Boundary fencing advice please!

Hi all

Have searched through posts in the forums and can't find anything really related to our problem so here goes...

Our house is built on a block that slopes upward from the fornt to the back of the block, with the rear LHS being the highest point and the sloping back down toward the rear RHS, so of like the apex of a hill in one corner (the lump).
All of the houses on our side of the street back onto farmland with great views of the Tamar River.
Our house was cut down into the block whereas the neighbours (Mr and Mrs B) are up higher as their block is flat.

We have retained around the lump and had some steps put in to lead up there as we would like to have an entertaining area for when the weather is nice for a barbie and some drinks

So we have had a few discussions with the neighbours about the fence....
First one before the house was finished - Having good chat with Mrs B, she says she wants the fence to slope from 6ft down to 3ft at the back, we say we would like 6ft the whole way so we all have some privacy.
Mrs B fires up saying no way I want 3ft and spouts out nasty things like I am going to buy the block behind and build you out because you want a 6ft foot fence (wtf!?!). So we leave to let her cool off before it all gets real nasty..
While the house is being built the next few times we see them its the same story - I dont want 6ft I want 3ft, you are taking my views, I dont care about your privacy etc...

So we move in and get the hard landscaping done in prep for the fence to go up between us as there needed to be a wall there before the fence could go up.
A few times the fencing is mentioned to them but it really goes nowhere, then not long ago we went over armed with some quotes and they agree to have a 6ft paling fence the whole way!
Sloping a little at the front of the houses but 6ft all the way to the back - yippee!
Everyone is happy fencing guy is booked and things look good, or so they seem....

Fencing guy arrives this week and drills holes for posts and boxes up for the concrete plinth at the bottom.
Next day I come home from work and see he has been lining up the posts, there is one post about a quarter of the way in from the front, its about 6ft high and has string tied on it leading to the back.
Go out the back to have a look and its tied to the farm fence - about 4ft high...hmmm
Call the fence guy and ask how high is the fence at the back??
His reply 'oh about 1200mm, nearly 4ft or so..'
I said that is not what was agreed to and he says that Mrs B has told him that is what the height is at the back.
Fencer mentions that he didnt feel it was an acceptable height, but she said that is what is wanted.
He suggests I speak to Mr and Mrs B and see if we can come to an agreement.
I get off the phone and I am really annoyed, why why why??
My wife comes home and I explain what is going on and that I am rather annoyed and going to go over and fire up at them for this.
She offers to call them and speak about what is going on (she is so much calmer than me - bless her!)
So she calls and Mr B answers, she asks if the fence is going to be 4ft at the back and Mr B says yes it is.
DW states that we all agreed on 6ft the whole way and Mr B says yes they did agree but they have now changed their mind and want it lower so they have an even bigger view, so that is what we want and that is what its going to be!
DW says that the height offers no privacy whatsoever and we would like to have 6ft, and as that is what was agreed maybe we should have mediation if we cannot come to an agreement.
Mr B tells her that he doesnt care and we can get stuffed cos its going to be 4ft (Mrs B is also yelling in the background).
DW then informs Mr B that if that is the case then we will not be paying half as that is not what was agreed to and that we will now have to build screening to ensure our privacy.
Mr B hangs up, DW gets off the phone fuming as she cannot believe how rude and stubborn they are.
I call the fencing guy back and say that neighbours wont negotiate at all with the height so they will be paying for the lot.

Been raining the past couple of days so the fencers came today and started putting up the palings - all of them are 6ft and he is then going to chop them down to 4ft, we are still trying to understand why someone would want a fence going from 6ft down to 4ft....

So is someone able to explain our obligation in all of this?
We agreed to 6ft high and the neighbours have changed the plan with no consultation and also not wanting to discuss options (along with being hostile!).

Can they make us pay for something that was not the original agreement?
The fence money can now be diverted to building a screen (6ft!) so we can enjoy our yard and view and privacy whilst having a beer - when the weather is good!

Here are some pics to show how low that fence is going - I could easily step over it into their yard as its about the height of my belly button!!
The red line is the height the fence is going to be, currently the palings are all 6ft but soon facing the chop..

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/8696 ... tline3.jpg

http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/2966 ... ftline.jpg

http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/1448 ... tline2.jpg

Thanks for reading my lil vent and hope you can provide some good advice

Jase

*** Have neatened this post up and pasted the good size pics in

the question is do you have anything in writing to say that the agreement was 6ft? If you do, then I would just be pushing for the 6ft fence to be built as per agreement. I would also put your phone call in writing to both the fencer and the neighbour.

