AUTUMN is the ideal time of year to carry out inspections outside your house.

With the onset of winter just a few weeks away it is a good opportunity to make sure everything is shipshape before the bad weather sets in.

Now is the time to take advantage of the last of the reasonable weather we will enjoy to do certain jobs outside.

An important task is to inspect your fences, walls and gates. They can often have problems which, unless regularly checked, will go undetected until it is too late. You may then be faced with major remedial work later on.

Fences, walls and gates come in a variety of types and most need regular maintenance to keep them in good condition.

One of the major problems is damp which penetrates wooden fences and fence posts and promotes rot. It can cause brickwork to crumble when frost strikes and gives rise to rust in nails, fencing wires and hinges.

Maintenance can be complicated if you and your neighbour do not know who actually owns the fence. Traditionally, the structural components of a fence are on the inside of the property to which it belongs, with the fence boards or panels applied to the outside.

Usually if you can see the framework of the fence from your side, the fence probably belongs to you. But this is not a hard and fast rule.

If you do need to determine whether a fence or wall lies on your land or on the adjacent plot, ask to see the plans held by your local authority Department of Planning and Building Control.

Usually neighbours can determine who it belongs to and who will carry out the necessary maintenance. It is in nobody's interest to simply ignore it.

Wooden fences treated with creosote or other preservative need treatment every two or three years to keep rot at bay