I'm picturing a 2 ft "step" down from your yard to his with a solid fence on the low side. The bottom of the fence is about even with your yard (or is above ground on his side anyway). He put a piece of sheet metal in front of the fence that continues down the face of the fence into the ground on his side. If you look at the fence from his side you see the back of the fence with metal going into the ground in front of the fence. From your side the sheet metal covers the bottom 2 ft of fence and continues into the ground. Is this correct?

What kind of metal? It sounds like it will corrode pretty quickly (unless it is stainless). Is its purpose to keep the soil on your side and prevent it from eroding under the raised fence?

I figure he'd do better with some stone and filter fabric placed on his side.

You could always ask him to paint the metal so it's not so obvious.

My understanding is that a property owner is bound legally to put the "good" side of the fence facing out. Sounds like that is what he did, you just don't care for his "edging". It doesn't sound like it will last long to me.

Depending on your city/state/county, I don't think there are any laws regarding this especially if it can be proven that the fence is completely on his side of the property line.

Sdello,
Just some clarification--
On his side you see only wood fence and the fence goes down to the ground.
On my side, the fence is actually below the ground and half of the metal is buried, and half is above the ground. So, about 1 foot of it runs along the fence, above ground level on my side.
The fence was built exactly where the previous one was which was in place when I moved in in 1991 and when he moved in in 2003.
I live in Bellevue, Washington.
Diagram:

My side of fence ________________________________________________________
: :
: :
: Fence :
:______________________________________________________:
:_____________________Metal____________________________: SoilSoilSoilSoilSoilSoilSoilSoilSoilSoilSoilSoilSoilSoil

Thanks.

so he's using the metal to prevent the soil from contacting the fence. Metal will rot soon then fence will deteriorate.

the part extending above grade does nothing for him. As a minimum you might ask him to (or if you can) trim the sheet metal closer to the grass/soil level.

He probably would have been better off using a geotextile filter fabric instead. It will hold the soil from eroding and won't hold water against the wood fence.

Were there any other issues, other than soil corrosion, that made him choose metal? I.e. water run off from your yard into his, or animals burrowing under the fence.
I had both of these problems in my old place and would certainly have tried something like that, if I was replacing a fence there.
How high does this metal come up? Can you just plant a row of something along the fence? Even just daylilies, shrubs or hostas would look nice and are generally very low maintenance.
You could also cover the metal up with a strip of wood - perhaps he has some left over or is willing to pay for it? Or, as someone suggested, get a good rust paint and paint it green.
I'd just be glad that for not having to pay for a new fence.

C.

Oh I am glad I didn't have to pay for it!! That's why I'm trying to find a good solution to it without bothering him. I think a combination of asking him if I can trim it lower and plants would be the best fix.

How about putting pressure treated 2x10 up against the metal and staking it in place. Then come out a few feet and make a wall of several layers of decorative cement landscaping blocks thereby creating a planter with the wood as the back and the blocks as the front. Put in soil, plant some flowers, enjoy.

I would trim the metal down and cover the remainder with a horizontal piece of wood that matches the fence.

You might offer to pay for the extra wood as a goodwill gesture. It shouldn't cost much anyhow, but will help you keep on good terms with your neighbor.