How to cover a brick fence?

[nparrella95]

Hi everyone!! 

I need some help.. I recently built a new house on a subdivided block. 

My house has a sloped driveway leading down to my garage. My house has been built lower then my pre-existing neighbour. 

As the attached picture, this has now left exposed soil under the brick fence where I have a garden bed, along with not very attractive concrete (effectively my neighbours driveway) 

I was hoping the community could assist with some ideas of how I can cover this up? I am wanting to do something that will cover from below the brick fence and down, my main goal also is to prevent the soil below from over time possibly collapsing (if this is possible?), causing long term and likely expensive issues. 

I current have a little planter box covering a part of it, but looking for a long term solution. DIY option preferred. 

Any help appreciated  

any help is apricated. 

[MitchellMc]

Hi @nparrella95,

How far does that concrete go down? Can you see the soil under the neighbours concrete driveway, or is this exposed soil just packed up against the concrete? If you can see the bottom edge of the concrete slab and soil can escape from under the slab, I'd suggest that you'd likely need to install something here to prevent undermining of their driveway. 

You'd need to speak with an engineer to determine whether any structural work is required here. This could be something along the lines of excavating next to the slab and pouring a rectangular foundation to encase the exposed soil under their slab. As you've mentioned, my concern is that if the soil under their drive starts eroding out, you could be looking at some quite expensive work to correct the integrity of their driveway.

Aesthetically, there are many screening options you could employ to cover the wall. Using the Whites Screen-Up system would look fantastic.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[nparrella95]

hi @MitchellMc 

thank you for your helpful insight. 

I guess my main concern isn't necessarily covering the brick fence, its more covering the ugly concrete underneath and securing the soil.

Unfortunately I don't think that the soil is packed up against concrete. I am surprised that my builder didn't mention anything needing to be done here.

I have attached some more pictures to show what I mean. Based on your insight, it seems that i may need to consult an engineer?

thank you again.  

[Remarka6le]

If you're simply looking to cover it up, you could just render it? You'd have a similar colour to the bricks above it then. 

[EricL]

 Hi @nparrella95

It's great that you've received excellent advice from @MitchellMc and @Remarka6le. I agree with my colleague @MitchellMc's assessment that this could potentially be an issue down the road. Your builder has excavated past the foundation of the neighbour's fence. If the soil underneath should erode away the fence foundation will crack and eventually give way. I'm surprised as well that your builder did not mention any of this. 

I'm afraid a cosmetic fix will not be enough to support the brick fence line. If your build is still under warranty, I strongly suggest speaking to your builder and asking them about the potential issues that might arise from this oversight in the building process.

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing the brick fence fixed.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric