ᐅ Terrace Wall Adjacent to Neighbor – What Should We Consider?
Created on: 10 Jul 2025 18:48
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Bauherrin123
Hello forum members,
We want to separate our terraces from the neighbor, who without our consent poured a concrete base on the property line, about 17.5cm (7 inches) wide, and built his terrace there. Now it is basically possible to build a wall right on the boundary, with a maximum thickness of 17cm (6.7 inches).
The wall will be 180cm (71 inches) high and 3m (10 feet) long. It will be anchored to the house. I don’t have more details at the moment.
My questions:
Is the wall too thin at 17 or 17.5cm (6.7 or 7 inches)?
What do we need to consider? Alternatively, we could build a proper wall only on our property, or place it partly on the boundary but mostly on our land, using 24cm (9.5 inches) wide bricks. I have zero experience—does anyone have advice? The whole wall will be rendered white.
Is 180cm (71 inches) a sufficient height? I would appreciate any tips.
I will send pictures tomorrow. We have an end-of-terrace house and want to separate our terrace from the neighbor’s. Now he has already built his terrace and laid the foundation for the wall. The foundation is about 17cm (6.7 inches) wide and exactly on the property line, so it lies partly on his and partly on our property. The wall is going to be built on this foundation. What should be considered in this case? I will gladly share pictures tomorrow—it’s too dark now.
Kind regards,
Bauherrin123
We want to separate our terraces from the neighbor, who without our consent poured a concrete base on the property line, about 17.5cm (7 inches) wide, and built his terrace there. Now it is basically possible to build a wall right on the boundary, with a maximum thickness of 17cm (6.7 inches).
The wall will be 180cm (71 inches) high and 3m (10 feet) long. It will be anchored to the house. I don’t have more details at the moment.
My questions:
Is the wall too thin at 17 or 17.5cm (6.7 or 7 inches)?
What do we need to consider? Alternatively, we could build a proper wall only on our property, or place it partly on the boundary but mostly on our land, using 24cm (9.5 inches) wide bricks. I have zero experience—does anyone have advice? The whole wall will be rendered white.
Is 180cm (71 inches) a sufficient height? I would appreciate any tips.
I will send pictures tomorrow. We have an end-of-terrace house and want to separate our terrace from the neighbor’s. Now he has already built his terrace and laid the foundation for the wall. The foundation is about 17cm (6.7 inches) wide and exactly on the property line, so it lies partly on his and partly on our property. The wall is going to be built on this foundation. What should be considered in this case? I will gladly share pictures tomorrow—it’s too dark now.
Kind regards,
Bauherrin123
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nordanney11 Jul 2025 16:33Bauherrin123 schrieb:
I read the text but didn’t understand everything. I can also mark the boundary on my side, then I thought I had talked it over.I won’t answer your question if you don’t read the legal references that I even copied here as a basis. Section 40, paragraph 2. Everything necessary is stated there.Bauherrin123 schrieb:
we want everything to be completely enclosed and tall, so I think, According to the neighborhood law that @nordanney kindly looked up for you, that exact thing is not allowed. The limit is 1.20 meters (4 feet).
Or you will have to search for the sources yourself that relate to your property. Beyond a bit of guidance, a forum can’t do much more.
Otherwise, if you come to an agreement, then probably more is possible.
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wiltshire11 Jul 2025 18:37Bauherrin123 schrieb:
yes, of course, it’s expensive but I want peace and quiet.That is a very clearly stated goal.Apparently, your neighbor is open to discussion and prefers the cheapest solution. It seems your husband is conflict-averse in external dealings and is unable to process his inner frustration. Understandably, you feel uncomfortable caught in the middle.
Look for a mediator in your area and ask them if and how they can help you reach a sustainable solution that first provides you with lasting peace and only then with a wall built to your liking.
wiltshire schrieb:
Look into finding a mediatorIf that doesn’t get misunderstood 😉 However, I often notice here and elsewhere that forum posters are not necessarily the most cooperative neighbors but rather the ones causing problems, because they only .want., ignoring compromises or guidelines.
