ᐅ Terrace Wall Adjacent to Neighbor – What Should We Consider?

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

Bauherrin123 schrieb:

A wall is going to be built here now. What should be considered?

1. That a concrete wall measuring 3 meters (10 feet) long, 1.80 meters (6 feet) high, and 20 centimeters (8 inches) thick in the garden is pretty unattractive?
2. That you should talk to each other first?
3. This won't lead anywhere—the one person lays the foundation without asking, the other one slaps a concrete wall on top without permission...

Here are some pictures.

No, we’re not just putting something up there; we involve the neighbor. He only has bad ideas, so we want to offer him a good proposal with a better idea.

It will be plastered. Why should it be ugly?

Bauherrin123 schrieb:

Here are some pictures.

No, we’re not just putting something up there without consideration; we’re involving the neighbor. He just has some bad ideas, so we want to give him a good offer along with a good idea.

Such a question with no information... always read in advance before posting a starting thread. And then have some patience.
First impressions count, after all.

About the wall:

Gerddieter schrieb:

1. That a 3m (10 feet) long, 1.80m (5 ft 11 in) high, and 20cm (8 inches) wide concrete wall in the garden is quite ugly?

No, it definitely doesn’t have to be. It’s best to separate the area at the terrace level. If you don’t like the plaster finish, you can let it be covered in climbing plants or plant a bush in front of it.

Bauherrin123 schrieb:

Is 1.80m (5 ft 11 in) enough height?

1.80m (5 ft 11 in) is probably, as is common in local building codes and neighborhood boundary rules, the maximum allowed on the property line and therefore should be sufficient!
And of course, 17.5 cm (7 inches) or a 15 cm (6 inches) thick wall is also enough.

We had something similar at two heights, so about 4.50m (15 feet) total length—about as deep as a good standard terrace. At the house, 1.60m (5 ft 3 in), then 1 meter (3 ft 3 in) towards the garden.
However, I don’t think it was anchored to the house. Anyway: it doesn’t make life and neighborly relations complicated.

Bauherrin123 schrieb:

We want to separate our terraces.

The neighbor has at least put some thought into it, while the slowpoke neighbors, meaning you, are now bringing up complications. Ultimately, you want this, don’t you?
So: share the wall, agree on a nice finish, and be glad the neighbor has arranged something.

Bauherrin123 schrieb:

I have zero experience, does anyone have any?

Of course, you’re free to build a thicker wall on your own property if you want. 🙂

ypg schrieb:

Such a question with no information.. always read carefully before posting an initial thread. And then be patient.
First impressions really count.

About the wall:

No, it definitely doesn’t have to be that way. It’s best to place it at the height of the terrace. If you don’t like the plaster afterwards, you can let plants grow on it or plant a bush in front.

1.80 meters (5 feet 11 inches) is probably, as set out in most building codes and neighborhood agreements, the limit on the property boundary and should be sufficient!
And of course, a thickness of 17.5 or 15 centimeters (7 or 6 inches) is enough for a wall.

We had something similar in two heights, about 4.50 meters (15 feet) long in total—about as deep as a good standard terrace. At the house, 1.60 meters (5 feet 3 inches), then 1 meter (3 feet 3 inches) towards the garden.
However, I think it was not anchored to the house. Either way, it makes life and neighbor relations less complicated.

The neighbor at least gave it some thought, while the slow neighbors—meaning you—are now bringing complications. Ultimately, you wanted it to happen, right?
So: share the wall, agree on a nice finish, and be glad the neighbor took care of something.

Of course, you are free to build a thicker wall on your side of the property. 🙂

Thank you very much for the answer. So the neighbor only has a 3-meter (10 feet) deep terrace, and we want to build ours 4 meters (13 feet) deep. However, the roof covering may only extend as far into the garden as theirs does, so 3 meters (10 feet). How far should the wall extend on our side, 3 or 4 meters (10 or 13 feet)? Also, we are in Rhineland-Palatinate, and according to information online, you can build up to 2 meters (6 feet 7 inches) high without a building permit / planning permission.

To me, this looks a bit like insulated concrete forms, not carefully filled by hand with concrete. Are you sure this is a foundation for a wall—meaning deep enough, properly founded, and reinforced if necessary? Or did the neighbor just support their terrace with 1-2 rows of blocks?