Construction next door - need a contractor's input

[AD720]

Here is an etiquette question for you folks -

The vacant lot next to our house is finally becoming something. I understood when we bought the house that there is a good chance there will be some construction there sooner than later and was prepared for the noise. No problem - I armed myself with a print out of the noise ordnances. So far they have been respectful of them (even I though I think 7am is too early for power tools).

My issue is not with noise but with the crew using the sidewalk in front of my row home as a staging/storage area to the extent of leaning the temporary fencing, boards and other stuff against the side of my house as well as my fence.

I have been in email contact with the builder and calmly and courteously addressed this concern to which he said he would certainly take care of. This was two weeks ago and just this morning I walked outside to walk to work and there were saw horses and an orange highway-road-caution sign thing leaning against my house. I said "excuse me" but none of the workers seemed to speak english.

Am I being a jerk?

[68TriShield]

I would call the building inspector assigned to your area.
Chances are someone in that crew can communicate with you,all you have to do is ask.It's what I would do.

[cricky101]

At best what they're doing is rude. At worst it's trespassing.

I second calling the inspector or even getting more forceful when you contact the builder again.

[Shawn hines]

I too vote for the Call to the Inspector, let him be the bad guy. That is why you pay him.

[AD720]

Thanks guys I just wanted to make sure I wasn't overreacting. It's just a boundary thing.

While I will agree with rude I don't think it's trespassing as I don't own the sidewalk in front of my row house (although if someone slips and falls because I didn't shovel the snow it's on me but that's another discussion).

I think I'll just reach out to the builder again gently. I want to reserve my being a jerk mode for starting before 7 am and hopefully if I tread carefully through this that will be a non-issue.

[Boz]

I would try to get in touch with the superintendent in charge of building the house. The one that is likely on site every day and oversees all the subcontractors. It is his responsibility to ensure that his subs are careful and not damaging other property. Many times, issues such as yours are not relayed from the top down to the workers on site. Maintaining a friendly relationship with someone ON SITE will likely get you much farther than contacting the office.

[LigaPrivadaT84]

Thanks guys I just wanted to make sure I wasn't overreacting. It's just a boundary thing.

While I will agree with rude I don't think it's trespassing as I don't own the sidewalk in front of my row house (although if someone slips and falls because I didn't shovel the snow it's on me but that's another discussion).

I think I'll just reach out to the builder again gently. I want to reserve my being a jerk mode for starting before 7 am and hopefully if I tread carefully through this that will be a non-issue.

Do you have pictures? I would take some as evidence if you do indeed have to file a complaint with City Hall. Please post if you can; I am a contractor, but don't think I am fully understanding the situation. Sidewalks are public walkways, but leaning materials against your home sounds like a violation to me. The contractor will surely listen to the inspector more so than a neighbor as he has the power to determine if contruction will be able to proceed.

Also, what were the horses for? Are they Amish builders?
:confused:

[Boz]

Do you have pictures? I would take some as evidence if you do indeed have to file a complaint with City Hall. Please post if you can; I am a contractor, but don't think I am fully understanding the situation. Sidewalks are public walkways, but leaning materials against your home sounds like a violation to me. The contractor will surely listen to the inspector as he will determine if he is able to proceed with construction.

Also, what were the horses for? Are they Amish?
:confused:


Yeah I forgot to mention taking pictures. Thats always a good idea. And Liga, he said SAW horses. You know, like these :r

http://www.bennettconstruction.us/images/sawhorses/burro4big.jpg

[AD720]

Do you have pictures? I would take some as evidence if you do indeed have to file a complaint with City Hall. Please post if you can; I am a contractor, but don't think I am fully understanding the situation. Sidewalks are public walkways, but leaning materials against your home sounds like a violation to me. The contractor will surely listen to the inspector as he will determine if he is able to proceed with construction.

Also, what were the horses for? Are they Amish?
:confused:


:r One in every crowd.

http://www.presentermedia.com/files/clipart/00003000/3462/caution_saw_horse_pc_md_wm.jpg

[South Shield]

As a contractor I will say this..

Most cities have their own ordinances for when it is permissible to start making construction noises. Hate to say, but 7am is normal start times for most construction.

Sidewalks are tricky, especially in winter months where it gets cold and wet. Sidewalks are sometimes the only stable ground to set up staging. Is there no sidewalk in front of the house they are building?

As for leaning stuff up against your house. That is an absolute no no. You have a complaint there. None of the contractors stuff should be on your property whatsoever.

[AD720]

As a contractor I will say this..

Most cities have their own ordinances for when it is permissible to start making construction noises. Hate to say, but 7am is normal start times for most construction.

Sidewalks are tricky, especially in winter months where it gets cold and wet. Sidewalks are sometimes the only stable ground to set up staging. Is there no sidewalk in front of the house they are building?

As for leaning stuff up against your house. That is an absolute no no. You have a complaint there. None of the contractors stuff should be on your property whatsoever.

Yep. 7am is the rule mon-fri. Not much I can do about that but I don't have to like.it.:)


There is sidewalk in front of the house they are building but about half of it is covered with debris and raw materials and they have it fenced off so the fence it's self is what often ends up on the sidewalk in front of my house or leaning against it.

[yourchoice]

Hey Andrew. I'm a builder/contractor and I, for one, would appreciate the phone call to the office like you made. If it's a large corporate builder (Ryan, Pulte, etc.) calling the office may fall on deaf ears. I like the suggestion of speaking to the site superintendent as he should better be able to control the situation. Maybe the office would be willing to give you his cell.