Remeber when you get your screening up, paint the other side the a combination of hot pink and poo brown

We have not been given a copy of the quote after multiple requests
Was just speaking with the fence guy then and he said he emailed me an invoice.
Just opened it and he is charging us for half the fence and at the price for a full 6ft fence, when about 15 meters of it is at 4 foot.
Given we have never gotten a quote from him and he is not doing the job we originally agreed to, can he really expect us to pay this (and is there anything legally that will make us have to?)?

Trying to find where he has gone so I can speak with him before he starts cutting the fence back!

What a way to spend a Sunday...

If that's your back yard, I would think you have every right to your privacy. I would be telling the fencer not to chop down the pailings, and tell the neighbour if they wanted to keep all of the views, then they should have bought all of the blocks.

Sorry, I'm not much help, but it looks like they still have a view, and are just being greedy.

Id be putting up mature 8ft neighbour be gone trees....that will fix her up.

If this happened to me....the trees would be up and id be an ar$ehole of a neighbour


How old is Mrs B

Usagi, you need to look up the fencing laws for your state (you don't say what state you're in) as they differ a bit.

http://www.fencingonline.com.au/disputes/fencing-act.htm

The answers you want should be there somewhere. And there will be a dispute process too - that's where you need to go next. Your neighbours are obviously not prepared to budge, so it seems pointless trying to negotiate in person with them any further.

Hi all, thanks for the replies.

We are in Launceston so its the Tassie fencing act that applies, going to speak to legal aid tomorrow and see what they suggest.

Basically what happened this afternoon was this...
As all the palings were up but not cut I wanted to nip this in the bud while there was still a chance to get the height to a more suitable level.
Fence guy was in the backyard so went and had a chat with him about the invoice, explained that this was not what was agreed to, we have iterated mulitple times that 4ft is not acceptable but neighbours did not want to negotiate so we are not happy to pay half the cost - they can pay the full cost (this is also stated in the fence act).
I apologised that he was stuck in the middle but that is the situation, I was never provided with a quote so he cant invoice me for something that we didnt agree to!
He said the quote was for a 5.5ft fence, so I asked him where it was 5.5ft and he pointed toward the middle of the fence, I asked if the rear of the fence was 5.5ft and he said no its 4ft.
Me - Why is the fence only 4ft there and not 5.5?
Fencer - That is because that is what the neighbours wanted.
I mentioned that if that is the case then the quote is wrong and its not the work that is being paid for.
He timidly agreed but then also said that HAS TO BE 4ft because they have already chopped the side of Mr + Mrs B's fence to that height (their other neighbours)...
Noticed Mr B hiding behind the fence and listening in so asked him to come out of hiding and talk about this.
Discussed that 4ft is not right, he agreed to 6ft and has renegged on the agreement and we are not going to pay if the fence gets the chop
Fencer said that most fences are 5 or 6ft, so I asked why is he allowing this to be 4???
He then backtracked going oh it just needs to stop rabbits really...lol
Mr B is a stubborn bugger - started carrying on about what they want and its not fair, I said its not really fair that they change things to suit them and expect us to be on board when they went about it so rudely!
Mrs B then came out and starting firing up about how we are just trying to get out of paying for it.
I said more than happy to pay if the fence stays at 6ft, but not if its going to be 4!
She then said that Mr B should be going to get his rifle - WTF? lol
Mrs B then started carrying on that the council said it has to follow the lay of the land, I know it doesn't and passed that information on, she then stomped off muttering about how we are ******* scammers who never were going to pay lol
Fencer just stood there, Mr B just stood there, I asked if they were still going to cut the fence down and both said yes, so I said Mr B will have to pay for the lot and he said "I bloody will then" lol

After this I went back inside to get my breath, so proud I stayed calm and didn't get fired up (although I really wanted to!!!)
Fencer did his chopping, wife came home from work, she said hello to him and fencer went off his chops at her.
Swearing and carrying on that he is now out of pocket etc - nearly making her burst into tears...
So now the fencer has the shirts as well, seems that its all our fault even though we are now the ones stuck with a tiny fence! Fencer guy was saying this should of all been sorted before he started, I said it was until you told me that the fence was 4ft at the back! Fencer guy should of stopped when we first brought up the height problem but he kept going even though I spoke to him multiple times about us not being happy.
So not sure why he has the evils with us but he basically was that mad you could hear the shake in his voice!