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Bauherrin12311 Jul 2025 23:00So, the neighbor has now paid, so we will build the wall 180 cm (70.9 inches) high and 3 m (9.8 ft) long using 17.5 bricks, and place the wall in the center. I need to check whether the foundation is okay. The mason didn’t dig anything, says it looks good, and the neighbor agrees. I’m not familiar with this because the company that built the terrace, the road, and a boundary crossing for the neighbor to the road, which is sloped and had some issues, handled it. I feel a bit worried. I will ask my husband to take a look and see if the foundation is solid.
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Bauherrin12318 Jul 2025 22:50Hello!
I am asking for advice again. First of all, I apologize for not being able to explain the whole backstory about why the neighbor is difficult. In any case, it is ALWAYS complicated, so I wanted to build the wall on my side, even if it is the most expensive option. We are in Rhineland-Palatinate.
The neighbor has a 3m (10 feet) deep terrace, and we are allowed and want to build 4m (13 feet). We are the end unit of a row house, so we are only building a terrace next to the neighbor. I will call him Mr. Müller. Müller is in the middle and is also building a wall towards Mr. Schmidt.
Schmidt and we wanted a wall 2m (6.5 feet) high and 4m (13 feet) long. Mr. Müller, however, is very aggressive and causes a lot of trouble. Mr. Schmidt often gives in, as does my husband. Long story short:
We agreed on a length of 3m (10 feet) and a height of 180cm (6 feet) with a cap on top, total height about 183/185cm (6 feet/6 feet 1 inch). Now the blocks have been laid up to 175cm (5 feet 9 inches), and the mason was supposed to cut and add something on top. Our immediate neighbor doesn’t want the wall to be 185cm (6 feet 1 inch), and without consulting us, asked the mason to leave the wall as it is, meaning total height 178cm (5 feet 10 inches).
A dispute started. To summarize: We then asked Mr. Schmidt, who is building the wall with Müller on the other side, to talk to him because this was the original agreement. Schmidt often gives in or, out of fear, works against us. Müller is very difficult. Anyway, Mr. Schmidt talked to Müller and Müller agreed. But today, when the mason was there, Müller refused to let him work again. My husband and Müller argued. Yes, it’s about 5cm (2 inches), but our terrace will be higher than his, my husband is 190cm (6 feet 3 inches) tall, we are tall, and we want a high wall and peace.
Mr. Schmidt has finally supported us and said he wants 2m (6.5 feet) too but is willing to accept 185cm (6 feet 1 inch) and not less, and so are we. Now the mason wants to continue building, but the neighbor is not cooperating. The mason has to keep working (due to weather)...
Now I have a question: If we tear everything down, can we build a 2m (6.5 feet) high wall on our property at the boundary? I want my wall on my property. I cannot share with the neighbor. The same applies to the fence — it should simply be a 1m (3 feet) high wire fence, I’m not sure what it is called exactly, and everyone builds on their own side.
Am I legally bound to anything? We have tried everything, but the neighbor is antisocial, and I just want peace and not to share with him.
I have now instructed the mason to continue building the wall to a total height of 185cm (6 feet 1 inch) tomorrow, without the neighbor’s consent. If the neighbor interferes, everything will be torn down, and he can knock off the foundation. We will rebuild on my property. I looked up property boundaries and fencing regulations — according to the building code, hedges and fences of 2m (6.5 feet) are allowed, but I don’t know what applies to walls, and the information is inconsistent everywhere.
What should I do? This is the last chance. The mason will simply build higher and plaster tomorrow, as originally agreed. If the neighbor causes trouble or doesn’t pay, there will be a construction stop, and we will tear everything down.
Some might say it’s our fault for not communicating. I don’t blame anyone because I haven’t even written everything that happened before. We have made so many compromises that we are no longer willing to accept anything except 185cm (6 feet 1 inch) or nothing. He now needs to learn to compromise as well.
