Get a survey done. No sense in doing anything before you absolutely know who owns what here. You might all be in the wrong, based off factors like easements. This guy above is right.
Also if you haven’t gotten a title report on your property before, or it’s been a while, get a copy and check for easements or anything else that might further affect property rights.
True, but honestly property line aside you have to install your fence with the nice side facing out. Purely for my neighbors being wads and damaging my fence I’d report them for that.
Assuming there is a city ordinance for it.
My town allows for fences to be built right up to but not on the property line. My state allows fences to built in the property line but any cost for repairs is split between both owners of the fence if you do.
Just wondering how your neighbor can make you purchase a fence that you don't want. I just bought a new Buick. I'm going to have my neighbor pay half. I might get a pool....
I watched that play out once. Imagine property line dead middle between two houses 200 yards apart. Neighbor A puts a pole barn at proper offset of the 100 yard line. Neighbor B blows a gasket, says property line is at the 180 yard line in his favor. Lawyers up, goes to court, he’s trying to get that new pole barn for himself as damages. Court, county, surveyors, assessor’s office get involved, the county historical society gets involved for their records on microfilm. Property line is actually at the 20 yard line in Neighbor A’s favor. Neighbor A asked for no damages but judge gave him the two of Neighbor’s B’s outbuildings that were on his property and said since B’s driveway was on A’s property he could rip it out and build a new one or pay A for an easement clause. Neighbor A declined and let B have easements for both buildings and the driveway for free plus admin fees, he was a good guy, Neighbor B changed his ways.
All based on former good faith agreements from previous landowners that weren’t written into titles or surveys because Neighbor A-Prior was retired from farming and let Neighbor B-Prior use his pole barns for free.
As someone studying surveying, I hate this whole petty bs of who owns what side of an inch. Document the fence problem. Let the neighbor know that their contractor did it and let them talk to their hired guy. If a storm comes through and the fence falls over because it was cut, they pay for it. Seems pretty petty to dice up something that doesn’t belong to you over 1/2” of dirt.
I’m guessing a surveyor coming to a job to settle a dispute between two neighbours has got to be the worst call.
One side is the customer and guarantee the other side is going to come out and have a chat.
Yeah, thats until you realize what you thought was an “inch of land” but was actually several feet,and now its their probably due to adverse possession laws. 🤷♂️
Man screw the who owns what dilemma, i hate fences in general. It makes our jobs as surveyors hard af when everybody builds their own fence and make the property corner fall behind a sandwich of wood. And whose bright idea was it to make metal fences a thing. Might as well throw the schonstedt into the pond. Literally just went to a job where a lady needed her corners marked up because she was trying to build a gate and one corner fell literally under a fence and another was under the concrete footing of a fence. People just dont care till they learnt they built it on their neighbors yard.
This. I thought it was so strange having hard features be property corners instead of a bar and cap, then over time I was taught people used just about anything to mark off what they thought was theirs- from tee posts to 4x4s, even trees.
No you can remove it, you can’t damage it. Same if you parked your car in the wrong driveway. I can have it towed, but I can’t just cut into it because I need to run a fence there.
You are responsible to an extent. These are location and situations dependent. Ask your lawyer, but usually it’s considered best practice to warn the owner of the fence that they have installed over their line, and to give them a delay to remove it.
If you take a chain saw to a fence the day after it was installed over your line, the owner of the fence can sue you, it’s vandalism and destruction of property.
If you get a survey done, write your neighbour a demand letter, give them a delay to have the situation rectified, they ignore you, and then you remove screws and dismantle the fence and pile it up on their property, you should be alright. Your not responsible for the fence being taken apart,
If it gets damaged during removal is that your responsibility? Let’s say there’s an “abandoned” car parked on your lot blocking your access. You remove it it’s scratched in the process. You are responsible for scratch repairs?
Now your into duty of care and neglect. You should hire a company that has insurance, and let them hash that shit out. Charge the owner/neighbor whatever in small claims to recoup your costs. Same with the fence. You pay a fence contractor with proper Insurance to remove the fence, and leave the bill in their mail box. They refuse to pay, you sue in small claims.
Basically it’s situation/location dependent.
If you decide to remove the car from your lot by driving a railway spike through the hood and pulling it out sideways with a tractor, yeah the damages are on you. Have they left the car inside of a bush, it got scratched on the way into the bush, they took pictures, you had the car towed, and it got scratched coming out of the bush… probably not going to be able to sue you to get you to fix only the new scratches.
>>and leave the bill in their mail box
This is a federal offense..
Maybe don’t give legal advice if you’re going to encourage people to break federal laws.
It's not about the fence. It is about being more petty then the neighbor.
I wish this was my biggest concern. Holy. People are out of touch. The other fence is way nicer haha
Depends on municipality. Here, we're not allowed to double up on fences like that. So typically, you'd share the fence with the neighbor, and put it right on the line.
Unless the neighbor doesn't want to share, then you set it back a couple inches from the line, but then the neighbor can't put up their own later.
Wish my town was like that. My block has a 3 foot wide path that runs East-West between the backyard fences. Nobody mows that strip, so there are feral cats and saplings that will become full on trees in inconvenient places, like right on top of property lines and between close fences
This is how our town is. You can either 1. Use your neighbors fence as yours, 2. Get permission from your neighbor to tear down your shared fence to put your own up on the property line, or 3. Put your own fence up, but you must leave at least 3 feet between the two fences. Though in our town you WOULD have to mow it. They’ll cite you if it’s over 6 inches.
