How to minimise gap between deck and neighbour's fence?

jattkaim

Hey there, we have a 50cm deep gap between the deck and our neighbours property (with not much of a retaining wall) the land on our house must've been cut after and the fence is quite old so must've existed already. This same gap can be seen across the perimeter as well (between our sideyard grass and other neighbours fence)
Is there much we can do with this other than filling it up with gravel and stones? been struggling to figure out how to go about it.

The issue with talking to the neighbours about a new fence + proper retaining wall is that there would be 3 neighbours we have to consult since we have quite a wide block 😂 and I really don't want to spend the money on that.

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @jattkaim. It's a pleasure to have you join us and many thanks for your question on fence gaps.

What stands out is that there appears to be a significant difference in ground level between your property and the neighbouring properties, with the fences sitting lower than your side. Neither timber nor Colorbond boundary fences are designed to act as retaining walls, so filling the trench and allowing material to press against the fence could shorten its lifespan or potentially cause it to fail over time.

Before considering any structure along the boundary, I'd recommend checking with your local council regarding any regulations on building near fences and property boundaries.

Some alternatives you might consider are:

• Lining the trench with weed mat and decorative gravel to improve its appearance while maintaining drainage.
• Installing a narrow freestanding planter box, bench seat or screening feature on your side of the boundary.
• Constructing a low retaining wall entirely within your property and offset from the fence, then backfilling behind that wall.
• Extending the deck or adding a removable infill section supported by the deck structure rather than the fence (subject to local regulations).

From the photos, it looks like the gap may actually be performing an important drainage and separation function, so I'd be hesitant to eliminate it entirely without first determining whether any retaining structure is required.

Once you've checked in with council, if you are able to build closer to the fence, creating raised seating benchs on the top of the retaining wall could help minimise the gap and also provide a functional seating area.

Here are a couple of AI-generated images for some inspiration.

Let me tag @J-P to see if they have any thoughts.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell