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Neighbor wants to use our fence as a retaining wall!!

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A

anelson

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? OR

Hi, we just completed a fence, and now one of our neighbors is telling us that we need to buy pressure treated 2x6's to put on his side so he can backfill against it.

His foundation sits at about 1 foot above ours, and we had to remove a bunch of the dirt that was on our property from the construction of his house to even out our lot and put in our fence.

I told him that the fence was not built to carry a load, and that we didn't budget for any extra pieces of wood to hold his dirt off of it.

I think that he is completely out of line asking (basically telling) us that we have to pay for this wood to protect our fence. He says that he doesn't have the money for a concrete retaining wall, so this is his solution.

We don't want him to backfill against it - but if we don't buy the wood to hold the dirt off he might just throw dirt against it anyways, and we just spent a TON of $$ getting it in and dont' want it ruined.

**Whose responsibility is it to keep the dirt off of the fence?
**If it is his, how do I prove it to him?
 


B

BelizeBreeze

Senior Member
anelson said:
What is the name of your state? OR

Hi, we just completed a fence, and now one of our neighbors is telling us that we need to buy pressure treated 2x6's to put on his side so he can backfill against it.

His foundation sits at about 1 foot above ours, and we had to remove a bunch of the dirt that was on our property from the construction of his house to even out our lot and put in our fence.

I told him that the fence was not built to carry a load, and that we didn't budget for any extra pieces of wood to hold his dirt off of it.

I think that he is completely out of line asking (basically telling) us that we have to pay for this wood to protect our fence. He says that he doesn't have the money for a concrete retaining wall, so this is his solution.

We don't want him to backfill against it - but if we don't buy the wood to hold the dirt off he might just throw dirt against it anyways, and we just spent a TON of $$ getting it in and dont' want it ruined.

**Whose responsibility is it to keep the dirt off of the fence?
**If it is his, how do I prove it to him?
Click to expand...
How far onto your land from the property line is the fence?
 
S

Some Random Guy

Senior Member
Is the fence on your property? If so, what right does he have to put dirt up against it and quite possibly damage it?

If he wants to build a retaining wall he can do it on his own property with his own materials. Talk to him and see if you can come to an agreement. Then send him a certified letter telling him that he does not have permisison to use your fence as part of a retaining wall.
 
A

anelson

Junior Member
We were sure to put it on our side - there is at least 1-2 inches between the outer edge of our fence and our property line.
 
Y

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
anelson said:
We were sure to put it on our side - there is at least 1-2 inches between the outer edge of our fence and our property line.
Click to expand...
Then he is 100% responsible if any of his "retaining dirt" touches your fence or otherwise ends up on your property.

Now, if it were me, I'd tell him that he can build his "dirt wall", but only on the condition that you can do the same, except you want to use his house to play the role of "your fence". If he's dumb enough to agree, it's worth having to buy some lumber to be able to legally bury the jerk's house in dirt. :cool:
 
A

anelson

Junior Member
Then he is 100% responsible if any of his "retaining dirt" touches your fence or otherwise ends up on your property.

So is there any law that says this? How do I prove it to him? Do I just threaten the use of legal action?
 
Y

You Are Guilty

Senior Member
anelson said:
Then he is 100% responsible if any of his "retaining dirt" touches your fence or otherwise ends up on your property.

So is there any law that says this? How do I prove it to him? Do I just threaten the use of legal action?
Click to expand...
The same law that says he can't build an igloo in your backyard or move into your basement. The law of ownership (property law). Your property (land/fence) is your property, even if it's only 1-2" away from his.
 
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