then actually copied part of our extension says more about them than us! We never had to change anything about our extension & it was sheer pettiness on their behalf.

It's the fact they have gone on ahead regardless & made the wall look like theirs rather than shared. I'm unwilling to give them an inch because of everything they have done so far in this saga, which honestly would take a book to demonstrate the context. Trust me I'm not the weird one in this.

Would most people not be annoyed of a neighbour painted part of their property without prior agreement? Really?

In NI there are no selling disputes to be disclosed & this is our forever home - unfortunately for them! It's not a neutral colour & really does make the wall look like their property - however I doubt they would be willing to pay full amount if any structural updates were needed to the wall - they can't have it every way.

I think I will get a solicitor letter to them just to set the dynamic for future if nothing else. the coping paint is a fucking hash at our side so it's need fixed up as does our wall side now regardless if we paint our half of the coping to suit our own house.

Take a breath! A solicitors letter is an over reaction IMO. Paint your wall but whilst it may make the bile rise be polite and courteous and try to negotiate the coping stone colour /divide. As for extensions I think that home owners should have more rights to prevent works that remove their enjoyment. Win or lose its a homeowners right to object. Complaining at them "copying" your extension does suggest that you're not thinking calmly. After all they may have built their extension after accepting yours was inevitable to minimise it's impact on their home rather than to upset you (just supposition).

No surrender

Yes, sorry but I agree with the others. Take a breath. Your post makes you sound aggressive, and to be honest, not totally rational.

To object to something someone else wants to do & then actually carry it out yourself .... now if they hadn't tried to prevent our works & then done the same that would be totally different. It doesn't upset me that they have done an extension - it's how they reacted to ours & then done it that grates on me.

Considering their property sits higher to ours & our extension is single storey with one obscured bathroom window at their side - our extension really wasn't a big deal to them but they made it one.

Any correspondence has been through councillors & police because of things they have done. So whilst I wouldn't expect them to come & speak to us about it I think the only fair thing to do was keep the coping the colour it was. Not make the party wall look like it solely belongs to them.

I feel it's because we are a younger couple, they have lived there longer & the fact that our property was empty for a few years previous to us makes them feel like they have some right over things that they really do not. That's what I mean about setting (or re-setting) the dynamic.

But you can reset the dynamic without involving solicitors, surely? I think you posted on here and said "should I do this" not many responses, but they all say "no" and then you say you're going to do it anyway.

As for the copying, I completely agree with the other poster. They didn't want it, you did it, and then they may well have built theirs not to copy, but to regain some of what they lost. You can't say it wasn't a big deal for them, only they can say that, don't you think?

Sorry the paint is a poor job in addition to being a bad match but I'd honestly just quietly paint my bit, and send the message that way? Really hope your relations improve over time. Fingers crossed they will.

When I say the extension wasn't a big deal the plans were made with consideration for neighbours on each side (bare in mind this is a detached bungalow, single story extension, 1 obscured window to this neighbours side). Not discussed with them prior as we weren't living there however nothing that caused any light or view issues. Given how run Down & derelict the place was when we purchased it Building works would have been carried out regardless of who purchased it. As they also did building works it woukd be unreasonable for that alone to be their issue
Against us.

I feel if we tidy up their job then thats giving them the ok - which it really isn't. Half that coping belongs to Us - if it had of been painted a traditional colour it would be a non issue but it really does make the wall look like it's theirs & we believe that was their intention. It wasn't built by them, it was there b4 they bought the property - it is most definitely shared.

I find the responses out of context for many threads I've read on mumsnet regarding party walls, shared fences, trees etc. The mentality is usually neighbour should either discuss things first or not touch anything that's yours according to your deeds yet people on this thread are viewing this the total opposite.

Genuinely if a neighbour who had previously caused relations to be sour amended part of your property without consent would you all really be ok with this?

I would imagine the 'copied' extension looks better from a design point of view. More visually pleasing than two very different extensions on adjacent buildings.

Has anyone asked for a picture yet

It would be helpful. I don't really understand the coping issue.

I don't think they should have painted the whole coping. You often see coping stones painted half and half to match either side of the wall if they are different.