repair or improvement, and what else to look for before buying

[Desto]

Investigating a broken driveway gate at one of my most recently purchased IP's, I discovered that none of the timber fence posts are embedded in concrete.

The entire 20 m long, 1.8m high timber fence with double driveway gates, has not a single post in concrete. I was totally unaware of this until the driveway gate came off its hinges and I had to call Hire-a-Hubby to take a look at it.

'Hubby' came along, dug around offending post since it needed replacing due to cracked timber, and discovered not a single drop of concrete. We got curious and dug around remaining 7 posts only to find all of them were just stuck in the ground without concrete.

Charming! No wonder the fence has begun to take on a rather skewed look!

Most posts are not in the best condition anymore due to constant exposure to moisture since there was nothing to protect the timber in the soil. This is going to cost me close to $1000 to have them replaced and concreted in.

So, is this a repair or an improvement cost?

Oh, the fence is facing the street, so no sharing of expenses with neighbours

Of all the things to look at when considering house purchase, take a very close look at the fence and ensure that it is stable and the posts embedded the correct depth and with concrete!

Bummer

 

[abcdiamond]

Desto

If the people who do the job invoice it as a repair, then I am sure you would be able to claim it as a repair.

 

[phm]

Hi there

I don't know if this is any help... but on a gardening show recently, the bloke "fixed" a six foot paling fence that was past its prime by attaching a steel post to the fence, cementing the post into the ground and fixing the top railing only of the paling fence to the steel post. This allowed the old fence to move a bit, I think, was the reason for not fixing the bottom railing as well. Gave the old fence a new lease on life, for a while, I guess.

 

[Jacque]

Phm,
That's exactly what we recently had done to our old timber paling fence around the side. Our posts were concreted in but were starting to fall apart. Our fence is now straight and the new metal posts unobtrusive, as they are only about a third of the width of the timber posts. Much cheaper option, too.