Max Legal Height of Boundary Wall ?

[Daffy D]

I'm sure this has been covered before but I can't find it.

Is there a maximum height one can build a boundary wall/fence?

One side of our plot is a nice one and half meter high solid wall made of concrete posts and cement blocks. This wall belongs to the owner of that land.

Up to now the land on the other side of the wall has been sort of left alone and resembled a mini jungle. That was alright as the trees shaded our kitchen and bathroom from the morning sun and the foliage was too dense for anyone to get through easily.

Now the owner has cleared the land and is going to build some rental accommodation. Apart from that side of the house getting hot in the morning because of the cleared trees it is also now very open for just about anyone wanting to climb over the wall and get into our garden.

The owner has vey kindly given permission for us to fix some uprights onto his wall on our side so I can put up some sort of trellis extending above the current wall to get some shade back on our kitchen and bathroom and deter anyone from just popping over the wall.

I would obviously like the section of trellis above the wall to be fairly high but don't want to cause any possible conflict with our obliging neighbor by exceeding any height regulations.

So is there a boundary wall height restriction and if so what is it?

Maybe I should start another post for this but while I'm here .................

To fix uprights to the wall that will hold the trellis I'm probably going to use lengths of angle iron. Simple enough to drill some holes in the concrete posts and use Rawlplug bolts.

Unfortunately one of the posts is very near to our extension and there is not enough room to get a power drill in there.

The solution seems to be to use an angle drill or an angle extension for my drill, if I can get one. Unfortunately, looking at angle drills it seems the hammer action is lost when using one.

As I intend to drill a 1/4 hole into reinforced concete post I don't think drilling without the hammer action will do it. Is there such and animal as angle drill with hammer action?

Thanks for listening

[klikster]

Why not ask your obliging neighbor what maximum he would prefer you not exceed?

[PiPiFFS]

As above the law may say one height and the man that matters may say Ok, Go higher or too high. Regardless of what the law says you can do you have to live with your neighbour. Keep him happy

[eyecatcher]

I can't imagine there is a height restriction but trellising was always a great excuse to make a fence visually higher without actually making the fence higher.

As for extending it, I wouldn't mess about drilling and bolting into what is probably a thin post with the danger of actually spalling away the concrete, cracking the post or even getting frustrated at an expensive drill bit burning out as you inadvertently hit the rebars.

I would either if the post top is flat drill and fix a four inch square steel base plate onto the top or if the post is pointed break away some concrete to expose some of the rebars andy then burn weld a small plate onto it. Patch up around afterwards.

You can then easily burn weld your uprights and horizontal rails.

Remember that by increasing height you are also increasing its slenderness ratio meaning stability becomes a risk without buttressing. A solid infill that you add could catch the wind so if you are able to brace the top of your trellis to the house then that's a safer option as well..

Would have liked to have seen a photo to help with suggestions.

[ignis]

'Unfortunately one of the posts is very near to our extension and there is not enough room to get a power drill in there.'

​Is there not some law that states how close you can build to the boundary wall ?

[trogers]

'Unfortunately one of the posts is very near to our extension and there is not enough room to get a power drill in there.'

​Is there not some law that states how close you can build to the boundary wall ?

Lol...the topic seeks compliance with certain building bylaw, while the main structure seems to have broken another.

[Daffy D]

Eyecatcher - The posts seem to have been cast in place and as you can see are quite substanual. I don't think drilling a couple of holes is going to weaken them.

The idea of fixing uprights to my side of the wall is so nothing shows from his side, exept the trellis above the existing wall but it would not look like it's attached or supported by the wall.

The wind factor is something I had not considered.

The eagle eyed picked up on the point about the extension being very near the wall. (there's a surprise)

That actually happend accidently. The wall has a bit of a dog leg kink in it, and we all know nothing is ever straight or true or level in Thailand. The house is at an odd angle to the boundary lines and when building the extension it started off alright but as the work progresse down the side of the house it got nearer and nearer to the wall, they managed to just get it finshed with about 10 inches to spare between the house and the wall.

Nobody, it appears realised this was going to happen before the work started. Thainess?

At the time the otherside of the wall was jungle and nobody noticed, now the owner is building rented acccomodation and doesn't plan to live there himself so does not seem to bother him. I have made sure that the roof runoff does not splash into his land.

Anyway I read on here somewhere that if there are no windows or doors on that side, which there arn't you can build closer.

[klikster]

"That actually happend accidently."

"Nobody, it appears realised this was going to happen before the work started."

"I read on here somewhere that if there are no windows or doors on that side .."

I was told 1 m if no windows, 1.5 m if windows.

FWIW, I'm glad I'm not the neighbor.

[IMHO]

The rules on how close you can build to a boundary are local...

Some areas will allow building right to the property line, some say 50cm if no openings, some say 1M if no openings, most say 2M if there are openings (but some Or Bor Tor districts just don't care at all).

As for your wall, that's relative... what if you build a 3M high wall, but then raise the level of your own land so it's actually only 1.5M on your side? How would any rules around this work for people building adjacent to rice paddies, where they *have* to have a high wall/built-up land?

When it comes to this type of thing, you best guide will be to look around your area - so long as yours isn't the highest in the neighbourhood I think you'll be fine. The main thing here is to not be outwardly anti-social, or build an eyesore - otherwise it's not just the immediate next-door property owner that will have a point of view....