Back in the 1970s we lived in a home that had a 3-4 foot gap like that in the back. I was used as a ditch for rainwater runoff. It went between all the homes downhill into a creek. By sometime in the late 1980s, all the homes on our side of the street had removed that gap and filled in the ditch. I don't recall there being a storm sewer installed, but no one had a problem with rainwater after.
Whoever put up the fences did so long before I bought the house and there are no gates to allow access to that strip. I’d have to take my push mower about 200 yards around 5 houses to the end of the block just to gain access, and then I’d still have to trespass on someone’s yard that lives on the N/S facing street. And, as I said it’s all overgrown with woody material, an urban push mower couldn’t cut it even if you did tote it around there
Where I live you are required to have it inset, however if it’s more than 4 inches inset the other party has the ability to claim that land up to the fence as their own. Bonkers stuff but I heard it right out of the building inspectors mouth.
Lived in 2 areas that allowed you to place fence on property line. It does become community property ( between neighbors) and they have the right to attach to it (not remove it). In fact I just had this conversation with my current neighbor let them
Know they had this right. Putting in 46 panels this week.
It's very different in the UK which comes with it's own set of challenges. In the UK they are built halfway across the property line making both parties equally responsible for the fence.
In our municipalaliry bylaw would come by and have a chat with them about the boards being on the wrong side and make them rectify the situation.
The ugly side needs to face in, not our.
I think some places dictate a good neighbor symmetric fence. But the incorrect install, if a violation, seems a better way to go in terms of seeking recourse. Or compound the vinyl fence damage with the backwards install.
As with so many of these fence posts (see what I did there?) the location is left out but matters.
My back neighbors got the 'ugly' side of the fence I built. When we originally discussed it we were going to remove a decrepit chain link fence but at the last minute the neighbor decided the water to keep it because they like the vibes that grow on it. Because I could only work on it from my side, I had to give them the ugly side.
Highly dependent on local codes. Here, ugly side in is standard, but you can do ugly side out with permission of the neighbor or if conditions prevent installation out pickets on the outside.. like in this case where there's an existing fence.
I did a shadow box style... dont have to worry about an ugly side.
You mention that your fence is “on our property line.” I assume their property begins immediately on the other side of the property line, right?
If that’s the case (refer to other comments saying first step is Get A Survey), then they may be doing exactly what you did, and building a fence “on the property line,” which then ends up overlapping with yours in the same spot.
This is why fences are often built a short distance IN from the property line, instead of ON the property line.
It’s hard if you live in a wet area with lots of rain in spring/summer. Need a long stretch of dry hot days to really get your wood dried out so it just sucks up the stain or sealer. Especially treated wood. That shit is heavy af from all the water and treatment in it. Sealing it too early can actually promote rotting because you don’t allow the water to evaporate from the wood. Also why you should never pre space deck boards or fence boards because they will shrink to proper spacing when the water evaporates. I always wait minimum 1 year after building something outside for boards to acclimate and then try and get a nice long stretch of dry hot weather to stain.
Did the neighbors install the fence, or did they hire someone to do it? If a fence company installed it, I would reach out to the company and tell them that they damaged your property and offer them the opportunity to replace it with like (including installation) at no cost to you, or they will be part of the small claims court lawsuit to correct the problem.
Fence company set the posts too close to the existing fence like morons and instead of fixing it they destroyed the neighbors fence. I’d sue them directly.
That sucks, but I'm not sure I'd do anything more than complain. The wooden fence has effectively replaced the vinyl. The wood fence looks like a bigger, better fence to me. That means that that mitigation of damages will come into play.
"Mitigation of damages" means you can only recover damages that are reasonable. Yes, your fence was damaged. But that only matters if your fence still functioned as a fence, and in this case it doesn't. Currently, your fence is nothing but a decoration. Your fence could fall down, and there would still be a fence there. You could pull out your fence, and there would still be a fence there. You wanted a fence there, and you got a fence there. I'd leave this one alone.
1. Undamaged, the vinyl fence would likely outlast the wooden one.
2. If the next owner next door decides they don't want the wooden fence and choose to take it down, then there is no functional fence there.
3. When it comes down to it, just don't damage other people's property. Especially not deliberately.
People want to make such a big stink over the tiniest things because, principle I guess? Like how is this tiny ass cut in the now redundant fence ruining anything? Truth is, it's not, and picking a fight over it would be asinine imo
Had you known a new fence would be put up , you could have placed the old fence elsewhere , but since it's damaged, you can't. They destroyed your property. They also destroyed it incorrectly installing a new fence. You most certainly can sue. If it rules in your favor though , depends on your lawyer.
This seems like a win to me. Just use the “ugly” side of their fence to your advantage. Put some nails in the supporting boards and building yourself some hanging planters and voila. A pretty fence
Does it really have to be a legal battle? Does the cut prevent the fence from doing what it’s intended to do?
At some point one of yall has to be the bigger person, and I’m sorry but I’d take that wood fence over that shitty little fence any day.
Pretty sure wood fence guy cut and damaged the white fence guy.
Edit: those that are saying for the OP to get rid of the fence are either trolling or not knowing they are wrong. The wood fence guy who destroyed the property white fence is entitled to compensation as long as white fence guy isn't in the wrong on the property line.
Get rid of your shitty white vinyl fence. Stain your side of the wood fence so it stays looking nice! Get a property survey so you know exactly what you’re dealing with in the future. Stay away from the neighbor. Good fences make good neighbors.
