I would then try once more to collect half the costs from your neighbor (although you dont have to do this) and if she continues to refuse you will proceed with filing the lawsuit. Jim, thank you for the great question. Subscribe to our mailing list to get news and discounts. Do not do so! margin-left: 0; My fence completely encloses my back garden and is a corner lot. Adjacent vehicle loads supported by the retained soil Solid fences that are attached (or directly adjacent) to a retaining wall also impose additional lateral forces on a retaining wall when wind pressures act on the fence. Allan Block, Earth stone, Keystone, etc.) Secondly, is the fact that she is stating the material are the same costs as the labor; that would be a huge red flag for me. Nat, I am slightly confuseddo you mean none of the fence contractors are willing to take on the job without both homeowners consent? are frequently available from local building supply warehouse stores. He was not able to remove our fence othe next day, but was able, last minute to come three days later when we were out of town for the day. A retaining wall supports the land and is designed from bricks, timber, masonry, concrete bags, or suitable material. Most houses have nothing between them in the front yards other than a concrete mowing strip or plants, if anything. The neighbor and his fence company will then need to do what any reputable company would do and fix it to make sure both adjoining neighbors are 100% satisfied with the final fence. Yet, since you werent even the homeowner at the time of replacement, I would say in my best judgment that they have no legal standing against you. The back part of the fence, in the backyard, fell and is neighboring half of the neighbors front yard. then more than likely a judge is going to side with you. She is seriously the neighbor of nightmares and this is why people need to understand what it means to live in an HOA community. Luckily, state law provides some guidance when it comes to fences, property lines, tree trimming, and more. Is this situation an exception? Thanks. Thanks for any input. Redwood trees at top of slope in his his corner hides the fencing in this area. Every state interprets use differently. Its been about two months now and I have not heard from them and they have not trimmed their trees/bushes. A retaining wall is a wall designed to resist lateral earth and/or fluid pressures, including any surcharge, in accordance with accepted engineering practice. Does this mean both neighbors are responsible for the cost of the retaining concrete wall as well? Pics and docs of the current properties fencing Still, we would have been happy to go 50/50 on a new fence but they did not inform us and did ask for us to help pay for a new fence. This, as many people know, can be a whole other issue, and information on the collection can be found on your local county court self-help website. There is a fence that runs right through our parcel it is aprox. You are not responsible for any of the costs whatsoever and therefore you should not pay half much less the full costs, which I have no idea how this neighbor believes this to be fair. There has never previously had a boundary fence. T 604-864-5510 E planning-info@abbotsford.ca Building Permits & Licences 1st Floor, 32315 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford, BC T 604-864-5525 E building-info@abbotsford.ca . From the way you have explained it, I would predict you are not going to be responsible whatsoever. We never had any retaining concrete wall, just the fence besides our plant bed that separates the two properties. First off, it might end up looking funny as often different fence companies use different grades of wood from different suppliers as well as have their own building techniques which may not match the other contractors. We could not afford to replace it so we said we did not want it removed, as it was enclosing our property. Can I still take him to court. I text him to have proof and he calls me to answer do I have no write that he agree to go half. 9. Any time children, especially my own, sat on the fence, the homeowner would yell get off my fence. area let me know and Ill go talk to him! So your situation depends heavily on who dug into the hill and installed the retaining wall in the first place--your neighbor's predecessor, or yours. I know personally, I would never get involved with such a situation! Today the homeowner is tearing down a portion of the fence and replacing it with no notice and said he is not replacing the whole fence as we agreed nor my gate. Theyre so close that the trunks of the trees have pushed against the lower fence rail and caused the fence to separate from one of the posts and lean into my yard. This is very true OriginalWally, thank you very much for the information! All wood retaining walls shall be constructed entirely of treated wood and conform to standard drawing LS-43. Re: Retaining wall law. UBC 106.2, item 5 states that: A building permit shall not be required for retaining walls that are not over 4 feet in height measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, unless supporting a surcharge . Now the neighbor wants the planks that my husband nailed to be removed. keeping dogs/ children, etc. It has to be built tough and allow drainage without giving way. This was not a tornado , ir hurricane , and there was no other wind damage in the neighborhood . You can state you will fight them in court. what if my dog runs off? How is this even possible? Hi RC fencing! I reported to my insurance and they paid for half the replacement cost. We gave them a written letter explaining that we would be repairing the fence along with their equal responsibility for the cost of repair. Then let him know you would be willing to cover 100% of the costs as long as he is willing to switch to a vinyl fence. Please let everyone know if you have any ideas as to another route to take. Ive got all my quotes and now guess what.. none of them will agree to the job unless both homeowners consent! In order to interpret this building code section correctly, a clear understanding of the following terms is essential: Retained Wall Height is the vertical distance measured from the bottom of the footing to the finish grade at the top of the wall (i.e. #gallery-1 .gallery-item { Theres an easement/driveway between my backyard and my neighbors front yard. We deal solely with fences and decks and not siding, etc. I live downhill from a neighboring house which was built after my house. A week later, I came home to find a for sale sign in his lawn. We are bought material and begun our construction on the 3 other sides( in progress before he approached me). The quotes Ive gotten for a survey are from $750 to >$6000 depending on how much work they need to do, well in excess of the cost of replacing that portion of the