Advice needed on working out garden wall

[nazn]

Hi there,

I would like to build a garden wall that will be adjoining my neighbours front garden. As there has never been a wall here, how would I go about measuring/drawing a line that accurately (and fairly) is straight down the middle between our 2 properties. The wall will be roughly 16 feet by around 4-5 foot high.

I have considered about using a laser pointing device, but am not too sure how I would calibrate/level this to get a accurate reading. My other plan would be to a make a square frame and align this outwards from my rectangular bay window and then taking measurements between the bay and the centre point between the two properties and then projecting this measurement at the other end of the frame.

At the pavement end there is no post or markings where the centre line is. I would really appreaciate any advice if there was any other method employed used to work this out, that was foolproof and could be demonstrated to produce the same result every time in case of any future issues.

Many thanks

Naz

[Weatherlawyer]

First of all you need to establish where the legal ownership of the land is. Consult the deeds. Then you need to decide if you are better off without this clarity made available to all.

(You may find a lot less of the property than you currently assume, is actually yours. Then what will you do?)

With agreement from the neighbour, you select two datums, one each end of the border and stretch out a line along it. Mark the line with sand and dig down about 18 inches to lay a 6" deep 9" wide pad of concrete all in one pour along the flat, level, bottom of the trench.

Check the measurements again and get agreement on them, before the pour.

If you only have a small mixer, measure out the mix in advance -if you have enough buckets, or make a plie of dry-mixed ingredients, that only requires shovelling back into the mixer and wetting, when you decide to go for it.

[Bob Mannix]

Depending on your neighbour, this 9" wide pad of concrete may straddle the boundary as a party wall - more likely you will be reauired to have it all on your side (as you wanted it). Best to get these things sorted before you start. Sometimes giving an inch can prevent a lifetime of aggro, even if it does go against the grain.

[Chris Bacon]

Marking out is only part of the problem. Once you've agreed it with your neighbour (including who owns the wall; will it be built entirely on your ground), you've got to ensure that it's safe (that's quite a high wall), and that you will not get problems from the council, who may get ratty if it's over a metre high next to the path.

[nazn]

Thanks for all the replies,

I have a good relationship with my neighbour, they have only recently moved in and are happy for the work to go ahead. I have suggested that the wall would need to be built from the centre point between our two properties, the gap between our front doors is 14inches. I have calcualted for a 9inch wall thus requiring around 5in from either side.

My problem is working out a datum at the garden entrance (there are no gates!), I can see this being the area of contention as I would like the wall to be near as dammit 90 degrees from the house wall, its how I achieve this easily that is taking up the time.

Many thanks Naz

[Chris Bacon]

They're happy for you to build your wall on their ground? Coo!

If the walls are straight, it's easy to go out at 90 degrees using a 345 triangle.

[nazn]

They're happy for you to build your wall on their ground? Coo!

It's not really 'my' wall as such. it will be a dividing garden wall as seen on many properties. The reason I am building it is because last year they had the dividing rear garden wall re-built at thier expense as part of some work they were having done on their house before they moved in. I was asked for half the costs and decided to stay out of thier current deal with the builders and agreed that I would build the front garden wall. Seemed like a good idea at the time!

If the walls are straight, it's easy to go out at 90 degrees using a 345 triangle.

I just assumed the house walls would be straight and hence my plan to build at 90 degrees, what is a 345 triangle?, I expect this is 3 pieces of timber I would lash up to make the triangle to put against the house walls??

Thanks

Naz

[Owain]

A 3-4-5 triangle made out of string pulled taut will give you a right angle.

Alternatively take two points A and B on a line

A-------------------B

From A and B draw two arcs with the same taut string. the ) shows roughly the arc. The length of the string must be longer than half the distance between A and B.

From point A

/) / ) / ) / ) A ) \ ) \ ) \ ) \)

Ditto from point B.

The two arcs will cross at two points. A straight line between those two points will be at right angles to the line between A and B.

If the two houses are exactly parallel with a passage between then the simple way is to measure the centre of the passage at the front of the house and at the back of the house, and extend the line between those two points using a taut string.

Owain

[The Natural Philosopher]

Pythagoras is your friend.

3-4-5 meter triangle is a right angle.

Just fiddle till it comes right. All you need is a 5 meter tape.

[Chris Bacon]

You could do that... mark three pieces of timber with lengths of 3, 4, and 5 units. Nail together. Use this triangle as a set-square. You could probably use a large home-made pair of compasses to do the same job, just as we did in early trig. at school.

You are posting from Google Groups. There's some way of including context in your posts, which would be quite helpful.

[John Cartmell]

Education these days!! ;-((

Take a length of string and make knots in it at regular intervals of say approx every yard. The exact measurement doesn't matter as long as the gap between every knot is the same.

Distance from one knot to the next is a length. You will need 13 knots making

12 lengths. Put the first knot by the house at the centre point. Line the first three lengths along the wall and get someone to hold the first knot and the fourth knot by the wall. Give the person holding the first knot the line with the last knot and tell them to hold the two together. Measure out 4 lengths out from the centre of the house (other end of the string) and you will find that the triangle of string will be taut when the 4 lengths are at right angles to the wall. Mark where the knot at the end of those 4 lengths lands. Do exactly the same but this time measuring the three lengths in the opposite direction from the centre. If your measurements are right the new marked point should be the same as the first - if it's slightly out take the average. Mark a line going through that point.

[Guy King]

The message from "nazn" contains these words:

You've not done this before, have you?

[Brian Sharrock]

Your conveyancing document will describe the layout of your plot. [If you're lucky there will be a plan of the plot; if not there will be a word-portrait of the plot ... having a frontage of nnn feet on the south side and a depth of nnn feet ...etc.] There is insufficeint information in your posting for anybody to deduce whether or not the boundary of _your_ conveyed land plot is at right angles to your house.

Check that your 'line' equates to your conveyance boundary ... it's feasible that _your_ plot is a itsy-titsy thin triangle ... :)

[nazn]

Thanks for all the replies including the funny ones! - you guys guessed right this is new to be, I have however spent 6 years or so doing the house up which now looks as if needs to be done all over again!

I really do appreciate all the assistance, I think I will stick to the triangle idea as it seems to be the most simple.

Many thanks

Naz

[Rob Morley]

On the plan attached to the deeds, does the dividing line look straight from the back of the house to the front of the front garden? Are the two houses level at the front (in plan view)? If so you should be able to measure (for example) 10 feet along each house front, then 20 feet to where you think the boundary is - the point that is 20 feet from the two positions on the front of the houses will be square with the front.

| | ______________|__________________ \ | / \ | / \ | / \ | / \ | / \ | / \ | / \ | / \|/

Stick a nail in the wall where the houses meet, stick a post in the ground where the measurements meet, and run a bit of string between them :-)

[Weatherlawyer]

Learn the pros and cons of posting to news groups by researching Nettiquette.

[mrcheerful]

Simplest way is to get a very long ball of string and triangulate.

mrcheerful