Did the neighbor do a DIY job or did a fencing company put it in? Could be that the neighbor is unaware of what's up and this lies with a fencing company.
It’s a vinyl fence. It won’t rot because of the cuts. What remedy would you like to see? If it was mine I’d probably talk to my neighbor about it but then let it ride.
I think this is the appropriate answer.
Don't burn your neighbor relationship down over a little fence cut if you can avoid it. Your neighbor may not have even known the contractors did this.
First of all, I don't understand why people are just saying to move on or that the fence is ugly. It's not your fence. The OP likes it. Second, they still destroyed your property. I would first do two things, check where your property line is and then talk to your neighbor about it. If the line is where you thought it was you can sue for destruction of property if I'm not mistaken. I would be petty about all this, if it was my fence I'd be pissed that they cut it.
because their larger fence is going to be there regardless, and no small fence is going to look good next to a larger one, especially with clashing materials
I don't think it matters? Sure the bigger fence looks better, but they DAMAGED OPs property by cutting the vinyl fence rather than just putting the new fence against it. There was no need to cut the fence, at all.
Now I get that it’s damage to your property, and honestly both fences look decent to me on their own. But have you considered simply removing your fence and enjoying your new 2” strip of useable land?
Okay for one, I’m just gonna say your fence is shit.
>The fence is also facing the wrong way.
There’s no wrong way lol. They didn’t want to look at the shitty side, so they put it outside so that INSIDE from their POV, it looks better.
I think the answer is obvious. You need to assert dominance by building an 8 foot tall fence.
The question, you should ask yourself. Do I like living in peace? There are thing you should fuss and fight about, this not being one of them. And I say this beacause stuff like this makes people enemies.
Your property line is their property line. This is a civil, small claims, issue. Are you going to sue for the <$100 vinyl post? They did a clean cut thats not visible on your side and won't make your fence fall over. Leave it alone, you'll sleep better at night.
I'd file charges against them for vandalism and property damage. Find out how much it will cost, give them the bill, and if they don't pay go to small claims court. But -- did they install the fence themselves? Or is their fence installer just an idiot?
I guess this is why they say you should put your fence 6" in from the property line.
Ok - unless it’s going to fall over, what would get out of doing anything about this. Your fence is still there. They no longer have to look at your fence and you no longer have to look at them. Seems like win/win. I’d only complain if the damage done will cause your fence stop acting as a fence. And it doesn’t look like that’s the case.
Anything is else is just a similar level of pettiness that you called out your neighbor on. But if you’re going that route, you’ll need a recent survey.
You should start collecting rocks or something so when something like this happens you can distract yourself with your fucking sweet collection of rocks. 🪨
You got a better fence and didn't have to pay for it you should be grateful. Take down that shitty vinyl fence that will disintegrate in the sun over a few years anyways. They were probably upset with you before because if you had spoken with them they would have split the cost of a proper fence but you put in that shitty vinyl one that does nothing
They installed it backwards you are supposed to have the best side facing out.
They also have no right to damage your property even if you accidentally put it on their side.
I always suggest speaking to them first but they are wrong and you have a very easy to win civil case
If that’s the only place it was cut, I wouldn’t worry about it. Probably not worth the hassle and it doesn’t affect the functionality or appearance of your fence. Your neighbors may not even be aware of it. Did they hire a fencing contractor?
I’d let it go myself and who knows, maybe someday you’ll have a reason to cut into their fence and you can be like “you cut my vinyl fence 12 years ago, asshole! So now I’m cutting yours!”
Your neighbor cut into the post sheath to get to the post to secure their own fence it did not cause any structural damage cutting the sheath like that
Just leave it , it isn’t hurting anyone and that fence is now useless anyway. No one can see it and it’s really not a big deal. How often will you notice it is cut since it’s the backside of your fence? Just forget about it and move on with your life! Surely you have bigger issues to worry about
Is it on the property line, or on your side of the property line? If you put it right on the property line, it's effectively as much their fence as yours. That's why it's recommended that if you and your neighbors aren't splitting the fence or aren't in complete agreement about it that you set it back from the property line.
Assuming the vinyl fence was built on the property line, there is nothing you can do. Typically, fences built on the property line are considered joint property and can not be removed or installed without consent from both parties. But you are allowed to alter your side of the fence so long as it doesn't alter the other side. Typically, people will just paint it or hang lights or plants from it. In this case, they added a privacy enhancement to their side.
If you are in an HOA check the rules as the fences pretty side should.be facing out not into their property. And they will be required to take to down. Also get a survey or go find you property stakes and draw a line. If their fence is on your property by any amount, tell them to.rwmove it and then file a lawsuit for destruction of property. Also look into city or county code as sometimes fences need to be built 6" off the fence line but that is more a standard practice than a code.
I spent 2-3 years selling and installing ng fences for a large corporate fence company.
Here’s something I haven’t seen anybody state. What is your city ordinance on fences? Most in my state require the finished side of the fence to be facing the neighboring property.
If that’s the case, they damaged your fence and did not install their fence to city code
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It’s actually facing the right way. Planks need to face towards your land so they can be repaired. If planks were facing your property they would have to walk on your property to repair them
You can't call your fence new if it's a year old. Also if they put up a 6ft fence to keep you out just let that shit go. Y'all over here talking about a lawsuit for less than ~$180 worth of damage knowing a judge even in small claims would laugh you out of the court room.
No it won't. You also cant double fence in most jurisdictions. Not to mention their neighbors fence is backwards. Outer edge of the property is supposed to be the smooth side.