So my question:
Am I allowed to build a 2m (6.5 feet) high, 4m (13 feet) long wall on the boundary with my neighbor? Do I have to pay anything to the neighbor? What rights and obligations do I have? Do I have to build exactly on the boundary line, or is what I described above allowed?
I am asking for advice again. First of all, I apologize for not being able to explain the whole backstory about why the neighbor is difficult. In any case, it is ALWAYS complicated, so I wanted to build the wall on my side, even if it is the most expensive option. We are in Rhineland-Palatinate.
The neighbor has a 3m (10 feet) deep terrace, and we are allowed and want to build 4m (13 feet). We are the end unit of a row house, so we are only building a terrace next to the neighbor. I will call him Mr. Müller. Müller is in the middle and is also building a wall towards Mr. Schmidt.
Schmidt and we wanted a wall 2m (6.5 feet) high and 4m (13 feet) long. Mr. Müller, however, is very aggressive and causes a lot of trouble. Mr. Schmidt often gives in, as does my husband. Long story short:
We agreed on a length of 3m (10 feet) and a height of 180cm (6 feet) with a cap on top, total height about 183/185cm (6 feet/6 feet 1 inch). Now the blocks have been laid up to 175cm (5 feet 9 inches), and the mason was supposed to cut and add something on top. Our immediate neighbor doesn’t want the wall to be 185cm (6 feet 1 inch), and without consulting us, asked the mason to leave the wall as it is, meaning total height 178cm (5 feet 10 inches).
A dispute started. To summarize: We then asked Mr. Schmidt, who is building the wall with Müller on the other side, to talk to him because this was the original agreement. Schmidt often gives in or, out of fear, works against us. Müller is very difficult. Anyway, Mr. Schmidt talked to Müller and Müller agreed. But today, when the mason was there, Müller refused to let him work again. My husband and Müller argued. Yes, it’s about 5cm (2 inches), but our terrace will be higher than his, my husband is 190cm (6 feet 3 inches) tall, we are tall, and we want a high wall and peace.
Mr. Schmidt has finally supported us and said he wants 2m (6.5 feet) too but is willing to accept 185cm (6 feet 1 inch) and not less, and so are we. Now the mason wants to continue building, but the neighbor is not cooperating. The mason has to keep working (due to weather)...
Now I have a question: If we tear everything down, can we build a 2m (6.5 feet) high wall on our property at the boundary? I want my wall on my property. I cannot share with the neighbor. The same applies to the fence — it should simply be a 1m (3 feet) high wire fence, I’m not sure what it is called exactly, and everyone builds on their own side.
Am I legally bound to anything? We have tried everything, but the neighbor is antisocial, and I just want peace and not to share with him.
I have now instructed the mason to continue building the wall to a total height of 185cm (6 feet 1 inch) tomorrow, without the neighbor’s consent. If the neighbor interferes, everything will be torn down, and he can knock off the foundation. We will rebuild on my property. I looked up property boundaries and fencing regulations — according to the building code, hedges and fences of 2m (6.5 feet) are allowed, but I don’t know what applies to walls, and the information is inconsistent everywhere.
What should I do? This is the last chance. The mason will simply build higher and plaster tomorrow, as originally agreed. If the neighbor causes trouble or doesn’t pay, there will be a construction stop, and we will tear everything down.
Some might say it’s our fault for not communicating. I don’t blame anyone because I haven’t even written everything that happened before. We have made so many compromises that we are no longer willing to accept anything except 185cm (6 feet 1 inch) or nothing. He now needs to learn to compromise as well.
So my question:
Am I allowed to build a 2m (6.5 feet) high, 4m (13 feet) long wall on the boundary with my neighbor? Do I have to pay anything to the neighbor? What rights and obligations do I have? Do I have to build exactly on the boundary line, or is what I described above allowed?
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