Hmmmm such a shocker way to end the afternoon...

DW and I have discussed this all night on what to do, we are thinking we dont want fence man to be out of pocket as its not his fault, but we dont want neighbours having the satisfaction of thinking they have won....
Legalaid will be getting a call first thing tomorrow, to see what is the best path to follow....
In the meantime we have thought about putting up a shed which can house the bbq and stuff, will paint the back of it bright pink or something and this will solve the short fence issue along with having the last laugh!!

Oh and elastic - good shrubs is another one we are thinking of, need something that grows quick so they dont see it coming!
The neighbours are by the looks of things in the 50's/60's - both are at home all day so have plenty of time to be bitter and stew about things, nose in other peoples business etc.
Mr B would not leave the fencing guy alone the hole time, I think this was to ensue that the height did not change.
Funny thing was that Mr B slipped off our retaining wall and fell into the mud...

He isnt out of pocket, he can charge the full price to the person that ordered the 4ft fence if thats what he has done. I wouldnt be paying a cent. Hope the local neighbour hood vandels dont paint a big f u on the side of your shed facing your neighbour

In regards to the lay of the land, what a crock of ****. You don't chop a fence with the lay of the land lol. Hmmm, good luck with those neighbours, it sounds like your going to need it, but I like the idea of the shed, maybe with a big spotlight on the side of it on a sensor lol

lol those damn vandals getting up to all sorts of mischief!

I think we would of done our lot with those neighbours, no borrowing a cup of sugar, although they may need to eat some to lighten up a bit.

Along with a spotlight we could set up some nice speakers with a huge subwoofer and a nice selection of doof to play on special occassions
Is there any restrictions on the size of the shed?
Ideally would not want to go to council so the grumps dont object.

Fence man was/is (but probably was) going to build our other boundary fence...will know tomorrow if he is still keen....lol

Hmmm interested to see what legalaid have to suggest!

I'm sorry, but I'm coming at this from a different perspective. I live at the top of a hill and my entire estate is made up of sloping blocks. I would be absolutely devastated if my neighbours wanted to put up a 6ft high wooden fence as it would completely block our vista. We buy these blocks for the views and the feeling of space and openness, you put up a 6ft high wooden fence and what's the point? May as well have stayed on a conventional block.
When you have neighbours with a block on higher ground than yours (which is what your picture shows), surely you must expect to be overlooked?
There are actually quite a few people around me with 6ft fences to the edge of the house, then the fence drops down to 4ft for the yard to help maintain the sense of open space so it is not unusual.
You said that the fence on the other side of your neighbour's block will be 4ft. What is the standard for most of the blocks? What do most people have around there? The rear fence looks like farm fencing, is that the norm?

I'm not saying that I am right, I'm just offering a different perspective.

...And this is the point where I'd have called the cops. Seriously. You want that on record in case of future trouble. These are not reasonable people.

Usagi, sounds like you're in a difficult situation and I feel for you
But my two cents would be to build another fence along that 4ft area, inside your boundary, at 6ft high. Planting shrubs takes time and then the evil neighbours could easily poison them but another fence inside your boundary, I feel would fix them up for sure
And if you're feeling for the fencing guy, then pay your half but only for the 6ft part of the fence. Then you can use the rest of your money to get another fence built
Good luck, sounds like you need it

If you were to follow this path, a shed would be better than plants as they can't poison them - also I would be checking with your council as to ALL the requirements and regulations/permits etc that you would need before building it to ensure that you are allowed to build it etc etc so that if the neighbours complain then you can say it complies with council regulations.

Oh, also I agree with what Kek said about calling the police, you could probably even still call them to have it noted down and ask the fencer guy to be a witness.

Goodluck with it!

Mate , show some mercy to the neighbors and pay half of every fence pale that is 5.5ft and higher.This is according to the agreement that i see in your posts. I mean 5.5, 5.75 or 6ft, fencers are shadey* anyway.

Divide up the percentage of your 1/2 paid fence compared to the whole fence and pay it.I know in the future that you will get greater satisfaction and justification this way than any other way, and that the neighbors modification was stupid(and without consent) so they forfeit any agreement on the modified part.
Thats the Australian way, always justified