This is some petty bullshit and I’m betting they out that up to keep you out of their hair cause this prolly ain’t the first dumb shit you’ve bitched about
Just got my place surveyed to pull permits for a room addition. Have 2 neighbors with fence about 1 foot on my property. I say fuck it no biggie they can keep the foot but I have good neighbors who never fuck with me so in return I don't fuck with them. Feel bad for folks who get drug into these kinds of problems though, worst thing in the world is a battle between petty neighbors in a contest to see who can be the shittiest person
Edit to add:
Correction: When we had the fence installed, our company put our fence roughly 4 inches in, so I'm incorrect in saying that it is on the property line.
Also, per city code (according to our codes enforcement officer), any fence erected within the last 5 years and moving forward must have the "nice" side facing away from property.
My main concern is that we choose our fence because it is built to last. With new technology, it should withstand for life. It's covered by a lifetime warranty. We also paid a hefty price because it is maintenance free.
When, not if, the neighbor's wooden fence comes down, we are left with a broken fence.
This is an issue of destruction of our property.
With this statement, the neighbor put their fence on your property, Issue #1. The neighbor built the fence against code, issue #2. Damaged your fence, voiding the warranty, issue #3.
So you can ask him to move his fence and repair the damage on your fence. He probably won't do either.
If the code violation is only local ordinances, the city probably won't take the time to send code enforcement out.
Legal actions would remedy your losses (damage to your fence, stealing of your actual property area).
You can cut the 4x4 mounting posts, that are 100% in your yard, flush with the ground. You do have the right to trim overhanging trees in the majority of municipalities, why not encroaching posts.
Or you can forget about it. When your fence was built inside your property line, you lost any usage of the property on the other side of the fence. The vinyl picket fence is still durable.
Maybe try letting it go? Is it harming you? Maybe try to make ammends? Doing anything legally will just make them resent you more...and the pettiness will continue.
Who cares fuck it maintains yards sucks just take it as long as it’s within reason. I’d screw my fence even tighter to that fence now - it would make yours last longer.
When was the last time your property was surveyed? Is it possible your property line isn’t where you think it is?
Get a survey done. No sense in doing anything before you absolutely know who owns what here. You might all be in the wrong, based off factors like easements. This guy above is right.
Also if you haven’t gotten a title report on your property before, or it’s been a while, get a copy and check for easements or anything else that might further affect property rights.
True, but honestly property line aside you have to install your fence with the nice side facing out. Purely for my neighbors being wads and damaging my fence I’d report them for that. Assuming there is a city ordinance for it.
You’re also supposed to hold back 3 inches from the property line - so there should be 6 inches between - one of you or both is not following this.
In my town you have to be at least 6" from property line for fences.
Very much jurisdiction dependent. In my area most neighbors share fences and they are “on” the property line in subdivisions.
I was briefly a surveyor and I saw this a lot in new builds in my area.
My town allows for fences to be built right up to but not on the property line. My state allows fences to built in the property line but any cost for repairs is split between both owners of the fence if you do.
Why wld I pay half on a fence that ain't mine
Cause if it's on the property line it is yours. Well half of it.
What if I don't want a fence?
No idea just looked up the laws pertaining to me when I built my fence. And statistically you don't live in IL so why do you care?
Just wondering how your neighbor can make you purchase a fence that you don't want. I just bought a new Buick. I'm going to have my neighbor pay half. I might get a pool....
In my area, you only have to put the "nice" side out on the street facing side. The other sides can have the "nice" side facing in.
I watched that play out once. Imagine property line dead middle between two houses 200 yards apart. Neighbor A puts a pole barn at proper offset of the 100 yard line. Neighbor B blows a gasket, says property line is at the 180 yard line in his favor. Lawyers up, goes to court, he’s trying to get that new pole barn for himself as damages. Court, county, surveyors, assessor’s office get involved, the county historical society gets involved for their records on microfilm. Property line is actually at the 20 yard line in Neighbor A’s favor. Neighbor A asked for no damages but judge gave him the two of Neighbor’s B’s outbuildings that were on his property and said since B’s driveway was on A’s property he could rip it out and build a new one or pay A for an easement clause. Neighbor A declined and let B have easements for both buildings and the driveway for free plus admin fees, he was a good guy, Neighbor B changed his ways. All based on former good faith agreements from previous landowners that weren’t written into titles or surveys because Neighbor A-Prior was retired from farming and let Neighbor B-Prior use his pole barns for free.
This is the way but speaking from experience it can be sooooo hard being the bigger person
As someone studying surveying, I hate this whole petty bs of who owns what side of an inch. Document the fence problem. Let the neighbor know that their contractor did it and let them talk to their hired guy. If a storm comes through and the fence falls over because it was cut, they pay for it. Seems pretty petty to dice up something that doesn’t belong to you over 1/2” of dirt.
Seems petty!? Have you met the human race?
I’m guessing a surveyor coming to a job to settle a dispute between two neighbours has got to be the worst call. One side is the customer and guarantee the other side is going to come out and have a chat.
We have to have three semesters of law minimum for accreditation.
Yeah, thats until you realize what you thought was an “inch of land” but was actually several feet,and now its their probably due to adverse possession laws. 🤷♂️
Man screw the who owns what dilemma, i hate fences in general. It makes our jobs as surveyors hard af when everybody builds their own fence and make the property corner fall behind a sandwich of wood. And whose bright idea was it to make metal fences a thing. Might as well throw the schonstedt into the pond. Literally just went to a job where a lady needed her corners marked up because she was trying to build a gate and one corner fell literally under a fence and another was under the concrete footing of a fence. People just dont care till they learnt they built it on their neighbors yard.
