Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Nov 25, 2008 10:26 am I have been visiting my site every day to monitor progress, hence was shocked to discover late last week that a fence had appeared out of nowhere. One day there was nothing - just two houses proceeding along their merry way to completion - and the next the post holes had been dug, the posts concreted in and tradies were busy nailing on the rails and palings.
I felt very put out about this, as no-one had given notice, let alone consulted me about what style I would prefer. Not only that, but the fence was going up on the very day that bricklayers were trying to work on that side of my house! Not being one for quick decisions (I like to do plenty of research before committing to something) I was left struggling with the dilemma - do I accept it as a fait accompli and refuse to pay my share, or do I call a (belated) halt? Unsure of the situation I called in my builder yesterday to discuss the situation - and now I discover that not only has this been done without regard for my rights, but it hasn't even been put in the correct place and is "90% on my property". Problems include: It is not parallel. It encroaches 125mm further than it should at the rear and about 65mm further than it should at the front. It hasn't allowed for a sleeper at the bottom to control water flow. It will make access difficult for my builder to excavate my side to the required level. It will have an unacceptable gap at the bottom once this excavation is done. I have since established that the work was authorised by the builder next door (Ad3nbrook) who told me quite dismissively over the phone "we don't have to tell you". Hmmm, this from the builder who also found it very convenient to park a fibreglass pool on my lot and then bring earthmoving equipment across my newly graded site to install it... After pointing out the alignment error they reluctantly agreed to have their site supervisor meet with mine to discuss the situation. I am just flabbergasted at the arrogance, and can't help feeling that a difficult and potentially expensive problem could have been easily avoided. I mean, it's not like I'm a difficult person to contact. Visit my blog: http://www.jeanetez.blogspot.com/ Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 2Nov 25, 2008 10:32 am The most surprising thing is that you'd usually expect the neighbour to be fairly eager to contact you, if only to get your half of the money for the job! Alan and Thuy in Melbourne Building a second time! Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 3Nov 25, 2008 10:41 am I'm amazed that fencing contractors can't get boundaries right. Isn't that a pretty important part of their job? I'm having a battle about the same thing at the moment - not the style of fence, that's fine, just the location.
The fencing guy can't seem to see the big deal...Over 300mm cut off my block? Not a big deal? Ay-yi-yi! Re: Fence arrogance 4Nov 25, 2008 10:44 am jeanete I have since established that the work was authorised by the builder next door (Ad3nbrook) who told me quite dismissively over the phone "we don't have to tell you". Not quite sure about that. Call Legal Liason. They will give free advice and send you appropriate documentation. Here is the Fencing Act: http://www.fencingonline.com.au/dispute ... ng-act.htm Take pictures for the moment! Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 5Nov 25, 2008 10:53 am kek I'm amazed that fencing contractors can't get boundaries right. Isn't that a pretty important part of their job? I'm having a battle about the same thing at the moment - not the style of fence, that's fine, just the location. Fencers (in their defence..no pun intended), are not qualified surveyers. They rely on boundary pegs to decide where to put the fence. Every quote we got from fencers said the same thing, "it is the client's responsibility to ensure boundary markers are correct". The question is, when boundary pegs aren't present should they just be guessing?? I should think not! Alan and Thuy in Melbourne Building a second time! Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 6Nov 25, 2008 11:16 am Thanks, Dymonite69, that was a useful website with all kinds of fencing links, as well as legislation.
The thing is, the Act doesn't seem to require them to contact me unless they want to be able to enforce payment of my share, resulting in this kind of "like or lump it" attitude. I wonder if they do this often and get away with it because: a) most people are happy to accept a free fence, or b) by the time the new owners attempt to claim back a half share and learn what's happened Ad3nbrook are out of the picture and they have no recourse? Of course now we have complicating factors, which means the problem is not going to go away quietly... Visit my blog: http://www.jeanetez.blogspot.com/ Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 7Nov 25, 2008 11:25 am Problem with ours is, the pegs WERE there. The idiots who did the marking simply ignored one. Even after I rang two weeks ago and told them there are FOUR pegs in our rear boundary, not THREE, one of which has nothing to do with our property and doesn't affect our fenceline. Of course, that's the one they've used to angle the fence around.