[tifino]

accidents can happen, when you get combinations of walls, especially tall or raised-further ones, mixed with unexpected high winds.

Whether it's a worker, yourself, or the neighbour - somebody may suffer when things are not built correctly...

https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/24296397/man-dies-in-melbourne-wall-collapse/

[Daffy D]

"That actually happend accidently."

"Nobody, it appears realised this was going to happen before the work started."

"I read on here somewhere that if there are no windows or doors on that side .."

I was told 1 m if no windows, 1.5 m if windows.

FWIW, I'm glad I'm not the neighbor.

Me too

Edited July 14, 2014 by Daffy D

[Daffy D]

Seems the neighbor is going to put some more landfill, this will raise his side a bit and give me some more wall height to play with.

The current wall is about one and half meters high. Other walls around the area seem to be about 2Mts so looks like I can add at least another half meter of trellis without any problem.

IMHO - The main thing here is to not be outwardly anti-social, or build an eyesore - otherwise it's not just the immediate next-door property owner that will have a point of view....

That has been my intention from the start. If that point has not come across then I obviously need to improve my writing skills.

[Albertosez]

Why not put some steel work on top of the wall. If made simple with 2 x way security in strong, but not too thick steel, you can have a reasonably " easy on the eye " top fence that also gives security as well. Then, allow your own trees / shrubs to grow and give you back the foliage / shade you need?

[IMHO]

Seems the neighbor is going to put some more landfill, this will raise his side a bit and give me some more wall height to play with.

The current wall is about one and half meters high. Other walls around the area seem to be about 2Mts so looks like I can add at least another half meter of trellis without any problem.

IMHO - The main thing here is to not be outwardly anti-social, or build an eyesore - otherwise it's not just the immediate next-door property owner that will have a point of view....

That has been my intention from the start. If that point has not come across then I obviously need to improve my writing skills.

Sorry, nothing wrong with your writing skills at all, just sayin' so my response was a little more complete

[wayned]

"Seems the neighbor is going to put some more landfill, this will raise his side a bit and give me some more wall height to play with."

IMHO the if the neighbor is going to fill his land, the first thing that I would worry about is where the water is going to drain when it rains! If his is higher than yours, it's obviuos unless a proper drainage system is installed, no matter how high the wall is!

[Daffy D]

"Seems the neighbor is going to put some more landfill, this will raise his side a bit and give me some more wall height to play with."

IMHO the if the neighbor is going to fill his land, the first thing that I would worry about is where the water is going to drain when it rains! If his is higher than yours, it's obviuos unless a proper drainage system is installed, no matter how high the wall is!

Yea! I know another thing for me to worry about

Fortunately at the moment his neighbor on the other side has the lowest plot around so hopefully "the wall" will stop water gushing onto my side and drain to his. That is till he realizes what's happening and land fills higher then we will be the lowest around.

Sorry, nothing wrong with your writing skills at all, just sayin' so my response was a little more complete

No me sorry IHMO, not directed at you was just getting a little miffed at some other posters.

[VocalNeal]

Daffy,

The max height of the wall if there is one will be a local village/Tambon? regulation. Depends where you are. Usually between 2.5 and 3m .

If you haven't done it yet. As for the one post close to the house, missing one support will not hurt the structure or you can offset it to where the drill fits and use a spacer/bracket. (don't drill all the way though the blocks!) :-) Use 1m supports. 600mm above the wall, 400 for support. Or higher if you wish.Use std. M10 plastic wall plugs and #12 screws. I would use square hollow section steel as angle iron will end up perpendicular to the wall and prevent a continuous section of trellis and you'll have to do it in panels.

[sendintheclowns]

If this is not off topic - how far from the beach front can one build (I) a single storey home and (ii) a two-storey home?

I do understand that it may depend in which District one is building in. The reason I am asking is, As a farang. I was told that I could build no closer than 20 meters back from beach. Now, local Thais are building within one meter from beach front, if not actually on the edge.

[Langsuan Man]

If this is not off topic - how far from the beach front can one build (I) a single storey home and (ii) a two-storey home?

I do understand that it may depend in which District one is building in. The reason I am asking is, As a farang. I was told that I could build no closer than 20 meters back from beach. Now, local Thais are building within one meter from beach front, if not actually on the edge.

There are no special or different rules for farangs as far as building codes go, there are restrictions on land and house ownership but that has nothing to do with building or placement of boundaries

There are severe restrictions on anyone building on beach land since by Thai law, the beach, up to the high tide line, is owned by His Royal Majesty.

Just because you see others encroaching on a beach doesn't mean that it is legal, it just means that no one is enforcing the law

There have been major stories over the last several months of the police closing down and evicting beach encroachers both in Hua Hin and Phuket

[sendintheclowns]

Quote:

There are no special or different rules for farangs as far as building codes go, there are restrictions on land and house ownership but that has nothing to do with building or placement of boundaries

Thanks, as I thought. Please tell me what restrictions are there on house ownership? I mean, can I not build a house, after getting written permission to do so from the land owner and then apply for a yellow book?

I gave done that in my District. They say Farang cannot own a house. Period.

[Langsuan Man]

Written permission is not enough

You must have either a long term lease from the Thai owner or a usefruct from a Thai owner before the land can legally be under your control. The Land Office will annotate the chanote (deed) to acknowledge that fact before the local amphur or tessa ban will issue you a building permit

So the blanket statement from your "District" should be that farangs cannot own a house built on land that they do not legally control