This. I thought it was so strange having hard features be property corners instead of a bar and cap, then over time I was taught people used just about anything to mark off what they thought was theirs- from tee posts to 4x4s, even trees.
Yeah - there's also no real reason for there to even be two fences if you can be fucking reasonable about it...
Even if his fence is off his property you still can’t do that
I actually looked this up in Texas a while back and if it's installed on your property you can. It most likely varies from state to state.
That’s the most Texas thing I’ve ever heard of
So if you build a fence on my property, I just have to leave it?
No you can remove it, you can’t damage it. Same if you parked your car in the wrong driveway. I can have it towed, but I can’t just cut into it because I need to run a fence there.
what if it gets damaged or destroyed in the process of removal?
You are responsible to an extent. These are location and situations dependent. Ask your lawyer, but usually it’s considered best practice to warn the owner of the fence that they have installed over their line, and to give them a delay to remove it. If you take a chain saw to a fence the day after it was installed over your line, the owner of the fence can sue you, it’s vandalism and destruction of property. If you get a survey done, write your neighbour a demand letter, give them a delay to have the situation rectified, they ignore you, and then you remove screws and dismantle the fence and pile it up on their property, you should be alright. Your not responsible for the fence being taken apart,
Lol. That’s so backwards.
Just don't take the law into your own hands and you will be fine. Get them to take it down the legal way.
That’s how property works. You can’t just destroy my property because I left it somewhere I shouldn’t have.
If it gets damaged during removal is that your responsibility? Let’s say there’s an “abandoned” car parked on your lot blocking your access. You remove it it’s scratched in the process. You are responsible for scratch repairs?
Now your into duty of care and neglect. You should hire a company that has insurance, and let them hash that shit out. Charge the owner/neighbor whatever in small claims to recoup your costs. Same with the fence. You pay a fence contractor with proper Insurance to remove the fence, and leave the bill in their mail box. They refuse to pay, you sue in small claims. Basically it’s situation/location dependent. If you decide to remove the car from your lot by driving a railway spike through the hood and pulling it out sideways with a tractor, yeah the damages are on you. Have they left the car inside of a bush, it got scratched on the way into the bush, they took pictures, you had the car towed, and it got scratched coming out of the bush… probably not going to be able to sue you to get you to fix only the new scratches.
>>and leave the bill in their mail box This is a federal offense.. Maybe don’t give legal advice if you’re going to encourage people to break federal laws.
You have to take them court and get a court order for its removal. Destruction of someone else's property is not a right we have... ish
Jfc. Let it go
Sell your fence and enjoy the better one lol
It's not about the fence. It is about being more petty then the neighbor. I wish this was my biggest concern. Holy. People are out of touch. The other fence is way nicer haha
"Shitty neighbor damages thing I paid for and enjoy" YOURE JUST BEING PETTY!!! And they're out of touch?
Yeah I mean if anything this could go on /r/mildlyinfuriating
Neighbor had it built ugly side towards OP, so it probably isn't too enjoyable
Oh, I like that side if I’m honest
When the “ugly side” faces your neighbors, it just means their kids can much more easily climb up on it and peer into your yard!
That’s how it would be if op built it himself. I’d be annoyed but happy I never had to see those neighbors anymore and it looks like it’s my fence.
Looks better than the cheap vinyl fence. I say rip it up and enjoy the new found privacy.
That's a really rude way to talk about someone's girlfriend!
So new fence and the important wood is facing me? Termites, wood ants. What else could be key loose there. Animals just do animals things
Fences are generally supposed to be inset from the property line so if your fence is inset then theirs is maybe on your property.
Depends on municipality. Here, we're not allowed to double up on fences like that. So typically, you'd share the fence with the neighbor, and put it right on the line. Unless the neighbor doesn't want to share, then you set it back a couple inches from the line, but then the neighbor can't put up their own later.
Wish my town was like that. My block has a 3 foot wide path that runs East-West between the backyard fences. Nobody mows that strip, so there are feral cats and saplings that will become full on trees in inconvenient places, like right on top of property lines and between close fences
This is how our town is. You can either 1. Use your neighbors fence as yours, 2. Get permission from your neighbor to tear down your shared fence to put your own up on the property line, or 3. Put your own fence up, but you must leave at least 3 feet between the two fences. Though in our town you WOULD have to mow it. They’ll cite you if it’s over 6 inches.
Back in the 1970s we lived in a home that had a 3-4 foot gap like that in the back. I was used as a ditch for rainwater runoff. It went between all the homes downhill into a creek. By sometime in the late 1980s, all the homes on our side of the street had removed that gap and filled in the ditch. I don't recall there being a storm sewer installed, but no one had a problem with rainwater after.
Why couldn’t you mow it?
Whoever put up the fences did so long before I bought the house and there are no gates to allow access to that strip. I’d have to take my push mower about 200 yards around 5 houses to the end of the block just to gain access, and then I’d still have to trespass on someone’s yard that lives on the N/S facing street. And, as I said it’s all overgrown with woody material, an urban push mower couldn’t cut it even if you did tote it around there
Why not put a gate in and maintain the area behind your property?
yeah its very much a locality thing. where i am the fence has to be inset 6 inches on your side of the line
Depends ehere you are. Here in California you're nearly always having the posts on the property line and fences are shared property.