A simple check-measure would have told them they had it wrong. I assume they know how to operate a measuring tape. The distance from the side boundary to the next peg is clearly marked on the plan of subdvision (which I know they have a copy of because the supervisor told me so), as 4.47m. Not 2.5m, which is what they've ended up with when they wrongly marked up to the rear neighbour's peg. *sigh* Fences are important - a small error can significantly affect the overall size of a block and if not picked up early, can lead to all kinds of legal dramas and soured neighbourly relations years down the track when somebody decides to get their property surveyed. So you would think that a certain amount of care would be taken. Apparently not though. Good thing you've picked your boundary issue up early, Jeanete - it'll save a lot of angst and $$ in the future. Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 8Nov 25, 2008 12:51 pm I would refuse to pay. And then if they wouldn't fix it, I would rip down the fence and put up another one. After all, if they can put one up without permission, I'm sure you can put up another one. Or how about an excavator accident? With the fence? Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 9Nov 25, 2008 1:15 pm I agree with kek. Our neighbour recently built a retainer wall the whole length of their front boundary PLUS extra metre from our side! Makes our land 1 metre short and would be hard to rectify later. Better now than later. Land definitely cost more than a fence, so I would talk to them Asap. We made the neighbour cut their retainer wall and she wrote a nasty letter saying she will take us to court for sexual discrimination as she is a woman! What the f###?!!! Sorry.......not having a good day....
PS I am also a female. Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 10Nov 25, 2008 2:18 pm sammy We made the neighbour cut their retainer wall and she wrote a nasty letter saying she will take us to court for sexual discrimination as she is a woman! What the f###?!!! Sorry.......not having a good day.... PS I am also a female. That's got nothing to do with having a bad day!!! I agree, what the f###???? Gee there are some screwed up people around.... Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 11Nov 25, 2008 5:44 pm sorry to sort of hijack the thread, but it is related.......I want to try and avoid these problems as we share our boundaries with 4 lots of neighbours.
Does anyone have a rough idea how much a surveyor would charge to do a boundary survey? All our original pegs are long gone unfortunately. Built a Clarendon 'Balmain' 2008 Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 12Nov 25, 2008 7:54 pm Maxie sorry to sort of hijack the thread, but it is related.......I want to try and avoid these problems as we share our boundaries with 4 lots of neighbours. Does anyone have a rough idea how much a surveyor would charge to do a boundary survey? All our original pegs are long gone unfortunately. Are you sure your pegs are gone Maxie? The 'official' pegs are normally quite robust, in our case measuring 50mm square, and buried to ground level, where they stay for ever and a day. The skinny sticks that developers put in the ground with your lot number written on them are a guide only. Anyway, jeanete, just knock the bloody thing down and tell them to put it in the correct spot. Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 13Nov 25, 2008 8:29 pm hmm, not sure about that Eager - I'll have to have a dig around and see what I can find. I think there might be one of those still visible - thanks for the tip! Built a Clarendon 'Balmain' 2008 Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 14Nov 25, 2008 9:16 pm jeanete, there's only three options as I see it:
1) You go "oh well" and forget about it 2) You discuss some form of compensation, but the fence stays 3) You insist the fence be removed and built on the correct boundary Personally I think #3 is the only sensible option. You don't need to be narky about it, just point out that it's not on the boundary. Depending on your mood you might also want to include discussions about paying half, fence style etc etc Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves. - Dale Carnegie Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 16Nov 26, 2008 7:07 am My instinct is telling me that it should come down, which I assume means the post holes have to be dug out and the whole thing redone from scratch. An expensive exercise. I feel like it puts me in the position of being the bad guy, even though I wasn't the one who did it without consultation, and did it wrong. Visit my blog: http://www.jeanetez.blogspot.com/ Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 17Nov 26, 2008 9:39 am jeanete My instinct is telling me that it should come down, which I assume means the post holes have to be dug out and the whole thing redone from scratch. An expensive exercise. I feel like it puts me in the position of being the bad guy, even though I wasn't the one who did it without consultation, and did it wrong. Dont think your the bad guy, if they simply made a 2 minute phone call, all of this could have been avoided. Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 18Nov 26, 2008 10:31 am THere are some serious legal ramifications if you sell your house / your neighbour sells, as the purchaser has the right to survey the property. I have personally seen issues with banks because boundaries have been incorrectly applied to properties, which has then led to the courts. Lets not go to public liability issues either.
I suggest the simple solution is that thefence comes down, and is put up correctly/. Adrian B Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 19Nov 26, 2008 5:17 pm Snake I feel like it puts me in the position of being the bad guy, even though I wasn't the one who did it without consultation, and did it wrong. From your post it seems like the only person whose bad books you will be in is the neighbour's builder. It wasn't his clients fault (so he doesn't have to pay) and there are no further ramifications to you because he's not your builder. Re: Fence arrogance - can you believe this one? 20Nov 26, 2008 7:32 pm Yes, hopefully that's the case, that the builder and/or fencing contractor will have to rectify. However, settlement is only two weeks away, so I will need to talk to the owners to make sure it doesn't become their problem. Visit my blog: http://www.jeanetez.blogspot.com/ Hey everyone Not for me or anyone I know, just generally interested. For a single allotment house, are you allowed to take the fence on both sides of your house and… 0 20891 2 10987 I've just had a look at the website. The company are just building broker's. There are plenty of similar companies that basically draw your plans (they own them so you… 8 10940 |