Fence panel advice
mr_eddy
Posts: 830
So my next door neighbour stated yesterday that he was going to be replacing some of the fence panels due to ivy damage - He was not angry just simply stating as if to say that we should expect some noise and disruption, He said that its his side (which it legally is - He owns the fence) so he accepted that he had to change the panels. The issue is that the Ivy is from our side of the garden and whilst we only moved in a year ago and the damage clearly has been happening over a number of years the fact remains the damage has been caused by ivy from our garden.
He has not asked for payment etc just mentioned that he was replacing the panels. I am not sure if he was sub-conciously hoping we would offer payment and to some extent I can see how we could be held responsible - The ivy is from our side at the end of the day.
My issue is that my wife hates our neighbour (with good reason they leave their dogs barking outside and have loud music playing on sunny days) so she would refuse to do anything to resolve even if it was our responsibility, She is VERY stubborn so unless we had a summons she would not do a damn thing. I cannot be seen to take his side but I do feel somewhat guilty, I know if the situation was reversed I would be pi**ed off if my neighbours Ivy ruined my fence.
I am more liberal than my wife and I think more of the big picture, Part of me thinks that it would be a kind gesture to offer some form of gratitude given that it was OUR ivy that destroyed HIS fence and ultimately this would hopefully paint us in a better light. Should I offer some thank you gesture ? Maybe not financial but I thought about a box of chocs and a bottle of wine with a card simply saying:
"Just to let you know we appreciate that the Ivy from our garden has caused fence weakness and whilst we understand that boundary agreement suggested the fence is yours to replace we do appreciate that our Ivy was the root (no pun intended) cause of the problem, We have taken steps to ensure this will not be an issue in the future namely removed as much Ivy as we can and treated the roots with herbicide. As you know we only moved in 1 year ago and given that the fencing is some what obscured by the large connifer trees we were not aware of the damage that the ivy was causing. Please enjoy this wine and box of chocolates as our appreciation for your recent work"
Then again the above shows that we are clearly taking responsibility and they then may use this as ammo to try and get us to pay for the whole fence ?
Should I just ignore ? As I said he has not asked for any money etc and given that we have to put up with a lot of their nonsense like the dogs barking or their teenager playing really loud hip hop through open windows or them parking right outside our house every night meaning we have to park on another street (granted not assigned parking but they have 4 cars and only 2 people in the house so does take the piss a bit)
Thoughts ?
FYI - The Ivy is now gone and the remaining roots have been drilled and filled with hardcore Resolva stump killer.
He has not asked for payment etc just mentioned that he was replacing the panels. I am not sure if he was sub-conciously hoping we would offer payment and to some extent I can see how we could be held responsible - The ivy is from our side at the end of the day.
My issue is that my wife hates our neighbour (with good reason they leave their dogs barking outside and have loud music playing on sunny days) so she would refuse to do anything to resolve even if it was our responsibility, She is VERY stubborn so unless we had a summons she would not do a damn thing. I cannot be seen to take his side but I do feel somewhat guilty, I know if the situation was reversed I would be pi**ed off if my neighbours Ivy ruined my fence.
I am more liberal than my wife and I think more of the big picture, Part of me thinks that it would be a kind gesture to offer some form of gratitude given that it was OUR ivy that destroyed HIS fence and ultimately this would hopefully paint us in a better light. Should I offer some thank you gesture ? Maybe not financial but I thought about a box of chocs and a bottle of wine with a card simply saying:
"Just to let you know we appreciate that the Ivy from our garden has caused fence weakness and whilst we understand that boundary agreement suggested the fence is yours to replace we do appreciate that our Ivy was the root (no pun intended) cause of the problem, We have taken steps to ensure this will not be an issue in the future namely removed as much Ivy as we can and treated the roots with herbicide. As you know we only moved in 1 year ago and given that the fencing is some what obscured by the large connifer trees we were not aware of the damage that the ivy was causing. Please enjoy this wine and box of chocolates as our appreciation for your recent work"
Then again the above shows that we are clearly taking responsibility and they then may use this as ammo to try and get us to pay for the whole fence ?
Should I just ignore ? As I said he has not asked for any money etc and given that we have to put up with a lot of their nonsense like the dogs barking or their teenager playing really loud hip hop through open windows or them parking right outside our house every night meaning we have to park on another street (granted not assigned parking but they have 4 cars and only 2 people in the house so does take the piss a bit)
Thoughts ?
FYI - The Ivy is now gone and the remaining roots have been drilled and filled with hardcore Resolva stump killer.
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Posts
No 1 priority is to avoid an argument with the missus any other possible solutions ?
Should I just shut up and hope we don't hear anything more about it ?
If you (or your wife) feel the need to be passive aggresive about it, say you will be putting something else in it's place as it acts as a good sound block ...
I'd personally stick with letting him know you have done your bit in removing the ivy and leave it at that ...
If all else fails. Move.
I have a fence that the neighbour's plants have damaged over time. We just trim the plants and would, if necessary, ask the neighbour to do the same.
Ta.
3 minutes later ... he's back on it ...
De Sisti wrote:
This is one of the silliest threads I've come across.
Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour
Edit: take it easy with the noxious stuff, give it the correct dose and leave to work. Don't spray it every week, let it die back then redo if any regrowth appears. (Fully licenced PA1/6 killer me).
I had similar issue with some weird tree type thing that was groing over from neighbour's garden. I just got the bow saw out and cut it down. He was fine about it.
In your situation I wouldn't do anything other than make sure the ivy doesn't grow back again and maybe buy massive speakers.
When you come to move you will need to declare any disputes with your neighbours.
If you lie on the form and the new owner gets any issues they can sue you.
Probably not worth the effort and cost. As posted above, offer to help with the task itself. Probably worth more than a cash contribution.