lol hell no. Piece of land for FREE?????? I would not even hesitate to tell him to F OFF. What kinda dumb question is that for a neighbor to ask even. He should had asked his engineer to think of another plan.

If he wants his bbq that bad, tell him to tear part of his house down then and build that stupid bbq hut.

I work in engineering, but don't know all that much. But liabilities are a biggie and like everybody said, you don't this to blow up in your face later, especially if you are being nice.

If you guys are tight, and you've got the space, when I would do is see if you will "rent" him some space on your property, with his liability for everything.
It wouldn't be as cramped for him, and maybe you guys can throw some backyard parties together.

If you're super nice, then that "rent" can be usage of the grill.
If you're a normal person, then that "rent" would be cheaper than redoing a retaining wall and all the potential legal headache it would cause.

What if there's a fire explosion and someone gets hurt? Who would be liable for that?

Just tell him to buy those BBQ grills that have wheels.

asking for a piece of neighbour's backyard for free

...in Vancouver

:lawl:

while in Taiwan

:die:

Obviously the neighbor.

first thing that came to mind

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_md...r3kno1_500.png

so you'd have his bbq IN the walls of your house? I wouldnt... what if it sets on fire and burn your place down? who's liable? Not to mention the smell would probably get into your walls permanently. Tell him to get a portable bbq and put it on his own property

i won't repeat what other people have said already...
but keep in mind that even though his engineer and contractor say it's OK...
they work for HIM.
the contractor is under no professional responsibility to you. their professional engineer is (and if you're listening to him it better be a PEng)...but are they going to put something in writing with their stamp and seal on it or is it just verbal? this isn't poker...verbal is no good :lawl:

also, are they a structural engineer or are they of a different discipline?
i'm not a structural guy, but i would think a hole in a retaining wall can't be better than leaving it as is as originally intended.

just my 2 cents

I'm with the no camp.

I'd probably think differently if it didn't require any sort of modification of your retaining wall. (What he's asking for is pretty much a permanent modification).

Like if the houses were on the same level and you just had to move a fence a couple feet, I'd probably do that if I liked him (on a lease basis).

The one thing that bothers me the most is,how he was told the answer was no,yet he still wants to procede with doing it.

That's a total lack of respect from how I see it.

i still can't comprehend how he could even have the balls to ask, or even design it like this

just seems abnormal

Just say No. Tell him you like it how it is and don't want to change anything.

Don't bother renting, don't bother compromising, don't bother doing anything. Anything you do will be more work if you just have said No.

I don't mix business with pleasure. I've seen people bitch about tree leaves falling on their property, asking for a piece of land is something else.

If he is a good neighbor, he will understand.

No way. Its selfish of him to even ask. This is something that only benefits him and will only cost you in the long run. Be it monetary or otherwise. This will for certain lead to issues down the road. This isn't a fence a tree or a dog nuisance this is infringement of personal space in an already tight space. Were not talking acreage here where you would never see it or it would never be in your way. If you do it it will reduce your property value and make your place a harder sell and when its needed to be removed to do modifications or repairs to your place your fucked.
And if you agree to a monetary settlement to do it your even more fucked in the long run.

You have your answer, but in typical Vancouver fashion, you're soooo concerned over nothing that you'd rather say "no" then let someone else fulfill their dream of an outdoor BBQ.

Typical asshole.

bellum omnium contra omnes

Words to live by in Vancouver

i don't think you can simplify it like that - the guy has his property and should design his outside bbq accordingly

this isn't about being selfish, its about you doing what you do on your property... it's not like he's asking to park his car there for a week or two, that's one thing, this is a permanent structure, there are ownership issues (value too), liability issues, etc.

let's put it this way - can i come and have a bedroom in your apartment for free? I have a dream of living wherever you live. yes, that's a ridiculous request, but it's in the same line of what the neighbour is asking

come on! if i didn't know better, i'd say you're a woman (totally unreasonable and with no logic) - it's not a 'me against you' thing, it's just simple land ownership and boundaries issue

maybe the right quote is 'give him an inch, he'll take a mile' - maybe the neighbour is just trying it on?

Is your neighbour really a good neighbour, if he is asking to use your yard for free?

I really want a ferrari, but I can't afford one. Can someone help me out please?

The white man took over this native land. Now look what happened.
Posted via RS Mobile

This sounds similar to what I went through last summer w/ my neighbour building a 6,100 sq ft. box next to me.

During demo the neighbour comes over and asks if he can borrow my power to construct so he doesn't have to bother getting Hydro to drop a temporary pole. Sure I say at first, trying to be the nice guy but then a week later he's knocking at my door complete with electrician in tow.

He wanted his own 30 amp dedicated breaker, complete with running cab tire electrical cable through my basement and out my far window. At that point I put my foot down and told the guy if he can afford the 6,100 sq ft. house he can afford to deal with Hydro.

Give an inch, you'll be asked for a mile.

Enough about my experience however.. so here is my opinion. Personally, I would never agree to an easement of that type. If it were an easement where he was infringing on a set-back (ie. eaves hanging 3 feet from property line instead of 4) for example.. okay.. but one where you're actually giving away land (which has value) and agreeing to structural changes of a retaining wall?

I would never agree to this myself, and at the very least he should also be talking 'consideration' with you as part of his request.

This reminds me of my a situation one of my uncles had. He owns 6 acres, and a strip of land on the side of his properly that runs beside his house and through the back yard is designated as a hydro line right-of-way (Although it has never been used as such, nor will it likely ever be).

One day this guy buys the property behind my uncle with the intention of developing it and building a house for himself. He actually asks my uncle if he could use this strip of land as a driveway for his house (It would link to his back yard, because to build a driveway to the street on the front of this guy's house would be super expensive due to a super steep hill).

My uncle flatly tells this guy no, and the guy has the gall to say "We'll see about that".
My uncle never understood what he meant by that, he thought maybe this guy was going to try and take him to court over it, but right-of-ways don't exactly work like that, it's still my uncle's property.

The guy eventually spent the money to have the property cleared, and the steep driveway to the front excavated (never paved), a house was never built, services were never brought in. Then the property sat for 10 years, until it was just recently foreclosed and put up for auction.

Moral of the story: Figure your shit out BEFORE you go and design something. Don't just EXPECT others to accomodate you.

design?....just hire an engineer and general contractor to help with determining if you can put a bbq in a retaining wall, because that's what they're there for
:derp:

You could just as easily have a happy neighbor who would probably bring you BBQ food and let you use the BBQ for such a tiny piece of land, but instead you're selfishly worried about an area of your property that you don't even use.

In the grand scheme of things, it would not affect your life in the least, but could possibly make someone else very happy. That in itself would be enough for me to say "As long as it's safe and done by a professional, go for it, I expect an invite for your backyard parties!"

Design in the "I'm going to plan to use my neighbor's land for my project before I even ask him" sense.

:derp: