Garden fence, should I? ?

The question is does mr neighbour think his fence looks fine ?If he agrees it is looks rubbish then surely he will agree to split the bill. I’m sure you and mr p can approach him with great tact and diplomacy !

Luckily I was sitting down when I read the cost- how many panels does the fence have because to me that is OTT. I am used to London prices- you may not have known where I live but that must be a very long fence.

Charleygirl it's not panels, featherboard seems to be the preferred option for both the fencing people that we have had quoted from so far. (One quote was £930!)

The fence is around 9 metres. The quote includes concreting in, disposal of old fence etc.

The £930 quote didn't specify taking the old fence away.

Lucca problem is with Mr Neighbour, if it doesn't have an engine, he isn't interested! Plus Mrs Neighbour definitely wears the trousers in that household!

TBH I would prop it up with stakes and plant stuff against it.

If he doesn’t see a problem with it I can’t see him helping you to pay for it, plus you might get involved in redoing the boundaries.

So, hide the problems on your side, then don’t look at it any more

Ah. Sorry that was the extent of my advice living as I do in a first floor flat !!

Whose fence is it, Phoenix ?

Grandmafrench ours unfortunately, so I know it's our responsibility.

Oopsadaisy, it's leaning towards their garden, so I can't prop it up.

I've just ordered a new side fence costing £2,000 for approx 40ft but it is made of Steel and should last my lifetime.
I doubt your neighbour will be happy to pay towards the fence as he possibly is proud of the job he has done repairing it even if it looks awful.

phoenix if it’s your fence he won’t be required to contribute. That will only happen if it’s a shared boundary. Often neighbours can come to some agreement so it might be worth asking whether or not they’re prepared to make a contribution.

From the description he will not give you a fiver and unfortunately by law does not have to give a penny.

Just had ours done, 8’ panels x 10, concrete post and Harris rail, £1,500. Hampshire. They are joint owned, but neighbour to right already did theirs, at their cost, left had neighbour replaced about 6 years ago, at their cost, but cheap, bottom is neighbours drive. Just done properly for peace of mind.

Gosh I d want gold plated fence for that price I had 3 panels 4 posts and a 6 ft gate for £250 a couple of years ago

Sorry, included removing all old panels and debris.

OK it's your fence but unfortunately it's now leaning his way! I think that if you asked if he'd like to contribute towards the cost of a new fence, he might be a bit put out (and I bet the person who instructs him which trousers to wear would not be very keen on that plan either).

Any offer would really need to come from him, I think. I wouldn't mention money. However, it might be a good time, since you've been doing lots of work in your garden (I seem to recall), for you to have a nice friendly chat over the leaning fencing and tell him that you have lovely shrubs etc., planned for planting close to the boundary and you'd really like to sort out your leaning fence before you press on with your landscaping. Is there any chance he could give you a hand to get it right? Blasted gales etc., He may be totally o.k. with that, or at least understand that it'll be difficult for you to sort it out on your own. And that's very different from asking him to put his hand on his cheque book!

He might just surprise you and come out with a suggestion of sharing the cost of a new one - but I'd think that's very unlikely as it's not his responsibility and it would need to be his own suggestion so he doesn't feel put out by your asking for ££s.

If you say nothing about it, though, it's only going to get worse and it is your fence, so legally - unless he cares about the boundary - he could just wait for you to decide one day to replace it.

If it were me, I honestly wouldn't spend the money, unless it's rotten. I'd prefer to spend a bit of time sorting it out and save any spare money for plants - far more entertaining. I don't think that the quote for a replacement fence is really excessive, but I Judy wouldn't want to spend a lump of money like that - if there was any way around it.
I'd hope he'd help you fix it. If he does, don't be shy with the spirit level.....

Don't forget to let us know what he says.

"I really" wouldn't want to spend.....
Not sure who Judy is, but she's got no money either.

Thanks to all who posted, your input is appreciated .

Many years ago, when with ex dh, we started replacing the fence between us and next door. They were so chuffed that they paid for some of the panels!

I think (for once) I will leave it to Mr P to catch Mr Neighbour when he's outside "tinkering" (neighbour, not Mr P, he's not one prone to tinkering) and see if we can plant the seed, so to speak!

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, don't ask, don't get etc!

It’s always worth asking....
The best approach I think would be along the lines of ‘ we’re thinking of getting all new fencing done, had a quote of blah blah, would you fancy chipping in as it’s too much money for us to get it done at the moment’ kind of thing, keep it informal.The likely outcome is that he won’t, but you never know.The price seems fair to me btw.

Who does the fence belong to? If it is your neighbour's then I don't think you would be allowed to do anything to it without consulting him first and getting his permission. If the fence is yours then could it be repaired? Making it more robust and level with perhaps a coat of preservative might do the trick at a much cheaper price.

Why not go on eBay and price up feather edged board panels and some local labour if Mr P doesn't fancy doing it himself?

You might be able to considerably reduce the cost.

Good fences make good neighbours!

I’m sure you will find a way to put it to them.

If the wood is in good condition but just not level and leaning over it can be salvaged and re-positioned.

The fence for which my neighbour has responsibility got wobbly and out of kilter in one of the storms earlier this year. Neighbour dealt with it by putting in additional short posts at each upright and nailing the two together. It was a quick cheap job, but is now solid as a rock.

Same thing happens with our fences *luckygirl/, you’re right, it definitely works. Living in a managed development fences are fixed for us, the very capable man who does them uses mini concrete posts and bolts those to the existing fence posts. Might be worth a thought phoenix?