Ivy and shared fenceline

I am hoping someone can offer some advice.

We have a fence between our property and the one next door (not adjoining house) and put up (and paid for) the panelled fence up a few years ago. However our neighbours decided to grow (without permission) ivy up it. Of course this has completely destroyed the fence. When they trim it they leave the off cuts all over our drive however when the wooden top edge broke off due to the ivy they managed to pick that up and throw it to our side.

The fence now needs replaced as it is a mess which is a shame as we paid for the other side too (not ours) and keep them coated regularly with fencecare to protect our investment.

Spoke to the neighbour last night and asked if he had any suggestions as the fence was destroyed. He said he didn't care as long as we didn't touch the ivy ( "as he doesn't like fencing"- bless him I don't like ivy and I pointed out that while walls are lovely we just cant afford it, which gave him the option to take care of some of the payment and also the ivy would still be there). I pointed out this would be impossible and it would need to be pulled back to allow fitting of new fencing.
My thoughts are
1) Concrete fencing panels (unsightly but fairly tough)
2) Plastic fencing panels with a sheet of metal behind sealed to concrete pillars to keep ivy at bay. Then I can remove panels at my will to trim edges.
3) More wooden panels which would match the other 2 sides of the garden but would be there for him/his ivy to destroy.

Can anyone think of anything I can treat the rear side with to prevent the ivy growing on fence ? or a better suggestion. Talking doesn't work obviously. I have no intention of harming his plants just want to discourage them growing on something we have worked long and hard to pay for.

Our neighbour isn't likely to move and we have no need to either.
I don't see why he should grow something onto an item he hasn't paid for I also have a feeling as soon as we put something in he will be nailing the ivy to the fence. If so the nails will be getting removed and put through the letter box with a copy of the invoice as this would be damage.

Aagghhhh why do people do this it really isn't fair especially when keeping the boundary under control with plants that take over the edge takes more time than the whole of the garden put together.

Thank you I really need objective advice and appreciate there are bigger problems in the world but due to other circumstances my leisure time is valuable and I don't want to waste it on things I didn't install.

 

Neighbours can be a real pain. Ours have a dog which has ripped many holes trying to get to our cat through the fence. We suggested many things to him stopping just shy of demanding he teach his dog some manners. But nothing was ever done, he nailed one bit of leftover wood over one of the holes because the dog was upseting his inflatable pool.

So it's probably down to you. Could you just not put a fence up for a while? Just let the ivy destroy it and see how he feels about having no boundary. He doesn't like fences well then we won't have one kind of thing.
Or you could have an ivy protection on his side, I'm thinking a run of chicken wire or something that his ivy can climb but leave an inch gap between it and your fence so it doesn't get to you. But that may leave a slight problem of the inch inbetween getting weedy and such.
But your second idea does sound like it would do the trick, though how much would that cost?

 

You could ask Melannie to come round and give you a hand...... ( see post bad neighbor not cutting grass )
Sorry couldn't resist that one.......

 

in South Africa, most homes have precast fencing (concrete panels that slide into the pillars) ... many paint them if they are plain, or grow creepers on them ... but there are panels that look like brick, so need no painting at all

they last a lifetime, are sturdy, are cheap and look much better than the flimsy wooden panels here in the UK ... they come in different designs and some look life face bricks

not sure why people still buy these thin wood fence panels?

]Fencing | Precast Walls | Precast | East Rand Walling

CELMAR PRE-CAST CONCRETE FENCING AND PAVERS | Fencing Slabs

http://www.republicfencing.co.za/images/precasts.JPG

 

Corrugated iron sheeting coated with anti-climb paint fixed with non-removable screws to the reverse of replacement timber fence panels would resolve this problem.

 

Hi
Keep talking
I have shared fences , and grow all sorts up them , honey suckle jasmin ivy 6 diffrent ones , at least 6 clematis I have lost count to be honest , but twice a year I go with permision round to next door and cut any offending plant growth off the fence and clear up all the mess and I have never had a problem and everyone seems happy enough ?? .

Its your fence , but falling out over a fence panel its just not worth it , but they should also £££ if they can , who knows they may not have the cash to spare.
And you may have put them in the mind set of " ££ you must be joking" but at the same time they planted ivy knowing it was your fence panel and would maybe need replacing ?? , they probably never even thought of that when returning a pieace of your panel now they knew that belonged to you !!!.

I would just go ahead and replace, but expect a falling out with the ivy being torn to pieces as you take the old panel away and putting somthing the other side to stop the ivy would be a waste of time plus if it was me I would remove the eye sore as I would see it ..

wall of China sounds the best bet....

Spruce

 

wall of China sounds the best bet....
or Melannie

 

Ask for advice on one of the Garden Law forums, they will be able to offer some good advice because I don't think they are allowed to do anything to your fence without your permission.

I like the precast fencing with concrete posts - solid and won't be damaged by the ivy.

You could cut the ivy back on your side so there is absolutely none of it hanging over the top of the fence, then just keep trimming every couple of weeks during the growing season. Won't stop the fence rotting but will really tee your neighbour off :yess:

If your neighbours don't like fencing tell them to plant shrubs in the border next to them.

 

First I cant believe the ivy actually rotted the fence, chances are its probably kept it dry.
I can understand the weight of the ivy actually pulling on the fence and perhaps causing some damage in windy weather.

Regarding replacing the fence, you wont be able to do it and leave the ivy intact, it sticks like glue.
So you WILL upset the neighbour.

I now replace all my fence panels with close board fencing its stronger has a longer life and is easy to do.
Not much more expensive either.

The concrete panels are strong but a bit like being in prison.

Unless of course you grow something like ivy up them.:D

 

How about replacing the fence and asking your neighbour if they would come to a compromise on the choice of climber, other than ivy. Clematis, perhaps, something both of you can live with and it won't destroy the panels. You could point out they would have lovely flowers to look at too.

 

I'd rip off the ivy, repair the fence and plant star jasmine (trachelospermum jasminoides)... evergreen, hardy and smells good for a month ... in the cold months, leaves turn red

it's slow to start off ... takes 2 seasons before it really gets going, but has a spread of approx 5m ... so plant them at 3m spacings (minimum)

needs sun to flower properly ... some say it's self clinging, but it's best to ru wires along the wall at 300mm spacings for support

problem with ivy is that it eventually sprouts all over your garden and have even seen it grow through the lawn ... so get it ripped out ASAP

 

When I chopped down my ivy recently, the fence was rotten underneath, to the point that the top of the fence panels were crumbling as I removed the ivy.

Don't know whether it was down to the ivy suckers or the fence being kept dry, but I cut the ivy right down to the fenceline and am letting it rot down a bit rather than pull it off and risk further fence damage.

 

I know it's your fence, but remember that your neighbour has to look at it from his side, and if he really doesn't like how it looks you can understand him wanting to camouflage it. Ivy was perhaps not the most sensible choice, though. If he would be less upset by a wall, go for the concrete panels. You would damage the ivy taking the existing fence panels out, but it's tough stuff. But as Spruce says, keep talking. See if you can find a way that you can both live with.