I am a property owner on Timber Heights. I received a letter from the HOA telling me I need fence maintenance, so we walked behind the fencing/houses on Timber Heights drive that back up to open space, and had an UGLY SURPRISE!
ALL OF THE FENCING IS GOING TO FALL OVER IN A BIG WIND. The builder, Morrison Homes / Taylor installed the fencing in 2007, and some of the 4x4 support posts have no more than 1" of concrete around them. Each hole that the 4x4 post was put into is very small and has very little cement. Some of the cement footings are cracked and falling apart. Because the concrete wasn't done right, many of the 4x4 posts are rotting out.
Please go for a walk along the back fencing and see (or at the very least, go to your back fence and give it a push to see if it's stable) - it's really really bad. It is my opinion that the builder put the fences in wrong, and that they should go back and reinforce every single fence post hole properly. Fencing should last for a minimum of 10 years, but this fence isn't going to enjoy it's 5th birthday.
I would request that our HOA take a look at the fencing and perhaps contact the builder on behalf of the homeowners.
Sincerely,
Terri Linzmeier
The builders took a lot of shortcuts, and fencing was definitely one of them. I had a company come look at my fence (I'min the North section where the original model homes used to be - built it 2003/2004) and he said the builder didn't use quality materials and barely put any concrete around the posts. So my fence has been falling apart for years and it's expensive to fix it a iltte at a time. Mine is a David Weekley home, supposedly one of the better builders around, but I'm not impressed.
If this happened to me, I would have the contractors build my fence all over again and sue them if they refuse to do it. I am glad I've never had to go through anything like this though, my ranch fence was replaced by me and reading this I am so glad I didn't entrust anyone else to do the job for me.
I have a friend that just moved in with me, he's a plumber by trade but has done a lot of construction work in the past. He's brand new to Austin and looking for work -- if the strong winds tonight knock down your fence and you want someone to fix it properly, let me know and I'll send him your way.
philmoe [dot] 16 [at] juno [dot] com
I just bought into the neighborhood less than a year ago. My survey shows the fences to be jointly owned. My neighbor leans heavy things against the fence and has weakened a poorly built fence. I am reinforcing it at my expense (neighbor in their house since incelption) but the neighbor continues the behavior. I've explained to them I'm not going to continue repairs at my expense. The next thing will be small claims court if this doesn't stop. The builder is Newmark Homes and they used landscape timpers instead of fencing posts and no concrete. That's a fence trying tocome down so maybe we can get together and do a mass re-fence by a commercial company and share the expense. By offering a big job we can get a better rate. Any takers? I can be reached at TexasYellow5555 [at] rocketmail [dot] com
I live on Larch Valley Drive. My fence has also fallen numerous times in the 2 yrs i've lived here. I have been told the same thing as multiple have stated about, that they used cheap materials and no concrete to reinforce the posts. However, a few days ago, the fence in my yard fell that is the furthest from my house (it backs up to a feild and to an apartment complex) along Dessau. The repair man said there is evidence of termites on this side of the fence. I have tried to contact our HOA (Celeste) and she is extremely hard to contact, and will not directly answer a phone call. The few times she has returned my calls I have not been able to answer. I am concerned because everyone who lives on this street shares this fence. I dont know if the apartment owns that field or will share in responsibility of repiaring or replacing these fences. Please give any suggestions you may have. Thank you