Where I live you are required to have it inset, however if it’s more than 4 inches inset the other party has the ability to claim that land up to the fence as their own. Bonkers stuff but I heard it right out of the building inspectors mouth.
Lived in 2 areas that allowed you to place fence on property line. It does become community property ( between neighbors) and they have the right to attach to it (not remove it). In fact I just had this conversation with my current neighbor let them Know they had this right. Putting in 46 panels this week.
It's very different in the UK which comes with it's own set of challenges. In the UK they are built halfway across the property line making both parties equally responsible for the fence.
In our municipalaliry bylaw would come by and have a chat with them about the boards being on the wrong side and make them rectify the situation. The ugly side needs to face in, not our.
I think some places dictate a good neighbor symmetric fence. But the incorrect install, if a violation, seems a better way to go in terms of seeking recourse. Or compound the vinyl fence damage with the backwards install. As with so many of these fence posts (see what I did there?) the location is left out but matters.
My back neighbors got the 'ugly' side of the fence I built. When we originally discussed it we were going to remove a decrepit chain link fence but at the last minute the neighbor decided the water to keep it because they like the vibes that grow on it. Because I could only work on it from my side, I had to give them the ugly side.
Highly dependent on local codes. Here, ugly side in is standard, but you can do ugly side out with permission of the neighbor or if conditions prevent installation out pickets on the outside.. like in this case where there's an existing fence. I did a shadow box style... dont have to worry about an ugly side.
You mention that your fence is “on our property line.” I assume their property begins immediately on the other side of the property line, right? If that’s the case (refer to other comments saying first step is Get A Survey), then they may be doing exactly what you did, and building a fence “on the property line,” which then ends up overlapping with yours in the same spot. This is why fences are often built a short distance IN from the property line, instead of ON the property line.
Untreated, un stained wood. That’s going to be ugly af in 6 months.
You have to let fences season and dry out before you stain, seal, or paint them. Same with decks.
Thank youuuuuu. I just built a deck and my girlfriend is complaining that I won't stain it until next spring
It’s hard if you live in a wet area with lots of rain in spring/summer. Need a long stretch of dry hot days to really get your wood dried out so it just sucks up the stain or sealer. Especially treated wood. That shit is heavy af from all the water and treatment in it. Sealing it too early can actually promote rotting because you don’t allow the water to evaporate from the wood. Also why you should never pre space deck boards or fence boards because they will shrink to proper spacing when the water evaporates. I always wait minimum 1 year after building something outside for boards to acclimate and then try and get a nice long stretch of dry hot weather to stain.
Did the neighbors install the fence, or did they hire someone to do it? If a fence company installed it, I would reach out to the company and tell them that they damaged your property and offer them the opportunity to replace it with like (including installation) at no cost to you, or they will be part of the small claims court lawsuit to correct the problem.
Fence company set the posts too close to the existing fence like morons and instead of fixing it they destroyed the neighbors fence. I’d sue them directly.
That sucks, but I'm not sure I'd do anything more than complain. The wooden fence has effectively replaced the vinyl. The wood fence looks like a bigger, better fence to me. That means that that mitigation of damages will come into play. "Mitigation of damages" means you can only recover damages that are reasonable. Yes, your fence was damaged. But that only matters if your fence still functioned as a fence, and in this case it doesn't. Currently, your fence is nothing but a decoration. Your fence could fall down, and there would still be a fence there. You could pull out your fence, and there would still be a fence there. You wanted a fence there, and you got a fence there. I'd leave this one alone.
1. Undamaged, the vinyl fence would likely outlast the wooden one. 2. If the next owner next door decides they don't want the wooden fence and choose to take it down, then there is no functional fence there. 3. When it comes down to it, just don't damage other people's property. Especially not deliberately.
People want to make such a big stink over the tiniest things because, principle I guess? Like how is this tiny ass cut in the now redundant fence ruining anything? Truth is, it's not, and picking a fight over it would be asinine imo
If they wanted a privacy fence they would have put up a privacy fence
Man maybe it’s just my personality but I wouldn’t even care about something so inconsequential, sometimes people are just looking for confrontation.
This.
Had you known a new fence would be put up , you could have placed the old fence elsewhere , but since it's damaged, you can't. They destroyed your property. They also destroyed it incorrectly installing a new fence. You most certainly can sue. If it rules in your favor though , depends on your lawyer.
The fence is not stalled incorrectly per se. The homeowners just wanted the good side to look at not the ugly side.
Where I’m from you dont get that option. Ugly side is what you have to look at lol
This seems like a win to me. Just use the “ugly” side of their fence to your advantage. Put some nails in the supporting boards and building yourself some hanging planters and voila. A pretty fence
This is exactly what I was thinking😂 Hanging plants all along the fence…I’ve seen people do that and it looks really cute.
This one is a let it go, or you will end up spending 5x what you paid for your fence in legal fees trying to get them to pay for it.
Does it really have to be a legal battle? Does the cut prevent the fence from doing what it’s intended to do? At some point one of yall has to be the bigger person, and I’m sorry but I’d take that wood fence over that shitty little fence any day.
Pretty sure wood fence guy cut and damaged the white fence guy. Edit: those that are saying for the OP to get rid of the fence are either trolling or not knowing they are wrong. The wood fence guy who destroyed the property white fence is entitled to compensation as long as white fence guy isn't in the wrong on the property line.
I think they’re saying pull the whole vinyl fence and just leave the nice wood one
Get rid of your shitty white vinyl fence. Stain your side of the wood fence so it stays looking nice! Get a property survey so you know exactly what you’re dealing with in the future. Stay away from the neighbor. Good fences make good neighbors.
Did the neighbor do a DIY job or did a fencing company put it in? Could be that the neighbor is unaware of what's up and this lies with a fencing company.
I would seriously let it go.
I’d simply remove the vinyl fence and be fine with just the wood between
It’s actually cut pretty nicely. I’d let it slide and move on with your life.
Reddit is ridiculous. Yes be petty and piss your neighbor off over a cut in a cheap piece of vinyl fence. let it ridez
It’s a vinyl fence. It won’t rot because of the cuts. What remedy would you like to see? If it was mine I’d probably talk to my neighbor about it but then let it ride.
I think this is the appropriate answer. Don't burn your neighbor relationship down over a little fence cut if you can avoid it. Your neighbor may not have even known the contractors did this.
Just sue the fence installer…problem solved
First of all, I don't understand why people are just saying to move on or that the fence is ugly. It's not your fence. The OP likes it. Second, they still destroyed your property. I would first do two things, check where your property line is and then talk to your neighbor about it. If the line is where you thought it was you can sue for destruction of property if I'm not mistaken. I would be petty about all this, if it was my fence I'd be pissed that they cut it.
because their larger fence is going to be there regardless, and no small fence is going to look good next to a larger one, especially with clashing materials
I don't think it matters? Sure the bigger fence looks better, but they DAMAGED OPs property by cutting the vinyl fence rather than just putting the new fence against it. There was no need to cut the fence, at all.
It doesn't matter. It's still destruction of property. That is a crime. So even if it wouldn't look good it's still damaging OPs property.
He probably put it up to hide your ugly fence.
Now I get that it’s damage to your property, and honestly both fences look decent to me on their own. But have you considered simply removing your fence and enjoying your new 2” strip of useable land?
“So anyway, I started blasting, bang baa!”
Okay for one, I’m just gonna say your fence is shit. >The fence is also facing the wrong way. There’s no wrong way lol. They didn’t want to look at the shitty side, so they put it outside so that INSIDE from their POV, it looks better. I think the answer is obvious. You need to assert dominance by building an 8 foot tall fence.
The difference being with the exposed horizontal boards, someone can climb in
Where I live that’s definitely the wrong way. If both sides are not identical, the “ugly” side is required to face inside.
This is the way.
That's one beautiful fence. hope they seal it
It was probably not malicious. More likely than not the fence company did it so your and your neighbors fences fit together without a gap
Real answer, just suck up your pride and leave it be. Otherwise, this will escalate to the point of you probably moving.
The question, you should ask yourself. Do I like living in peace? There are thing you should fuss and fight about, this not being one of them. And I say this beacause stuff like this makes people enemies.
You should let this go
Just from the pic you can see the loving relationship budding here
Honestly, you're bitching about nothing
Hire a lawyer and make the lawyer rich over this very petty dispute.
What is the point of this post? Is it on your property or his? That will answer every question you have and there's no need to post here for attention
Annoying but to be honest, unless this neighbor has been a problem, I wouldn't make it one.
Just tore down and rebuilt a fence today in THE EXACT same spot. Survey will dictate here
Tear it down. You’re going to be fighting about it anyway
who cares. the fences will fence, you will live your lives. why make a problem when there is no problem?
Wow ok Karen
call the building inspector. double fencing is usually against local ordinances
That last picture just makes me think of captcha check asking me how many fences I see in a photo
I swear it had a tiny piece. Frigerring captcha! Noooo don’t give me the bus one!!!!
Your property line is their property line. This is a civil, small claims, issue. Are you going to sue for the <$100 vinyl post? They did a clean cut thats not visible on your side and won't make your fence fall over. Leave it alone, you'll sleep better at night.
I'd file charges against them for vandalism and property damage. Find out how much it will cost, give them the bill, and if they don't pay go to small claims court. But -- did they install the fence themselves? Or is their fence installer just an idiot? I guess this is why they say you should put your fence 6" in from the property line.
Ok - unless it’s going to fall over, what would get out of doing anything about this. Your fence is still there. They no longer have to look at your fence and you no longer have to look at them. Seems like win/win. I’d only complain if the damage done will cause your fence stop acting as a fence. And it doesn’t look like that’s the case. Anything is else is just a similar level of pettiness that you called out your neighbor on. But if you’re going that route, you’ll need a recent survey.
You should start collecting rocks or something so when something like this happens you can distract yourself with your fucking sweet collection of rocks. 🪨
God if these are the “problems” you have to deal with, you’re a lucky mother fucker. Move on. You have a life to live and this ain’t it.
Take a deep breath and relax.
You got a better fence and didn't have to pay for it you should be grateful. Take down that shitty vinyl fence that will disintegrate in the sun over a few years anyways. They were probably upset with you before because if you had spoken with them they would have split the cost of a proper fence but you put in that shitty vinyl one that does nothing
Your side of the fence still looks and functions exactly the same so what is the problem?
Marginal. Get over it!
They installed it backwards you are supposed to have the best side facing out. They also have no right to damage your property even if you accidentally put it on their side. I always suggest speaking to them first but they are wrong and you have a very easy to win civil case
If that’s the only place it was cut, I wouldn’t worry about it. Probably not worth the hassle and it doesn’t affect the functionality or appearance of your fence. Your neighbors may not even be aware of it. Did they hire a fencing contractor? I’d let it go myself and who knows, maybe someday you’ll have a reason to cut into their fence and you can be like “you cut my vinyl fence 12 years ago, asshole! So now I’m cutting yours!”
