How to deal with an ugly garden wall?

I’m looking for some advice for our garden. The builder who built the building behind us never finished/fixed the wall that abuts our backyard (despite his promises). Right now it is plywood, rebar and chunky cement. There is no city regulation to make him do it, but we could hire a lawyer and go that route (since he broke and removed our retaining wall).

We’re trying to decide if we can make the wall aesthetically work without hiring a lawyer. To make it look okay, we can’t touch the wall (I don’t mind adhering to the plywood, but it seems unwise to do anything else) and we don’t want to spend tons of money. I took this photo (below) in winter. The vines are huge and come from a yard far away and seem to be a fixed feature (and are nicer than the plywood). If we cut the vines it would be an enormous job now and would require substantial yearly maintenance.

Ideally, I wanted to plant a big tall tree back there to reclaim a little privacy. But I’m thinking maybe I just cover the wall with vines. I can’t do both, right? Vines will kill a tree? City regs say t hat I can’t build a fence to cover it (I believe that there is a fence limit of 6 feet–this is at least 20). Are there any wonderful vines (especially evergreen) to recommend? Any other ideas?

I’ve asked professionals–most just say to fix the wall myself….I’m also open to recommendations of professionals. Or recommendations for lawyers. Or any creative ideas.

Thank you!
[IMG_9560](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s1/:brownstoner:ptCR:img_9560.jpg.jpg)

saba

in General Discussion 6 years and 3 months ago

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camp6ell | 6 years and 3 months ago

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Take down the plywood and 2x4s. Face the concrete wall with pressure treated 2×4 studs. Then appeals to the 2×4 studs horizontal cedar or pressure treated or hardwood slats.

resident2 | 6 years and 3 months ago

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There is no point in fixing anything to the plywood & 2 x 4 construction fence. It is going to deteriorate quite quickly after a couple of winters. It is best to remove that & expose what ever has been left by the developer behind.
Planting a large tree; it it will take quite a while for any tree to grow sufficiently to make any real impact to camouflage that size wall. Which way does it face? What kind of light does it get?
Some kind of greenery is definitely cheaper & better looking in the long run than a fence that will never cover that height without being a pain to maintain.
Boston Ivy is quick growing, but is not evergreen. English Ivy is ever green but slower growing. Attach a few “Wall pockets” at various heights up the wall to grow things in would be interesting and help cover the upper reaches more quickly.
Whatever you grow in the wall pockets will need to be drought tolerant & super hardy to survive the winter…. English Ivy will work, especially if it does not face north.

GreenThinker | 6 years and 3 months ago

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So i assume thats just a construction fence that was never taken down, and behind it is just a cinderblock wall, same wall that can be seen to the right in your neighbors yard. You could definitely remove the plywood and 2 by 4’s, no one would care, no one would even notice. You could then stucco the cinderblock, it wouldn’t cost a fortune. But lets say you aren’t comfortable with that idea, you can build a “fence” in front of it, i quote fence cause it’s not really a fence, more of a screen or facade, the 6 foot rule is so if there’s a fire, firefighters/people can get from one yard to the next, in your case, that’s a mute point because there’s no yard behind your yard, it’s a 20 foot tall building wall.