Paid for field gate - can I take it when I leave

[Livery61]

Hello,
I paid the owner of my livery yard £250 to buy and install a new field gate at my field.
On the transfer it reads: Field Gate
I am now leaving the yard and asked for payment for the gate (the gate is only four weeks old). Alternatively I would take the gate with me.
I was told that the gate is the farmer's property. If I paid to return the fencing to how it was then I could have the gate.
Do I really have to pay for this or can I take the gate out myself?
In order to install the gate the farmer cemented two very large posts into the ground which would have to be sawn off plus one former fence post has to be returned back in.
Would be grateful for some advice.
Thank you.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

I would seek legal advice

 

[Goldenstar]

I think to remove the gate you would have to return the entrance to the condition it was before the new gate was there .

 

[meleeka]

Are the gate posts wooden? If so leave them there and just make it part of the fence. I think if you take the gate you would have to make a fence, but I don’t know for sure.
If it’s comes to it I’d probably take my gate put a couple of strands of wire in the gap.

 

[Sussexbythesea]

I think you should have sorted out the terms of the arrangement before you paid for the gate. I suspect the farmer could charge you for posts and labour Of fitting gate if he did it. If he purchased the gate and you don’t have anything in writing I think you’d be wasting your time. You could try to negotiate a price where you don’t lose everything and the farmer gains something. May not be fair but might work.

 

[dogatemysalad]

It's unfortunate that you're leaving so soon. Probably the farmer is correct, that you must return the gateway to its former state if you wish to take the gate. However, morally, he should be prepared to compromise, unless the gate is of no use to him.

 

[HashRouge]

Did he alter the gateway because you asked him to or because it needed doing anyway? Repairs are normally paid for by the owner of the yard, so why did you have to pay in the first place?

I'm not sure what the legalities are, but I'm not sure I'd fancy carting a gate around with me. Maybe try and sell it if that's easier?

But yes as others have said, I think you'd need to restore the fencing in some way. I don't think you can just take the gate and leave a gap (though again, I don't know the legalities). Could you put up slip rails to replace the gate? You'd need to buy brackets but I don't think they're expensive. What an odd situation!

 

[blitznbobs]

you shouldn’t have paid in the first place... now you have you have to either leave the gate if he’s agreeable to that or make good the fence.

 

[luckyoldme]

What a chancer!
It sounds like relationships have soured but I would tell him that as a matter of principle I would be nailing a couple of planks of wood to the posts to close the gap and taking the gate.
If however he wanted to give you £200 you would be happy to leave it.
That way he gets it £50 cheaper and he still gets to feel he is one up on you.
Greedy £#@£.

 

[dorsetladette]

With out knowing the complete story I would say you would probably have to leave the gate. Maybe you could source a cheaper one and take your £250 one with you.
What are reasons you paid for the gate? did you replace a damaged one or request a new entrance to the field?

 

[Muddywellies]

Sounds like an expensive lesson to be learned here. For the amount if stress this is going to cause, its probably not worth it. If the gate has been installed properly, with the top hinge turned upside down, only way to remove the gate will be to dig out the concreted in gate post. You could start a battle with the farmer but tbh, in my experience, the stress just isn't worth it.

 

[gallopingby]

sounds complicated! Was £250 the total price including posts and labour? Why are you leaving after only 4 weeks - something doesn’t add up. Gates are usually less than £150 unless a super expensive one. If you want to sell it l suppose you could advertise at around half the price it cost but you’d still have to make good the gap either by nailing wood across or installing wire. Is it worth the hassle?

 

[MrsMozart]

Cement and gate posts don't come cheap, not does the time and labour.

As others have said, it really does depend on why the new(?) gateway was put in.

As an aside, that's a hefty price for just one gate. What type and size is it?

 

[Damnation]

Why was a new gate required is the biggie tbh. Need the full story.

