There is an approx 2m high retaining wall between me and my neighbour (a developer), concrete posts (about 25x25cm square) with solid slabs slabs of concrete between them. I am on the high side. The neighbour has just drilled into the concrete posts about 1m above ground level and attached a timber fence (approx 2m high) directly to the retaining wall (ie the timber fence is suspended entirely from the retaining wall and has no contact whatsoever with the ground!). The timber fence is about 10-15m long, so it must also be reasonably heavy. I’m really concerned that him doing this may have structurally damaged the retaining wall, between drilling into the concrete posts in multiple places and hanging something (probably quite heavy) there. My local council says that they don’t deal with retaining walls, I called Dept of Public Works and Housing... but no one seems to be able to tell me what codes/laws are in place for me to determine what I can or should do about this, and what he can and can’t legally do. Surely this would be damaging the retaining wall? Surely there are some rules against that? Surely if he was even thinking about doing this, he should have had to give something in writing to me, and have an engineer or certifier approve it or even have a council devt application for it? Can anyone give advice on where I can find relevant codes/laws, and what I should do? Our shared boundary runs along his double block, and I’m concerned he’s going to try and extend it along the second block too. Is there something I can do to prevent it? Thanks for any input... I’m in Brisbane.
Neighbour damaging retaining wall
- Thread starter KatieS
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You seem very upset about this, but there might not be any issue. I suggest you talk to them about your concerns. You might find that they do have an engineer’s certification or similar on it.
Retaining walls once over a certain height need to conform to engineering specifications. If this is the case, you are not allowed to change the structure without first having an engineer look at the changes. Adding a load such as a fence would qualify as a change, and with wind loading as well it definitely needs evaluation and certification. Check with your council what the height limits are in your area, and if the original wall has certification/approval.
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