Neighbour's hedge is the height of our roof .

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pablo123

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Hi, Our neighbours hedge has now grown to the height of our roof , We are back to back house,s , I used to maintain it but the day,s of climbing ladders with a chainsaw are behind me , This is the highest it has ever been since it was not touched in five years and the branches are very thick now , I have repeatedly ask him to sort it out but to no avail , He said he had a quote of 4000.00 euro to cut and dispose of and it but he will not pay it , To add to it there is nest of midges in there so when they come out in their droves our back is out of bounds after putting our hard earned money into making it a relaxing place to sit out in , Do we have any other options open to us , I am willing to pay half even though it is on his property but he has no interest in resolving the issue , Any advice would be appreciated .
 
He cannot or will not maintain the hedge himself, but is happy for you to do so. Get your own quotes, pick the cheapest and spend the money. Consider it an investment in the future enjoyment of your garden. Take it back to 4ft and it will be a lot easier to maintain going forward.

Our neighbour liked his side of the hedge higher than our side and like you in recent times my husband found it too much for him to do with a ladder and trimmer. Guy called to the door, offering to do the hedges, quoted €250, and was doing Ok until he came to the one with the neighbour. He needed a chainsaw to deal with the long growing limbs of the hedge which were about 4 inches diameter. The cost went up to €400, quick discussion with neighbour to get agreement and it was severely trimmed back. The neighbour did not offer to pay any of the costs.

We also have two very large trees at the back of our garden, one of which severely overhangs another neighbour. A very large limb fell in a wind storm, which we paid to get removed safely but we knew (as we had known for many years that the trees needed to be evaluated expertly). Our neighbour on the tree side was not happy with the crew I had used to clear the limb as they had knocked over and broken a flower pot on his side. So eventually after many months and more discussions about trees than I ever wanted to have he decided on a one man operation who took many many days to cut back the trees. The neighbour was happy and we were just glad it was safely done.

It just costs to keep neighbours happy, and we are willing to pay the cost.
 
pablo123 said:
, Do we have any other options open to us , I am willing to pay half even though it is on his property but he has no interest in resolving the issue , Any advice would be appreciated .
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Firstly do not fall out with the neighbour. 4K is a lot of money. Ask him how much he is willing to pay. And tell him you'll find someone for him, you organise it etc. You need a man at the door with chainsaw like Clamball suggested.
 
Blackrock1 said:
Men calling to the door are usually never the best people to do jobs like this.
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Agreed, anyone in that line of work depending on calling door to door for work likely isn't very good. Price going up mid-job is another sign of a chancer. A 2 minute inspection by someone who knows what they're doing would have made the scale of the work clear.

It can be dangerous work and you don't want to find out after an accident that they're not insured.
 
You need to get some quotes from a proper and insured tree surgeon firstly to understand what needs to be done.

Secondly, you can't simply chop down someone's hedge, you need to get proper agreement from them to do so, especially if they are not going to pay for it. Otherwise you run the risk of a different dispute
 
Be very careful who you select to do any of this work. Tree pruning and felling in particular, but also heavy hedge work. You need people who are reputable, who know what they are doing and who are fully insured in respect of casualty/injury and property damage.

Google “tree cutting scam ireland” if you want to see what goes on. In particular avoid any rough looking lads who call to the door, call you boss, offer a great deal for cash and operate out of an old unmarked white transit van with yellow rear number plates.
 
Instead of disposing the branches have them mulched on site into chippings for under the hedge.

A good way to check the bona fides of someone is to enter their phone number into Google and see what throws up. I needed a roof repair and what seemed to be a well recommended service had the same phone number for several roofing and driveway services.
 
You are entitled to cut branches of your neighbour's hedges or trees, but through one of the many interesting quirks in Irish law, you do need to offer them the cuttings. Failure to offer them the cuttings is theft, placing them on their property without their permission is littering!
 
Warning on mulching: We had a tree in our front garden cut down professionally and mulched in situ. Irate neighbours gave out about their cars were now dirty and they had just apparently had a car wash that day. We ended up paying for a new car wash for three cars.
Ní mar a shíoltar a bhítear.
 
Thanks for all of your advice , I will try to find someone myself and pay toward the cost , Common sense as usual has no part in this , I cannot understand why there is no by law to protect people that look after their property , We should look at how other European countries operate and mimic them , Again thank you for your great advice .
 
Our neighbour insisted my husband cut the hedge on her side for her as the hedge was apparently ours. He had to go down the driveway, pass immediate neighbours, to get into her place. She was annoyed at him for wanting to use her electricity, and even more annoyed when he wanted to out to cuttings into her bin.

In another property the neighbours grandfather was obsessed over cutting his daughter’s hedge. He’d be at it every 2 weeks, and he’d meticulously only cut half way on top. Their far neighbours were social misfits, never cut the hedge, so it was reaching for skies, the one time they tacked the forest it was a sight to behold, literally hacked it to pieces.

This is the European nirvana. But to be fair people generally do have more respect.

Anytime I got a tree or wild hedge taken down it was always a guy with the trimmer or chainsaw. Never thought of asking about insurance. My BIL is the first one out with his chainsaw when a tree falls. For good neighbourliness and the free wood I suspect is an added benefit. There is no way he is insured.
 
It makes you wonder why you bother , We cannot all be the same but laws should be in place if for no other reason to keep your property reasonably kept , It is not snobbery , I grew up in a kip to be honest , It just takes a bit of effort to get out of bed and do the basics .
 
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