 

[irishdraft]

Full story of why you needed a new gate installed but then are leaving 4 weeks later is required to make any judgement really

 

[honetpot]

You can buy 12' rails, if its wooden posts, two rails and nail them across, just unscrew the hinges, it doesn't matter if one is upside down, if the hinge is unscrewed.
£250 seems a lot for a gate, unless it is a top end wooden one, and two bags of post mix. Four weeks and I would want the gate.

 

[paddy555]

a 10ft wooden gate is around £75 incl vat, the posts probably £12 each plus vat, couple of bags of post crete, then there are the
gate hangers and fastener so probably at least £130 or so the cost of the materials. The rest will be labour plus the vat on it.

Digging holes is hard work by hand and time consuming or otherwise the yard owner would have had to pay for digger hire to put the posts in.

If you take the gate you are going to have something worth around £75. If you have somewhere to put it then it could be worth while. If you don't then you will get say £40 if you sell it.
If you are going to remove the hanging and the fastening posts then you will need a chainsaw to do that. Presumably you don't have one so will have to pay someone. Then you will have the cost of getting some rails at around £6 each so that is £12.

We don't know the whole story and possibly something has gone wrong and you are very peeved but it doesn't seem very cost effective in respect of money or effort to remove the gate.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Putting a new gate in correctly with hang and slam posts and hinges etc is time consuming. We have been replacing some of ours. £250 inc materials and labour does not sound unreasonable.

 

[stormox]

You would definately have to restore the gateway and gate to how it was before you changed the gate.

 

[Velcrobum]

I think we will all have to wait until OP returns with more information to be able to offer suggestions. This was their first post on the forum....

 

[Leandy]

I think we need to know the terms of your livery as to repairs etc, also the reasons why the gate was required in the first place and also what was agreed when you paid for the gate. Presumably you thought you were obliged to pay for it in the first place or you wouldn't have done so. I have seen DIY livery arrangements where you need to pay for fence etc repairs (and yes leave it when you go) although if there is no such express term I'd expect it to the livery yard's cost. It is also a common contract term that liveries can be charged for damage caused by their horse. So it all depends.

 

[Britestar]

a 10ft wooden gate is around £75 incl vat, the posts probably £12 each plus vat, couple of bags of post crete, then there are the
gate hangers and fastener so probably at least £130 or so the cost of the materials. The rest will be labour plus the vat on it.

Digging holes is hard work by hand and time consuming or otherwise the yard owner would have had to pay for digger hire to put the posts in.

If you take the gate you are going to have something worth around £75. If you have somewhere to put it then it could be worth while. If you don't then you will get say £40 if you sell it.
If you are going to remove the hanging and the fastening posts then you will need a chainsaw to do that. Presumably you don't have one so will have to pay someone. Then you will have the cost of getting some rails at around £6 each so that is £12.

We don't know the whole story and possibly something has gone wrong and you are very peeved but it doesn't seem very cost effective in respect of money or effort to remove the gate.

Can I get strainers and gates where you get them please?
Strainers are around £35 inc vat, and 10ft wooden gates at least £100. I just paid £110 each for 12ft metal gates with a staff discount!!

 

[paddy555]

Can I get strainers and gates where you get them please?
Strainers are around £35 inc vat, and 10ft wooden gates at least £100. I just paid £110 each for 12ft metal gates with a staff discount!!

I get mine from Mole valley farmers.

 

[Roasted Chestnuts]

Is it really worth the hassle? I provided stabs and my partner put them in for somewhere I was liverying. Did half the perimeter fencing. Did I rip the stabs up when I left? No I didn’t even though it was my cost and our labour and I’d have been perfectly within my right.

Yes £250 a sting but is it really worth the hassle??

 

[MrsMozart]

Postcrete about £8 a bag. Hard to get hold of at the moment.

Last two strainer (gate) posts I got were £22 each if I remember right. Hard to get hold of at the moment.

 

[Shysmum]

Very odd story, can the OP enlighten us ?