A woman was pleased with what a neat and thorough job she'd done of painting her side of the fence and naturally expected her neighbours to show the same sort of care.
As she herself has explained, this is the first time she's lived at a property where "all fence boundaries are joint responsibility". However, she thought this was "fair enough", and assumed there'd be no issue.
Last week, she whipped out her paint brushes and got cracking on her side of the fence, choosing a light shade of oak. Mindful of how it would look, both for herself and her neighbours, she "was super careful around all the edges and the knots and little holes."
She soon discovered her neighbour intended to paint their side a dark oak shade, which she didn't mind too much. However, this was before she saw the less than impressive results.
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Taking to Mumsnet, the exasperated resident - who goes by the username CrazyHippo - wrote: "I've gone out this morning and there are dark brown splodges all over our side where they've jabbed their brush through the little holes.
"There's run marks down all our side of the concrete gravel boards etc. There are dribbles over the top, down our side where they've just splashed it all on the top. Makes our side of the fence look really scruffy."
She's now wondering whether she's being unreasonable to "be a bit miffed that they've taken absolutely zero care in painting their side of the fence", given they "were so b***** careful" doing their own.
Fellow Mumsnet users have sympathised with her plight, but a few have encouraged her to make sure she talks things through with her neighbour going forward.
One person advised: "You really should have talked to them first to sort out a mutually acceptable colour before doing your side, so I do think in this instance you've mostly created a rod for your own back."
Another said: "Now that the painting is done the only solution is to repaint your side the same as theirs, as theirs is darker. Ask them what brand and type they used so you get an exact match. Different brands will vary for 'dark oak'.
"Lesson learned. Discuss and agree beforehand. No matter how carefully you paint your side, some paint is bound to bleed through the gaps, so both sides the same is the only sane solution."
Have you had an encounter with a nightmare neighbour? We pay for stories. Email us at julia.banim@reachplc.com