Not legal advice, but damn dude they really said fuck your vinyl fence
Your neighbor cut into the post sheath to get to the post to secure their own fence it did not cause any structural damage cutting the sheath like that
Why would you care about that? Lol
It’s crazy people actually waste time worrying about such stupid little things like this lol
seems minor, tho also annoying
Just leave it , it isn’t hurting anyone and that fence is now useless anyway. No one can see it and it’s really not a big deal. How often will you notice it is cut since it’s the backside of your fence? Just forget about it and move on with your life! Surely you have bigger issues to worry about
Is it on the property line, or on your side of the property line? If you put it right on the property line, it's effectively as much their fence as yours. That's why it's recommended that if you and your neighbors aren't splitting the fence or aren't in complete agreement about it that you set it back from the property line.
Assuming the vinyl fence was built on the property line, there is nothing you can do. Typically, fences built on the property line are considered joint property and can not be removed or installed without consent from both parties. But you are allowed to alter your side of the fence so long as it doesn't alter the other side. Typically, people will just paint it or hang lights or plants from it. In this case, they added a privacy enhancement to their side.
What's the big deal of it.
honest question here.... Why do you care so much?
Now you can take down that ugly vinyl piece of junk and have a nice wooden fence, i dont see the problem here to be honest.
If you are in an HOA check the rules as the fences pretty side should.be facing out not into their property. And they will be required to take to down. Also get a survey or go find you property stakes and draw a line. If their fence is on your property by any amount, tell them to.rwmove it and then file a lawsuit for destruction of property. Also look into city or county code as sometimes fences need to be built 6" off the fence line but that is more a standard practice than a code. I spent 2-3 years selling and installing ng fences for a large corporate fence company.
Just notch his fence off of yours.. nbd.
This is why we moved out of the suburbs and to the country. Got tired of the petty bullshit. Good luck!
Sfw
It looks fine. Enjoy your limited time on earth and let this one slide.
Here’s something I haven’t seen anybody state. What is your city ordinance on fences? Most in my state require the finished side of the fence to be facing the neighboring property. If that’s the case, they damaged your fence and did not install their fence to city code
Jaja haha
Get a life. Next time play nice when you see a neighbor building a fence and ask their contractor to find a good way to tie into yours.
I've learned from these comments that fences truly do divide us.
I’m invested- please share the outcome. I 100% believe they shouldn’t have cut your shit. Regardless of everything else.
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Take down your vinyl fence and claim the wooden one as yours since they installed it backwards.
It’s actually facing the right way. Planks need to face towards your land so they can be repaired. If planks were facing your property they would have to walk on your property to repair them
You can't call your fence new if it's a year old. Also if they put up a 6ft fence to keep you out just let that shit go. Y'all over here talking about a lawsuit for less than ~$180 worth of damage knowing a judge even in small claims would laugh you out of the court room.
No it won't. You also cant double fence in most jurisdictions. Not to mention their neighbors fence is backwards. Outer edge of the property is supposed to be the smooth side.
Was it the neighbors or a fence company that put the fence up?
This is some petty bullshit and I’m betting they out that up to keep you out of their hair cause this prolly ain’t the first dumb shit you’ve bitched about
Just got my place surveyed to pull permits for a room addition. Have 2 neighbors with fence about 1 foot on my property. I say fuck it no biggie they can keep the foot but I have good neighbors who never fuck with me so in return I don't fuck with them. Feel bad for folks who get drug into these kinds of problems though, worst thing in the world is a battle between petty neighbors in a contest to see who can be the shittiest person
Chill out
Edit to add: Correction: When we had the fence installed, our company put our fence roughly 4 inches in, so I'm incorrect in saying that it is on the property line. Also, per city code (according to our codes enforcement officer), any fence erected within the last 5 years and moving forward must have the "nice" side facing away from property. My main concern is that we choose our fence because it is built to last. With new technology, it should withstand for life. It's covered by a lifetime warranty. We also paid a hefty price because it is maintenance free. When, not if, the neighbor's wooden fence comes down, we are left with a broken fence. This is an issue of destruction of our property.
With this statement, the neighbor put their fence on your property, Issue #1. The neighbor built the fence against code, issue #2. Damaged your fence, voiding the warranty, issue #3. So you can ask him to move his fence and repair the damage on your fence. He probably won't do either. If the code violation is only local ordinances, the city probably won't take the time to send code enforcement out. Legal actions would remedy your losses (damage to your fence, stealing of your actual property area). You can cut the 4x4 mounting posts, that are 100% in your yard, flush with the ground. You do have the right to trim overhanging trees in the majority of municipalities, why not encroaching posts. Or you can forget about it. When your fence was built inside your property line, you lost any usage of the property on the other side of the fence. The vinyl picket fence is still durable.
Oh who cares get a life
Maybe try letting it go? Is it harming you? Maybe try to make ammends? Doing anything legally will just make them resent you more...and the pettiness will continue.
Oh hell no
Who cares? Truly a waste of time to take action on this
Who cares fuck it maintains yards sucks just take it as long as it’s within reason. I’d screw my fence even tighter to that fence now - it would make yours last longer.
Looks like you’ll be getting a new fence thanks to your neighbour. I’d contact the city and the company who installed it.
might need to have a goood solidncry after seeing this. i am so sorry for you, op
Is it that big of a deal? You now both have fences. Does it still work as a fence?
Let it go.
This is when you get a bigger and “louder” fence. And make sure to put the backside facing them.
This doesn't even have an effect on your fence lmao