Hi Mark B, I’m finding this post more than a year later but in my view, for any other posters that find themselves in a similar position, just get along. You have to be neighbours for a long time. That is more important than saving $1000. You will mind each other’s houses and help each other out. We got “done” by one new neighbour when we wanted to build a (standard) 6′ high timber paling dividing fence. He contributed half of the cost of a chain wire fence (the minimum). Who uses chain wire fences these days? Anyway… he saved himself about $600 and we paid 3/4 of the price. When the shoe was on the other foot, and we bought a new house, and the neighbour wanted to build a fence, we were “wise” this time, and said we’d pay “half the cost of a ‘chain wire’ fence (they wanted timber) This was a BAD decision!!!! We have been their neighbours for 17 years now and I still feel bad about being mean… Fortunately the older and wiser neighbour on the other side actually said to me “pay half of the timber” – and we did. The neighbour was rapt. But the initial “being dollar wise” (ie mean) still haunts me. These neighbours have been so good, watch our house, loan us stuff, and I wanted to stiff them for $600??? Not worth it. You two families should get along. Family A thought “good, we’ve got the better side with the better fence” Family B thought “oh well, we got the worse side, oops, we’ve also got the worse fence, we didn’t think of that, Hey Family A, how about you put a bit towards the boundary fence, we didn’t think of that…” As Family A, you don’t “have to” contribute anything – but – based on my experience, I would make a contribution. Maybe a quarter of the cost, as a good faith payment? Or buy them a carton of bubbly or beer. Or something. To acknowledge you know you got the “good” fence and you want to do something nice for them. Life is too short to be mean and saving a few dollars now is not worth a fractured relationship, no matter how “unreasonable” you might feel Family B is being. Family B feels sad they got the less desirable block. Give a little. Family A got the best deal.