If the second call to the builder doesn't take care of the problem, then I agree, the building inspector would be the person to call. It might not be a formal complaint coming from him/her, but that's who the builder has to deal with on a regular basis and would be the last person they would want to piss off.

The tricky part will be when one subcontractor finishes and the next one sets up shop. Hopefully they communicate to each sub.

Good luck, brother.

[yourchoice]

Oh, and the joys of building in the city! :)

[AD720]

Hey Andrew. I'm a builder/contractor and I, for one, would appreciate the phone call to the office like you made. If it's a large corporate builder (Ryan, Pulte, etc.) calling the office may fall on deaf ears. I like the suggestion of speaking to the site superintendent as he should better be able to control the situation. Maybe the office would be willing to give you his cell.

If the second call to the builder doesn't take care of the problem, then I agree, the building inspector would be the person to call. It might not be a formal complaint coming from him/her, but that's who the builder has to deal with on a regular basis and would be the last person they would want to piss off.

The tricky part will be when one subcontractor finishes and the next one sets up shop. Hopefully they communicate to each sub.

Good luck, brother.

I have a feeling that is the situation. The first time it was the guys digging the foundation, this time it's the guys putting in some kind of pre-fab basement wall structure.

I want them done as fast as they want to get it done but I am just not comfortable with building materials being leaned against the side of my brick house or my wooden fence. This is the most expensive thing I've ever bought and it has to last me 30 years so I can pay for it!

Like I said I don't want to be a jerk which is why I was curious if I had a legitimate gripe.

[yourchoice]

curious if I had a legitimate gripe.

Well, that's easy. Most definitely! They shouldn't be leaning stuff on your structures.

[Cornrow_Wallis]

After the first phone call didn't get them to stop, I would be chucking the stuff back over the property line.

[kelmac07]

I'd be raising hell for sure. :D

[LigaPrivadaT84]

Your gripe is legitimate if they are over your property line; that line doesn't lean with the fence. I'm surprised the inspector has not already said anything yet.
If there is any upside to this situation is that your property value will most likely increase when this is all over.
:tu

[Bigbaldbob]

Hopefully the construction will be completed quickly.

[shark]

After the first phone call didn't get them to stop, I would be chucking the stuff back over the property line.

Though I agree with the sentiment, in reality would it be a good idea to piss off a bunch of construction workers?:gary:D

[shark]

But personally, I'd rather have two vacant lots on either side of my house. That way I could save some cash and buy up the lots so that I could control what is done with them...I guess I'm kinda a control freak! :rolleyes:Or I could have a really huge yard...

[AD720]

But personally, I'd rather have two vacant lots on either side of my house. That way I could save some cash and buy up the lots so that I could control what is done with them...I guess I'm kinda a control freak! :rolleyes:Or I could have a really huge yard...

Yea...not really an option in center city.

[Jasonw560]

Go next door, and remember these 4 words..."Donde esta el jefe?" (Where is the boss?) That is, if they're Hispanic. If they don't know, ask "Cualquier habla Ingles aqui?" (Anyone speak English here?) Try to get it resolved on the worksite, then go up the ladder, so to speak.

[Taki]

Though I agree with the sentiment, in reality would it be a good idea to piss off a bunch of construction workers?:gary:D

Good point! I would definitely take pictures only because if they cause damage to your house you could file a claim. I wouldn't want that garbage on my house, I'd probably start sneaky everything they lean against my house into my garage cut it up and throw it out or if it's nice, just keep it,

[RGD.]

. . .It's just a boundary thing. . . . I want to reserve my being a jerk mode for starting before 7 am . .

Be a jerk. It's an ordinance. All of my crews have explict instructions not to make any noise before 7am and that includes car/truck noise, loud talking, radio etc.

I would try to get in touch with the superintendent . . .The one that is likely on site every day and oversees all the subcontractors. It is his responsibility to ensure that his subs are careful and not damaging other property. Many times, issues such as yours are not relayed from the top down to the workers on site. Maintaining a friendly relationship with someone ON SITE will likely get you much farther than contacting the office.

. . .Sidewalks are tricky, especially in winter months where it gets cold and wet. Sidewalks are sometimes the only stable ground to set up staging. Is there no sidewalk in front of the house they are building?

As for leaning stuff up against your house. That is an absolute no no. You have a complaint there. None of the contractors stuff should be on your property whatsoever.

Hey Andrew. I'm a builder/contractor and I, for one, would appreciate the phone call to the office like you made. . . .then I agree, the building inspector would be the person to call. It might not be a formal complaint coming from him/her, but that's who the builder has to deal with on a regular basis and would be the last person they would want to piss off.. . .The tricky part will be when one subcontractor finishes and the next one sets up shop. Hopefully they communicate to each sub.
.

All of the above.

And you mentioned foundation work: silt fence. Every job with soil disturbance should have silt fence at or near the property lines. This makes a good boundary for the workers - in addition to being the law in most city/county/state jurisdictions - someone in the company should be a certified land disturber (that's me in our company) . If it's not installed make a call to the building/permit/zoning office (whatever they call it in your area). Having a stop work order slapped on them will get their attention real quick. They won't tell who filed the complaint. And if they do - so what - it's your property that is being abused. A lot of this stuff is just plain common courtesy.

And lastly - use an online translation program like Google translate - and print out some signs and or notices that you can hand out to the workers explaining what you would like them to stop doing. They normally will - most of your Spanish speaking workers simply don't understand the concept. I know this because 99% of my workforce is Spanish/Latin American.

Ron