fence. They told me that as long as I dont pay then Im not allowed to touch their wall at all and they were going to take me to small claims for them to collect what I owed them. The wall design shall be prepared under the general responsible charge of a California registered structural engineer. (Please confer with a licensed Attorney to confirm as we can only provide information and not legal advice!). The neighbor said he gave notice ahead of time but has no proof and I never got any prior notice. All other retaining wall construction will require a separate Building Permit. Were going through a similar situation. As the law is on your side, the case is a sure win, as long as you followed the proper procedure outlined above. My backyard borders three neighbors (cul de sac), and the fence was in approximately the same (poor) condition across all three. Aesthetically, it looks better and I have another fence with another neighbor where I already have the 2x4s on my side. If your neighbor has never fenced his land, he does not have to provide a fence that only really serves you. While you really cant fix the past, what I would do about the future is document the damage caused by the debris (showing the fence areas without trees and debris), and then ask them if theyd like to keep the fence cleaned off monthly, or would they prefer to split the cost of a lawn care service company to come and keep it cleaned off using a leaf blower. The second option is to leave the failing wood fence there and build a vinyl fence a foot or two into your property. For more information or questions please call RC FENCES @ (925) 405-7658 or email at [emailprotected]. Claiming to only want to speak to said contractor or my brother( union famer but didnt live here) not me or my mother. There were 3 major mistakes on his part. Do they have the right to force us to sign their agreement to allowour work to start? -Was the retaining wall initially required because the lower neighbor graded their property and therefore it was their responsibility to provide support to the uphill neighbor whose natural support they cut away during the grading and leveling of the property. We do not want, or have a need for this new fence. Remove quotes around phrases to match each word individually: "blue drop" will match less than blue drop. If you are inferring above that another option would be to repair, then you have missed the actual basis for this article. Am I supposed to send another certified letter with the bids on replacing the fence and give them a demand again or just go to small claims court and ask the judge to rule that they need to split the cost on fixing the fence? So he got one estimate and paid the company and then demanded I pay half. It came thru the fence and nearly thru the fwnce on the OTHER side of my yard . It seems we can not agree. To check your legal obligations and responsibility regarding retaining walls, you should contact the Building Department at your local council office. Most likely your neighbor did it purely for aesthetic reasons, and that is not a valid reason if he wished to be reimbursed for half the costs down the road. I stated I was not the owner at the time, but I was willing to pay half. First off, if there was no fence there already you shouldnt have to pay anything, especially if it will not finish enclosing your yard giving you that security benefit. What happens then? An anchored retaining wall can be constructed in any of the styles but also includes additional strength using cables or Helical tie backs with other types of rods anchored in the rock or soil behind it. This applies only if the fence is currently directly on the dividing lot line. If it is a party wall both parties are equally responsible for the repair. If you have a retaining wall or are planning to build one, it is important to ensure the structural integrity of the wall. Any tips on how to proceed? Never asked for financial help. Based on this minimum footing thickness, a retaining wall with a maximum retained wall height of 4 feet would correspond to maximum exposed wall height of 3 feet. As long as you have proof that your neighbors shed caused all the damage due to being improperly anchored down, then I would not accept any responsibility and pay a dime to make the repairs, instead demand he do so! Certified letter of intent This year the fence is leaning towards our house and part of the fence is on the ground, my wife got 3 bids and has contacted a contractor to build a new fence she sent a letter to the gentleman to tell him we are going to replace the fence and He sent us an e mail and I quote as for sending me a bill for my portion of the fence, since I personaly did not agree to participate in the replacement there for I will not pay anything. Spoke to the neighbor again, told him I want to move the fence to the property line, first he said fine as long as its a block wall, so we got estimates but that was too much, so then he said we could move my fence to the property line, and then yesterday changed his mind again and said do not remove original fence! He set the first two panels on the slope with good side facing him. So now HOA is advising me to serve her with the 30 days notice and if she still refuses to then take her to small claims to have the judge order her to agree to the fence replacement and payment. Shouldnt we have a right to easily access our own property? } Structural Calculations wet stamped and signed by a California registered civil or structural engineer (or standardized engineering calculations and ICBO Evaluation Report for applicable segmental gravity retaining walls). Thank you, we try and post informative blog articles as much as we can but with the workload lately, sometimes it just isnt possible. The second and third reasons only apply if the fence needed to be replaced in the first place, but I will touch on them anyway. Some years back, with consent from the prior owner of the neighboring house, my husband paid for and built a fence in our FRONT yard between our driveway and neighbors side yard for growing plants on (decorative). If it is on your property and you are sure of it (please make 100% sure) then yes you can go ahead and do whatever you want with it, such as tear it down. The fence is old and rotted and they have ivy growing on it which has helped to cause it to fall into my yard. The only issue that will come into play is the short notice period or your case would be a slam dunk.. Labor costs for . The neighbor has a large tree that pushed against the fence along with an old mattress behind their shed that did not help with the fence integrity. Is there anything I can do to stop neighbors from bullying me? If you are looking for a contractor in the San Francisco bay area to construct your retaining wall, be sure to contact Montclair Construction.
retaining wall responsibility california