Rant!
I live next two 2 old folks who for years have been the best neighbors. They are into their 80's now. They are very nice and often used to bring over apples and pies. Now, they have turned into the neighbors from hell.
The fence between our yards started to fall apart. The lady next door decides to call a contractor and schedule a visit without telling me. Three days before he is scheduled to come out, she calls and says I owe $700 (my portion) to fix the fence. I say what?
I talk to her an tell her that I would like to discuss options for fixing the fence. Most of the panels are still in good shape. The posts have been attacked by carpenter ants. She INSISTS we have a new fence and cannot use anything old. After all, she sits on her porch 12 hours a day and her backyard must be PERFECT.
I finally get her agree to let me to do the work. The contractor she is going to hire is going to build a shoddy fence. We are talking cheapest materials. I say it would be better to use metal poles and treated panels. And we should clear coat the wood to slow rain damage. The previous fence lasted 5 years, and wouldn't it be nice to get more use out of our next one? She says thats fine and lets me do all the work (which I was fine with, as long as I didn't have to spend $700 on a crap fence).
I go out there on Saturday and my friend and I put in the metal poles. Exactly where the old wooden posts used to sit. Exactly. She and her husband are pleased as punch that they are getting a new fence, and when I leave on Saturday, everythng is peachy. She even oftered me a diet coke several times and told me I was doing a great job. So Saturday I guess she is the sweet old lady I remember.
Fast forward to yesterday. Her son calls me on my cell phone, at work. I explain I am at work, but he interrupts. Apparently he is doing me a favor by calling, because if his older brother had gotten ahold of me, he would have 'torn my head off'. He goes on to make more threatening suggestions, to which I told him I would call the police if he didn't change his approach. I can tell already this guy is a knuckle dragger sort of guy. But I get him to agree to talk about it in person.
Last night, I talk to the neighbor. I tell him his son threatened me on the phone. I told him if he did it again, I was going to the police. I had talked with another neighbor who is an officer and gotten instructions on what to do in case it escalated. But I'm determined to make this work, so I am being very nice. Turns out, one of the poles is not exactly 8 foot in spacing. I pull it out and tell them I will re-concrete it later. I also told them that the location of that particular post was the neighbor's idea in the first place, which it was. Told me to do it on Saturday. Turns out his wife is going psycho, and now it has to be changed.
I spent about another hour with them and we reach a compromise. They are happy, their son is happy, and I go on an errand. (this involved adding one more poll at an end joint where they think it may not be strong enough. I was fine with this.).
AS I AM DRIVING to pickup my wife, said neighbor's son calls me back. Apparently, his mother changed her mind and now he wants all of the polls pulled out. And replanted. In some cases, 1 or 2 inches from their current location. SERIOUSLY. I said, well there is a lot of concrete on those. I spent all day Saturday in 95 degree heat putting those in with the blessing of your parents who were watching. I demonstrated the poles were almost exactly 8 feet apart, and demonstrated how the panels would fit on them perfectly (we are putting panels on Saturday, which was fine with them).
He says they HAVE to be moved. I say, you just agreed for a second time to the placement of the poles. Why are you going back on your agreement? He says, hey, our agreement wasn't on paper. I am thinking, WTF? So I say, look, I just did all that labor for free. We are splitting costs. So to make things even and fair, move the poles yourself. That way your mom is happy and we split the labor in half. He says he has 3 kids and cannot do it. I say I have family and I don't appreciate taking time from my day to address a fence pole that may or may not be out of place by 2 inches. He says his mother is 80 years old and we have to live with it. I say no, that is your family. That is an internal issue. You are making your problem my problem. I say, we had an agreement twice, and I expect you to honor it.
At this point, he gets upset and starts yelling. I tell him, I have offered my final compromise. If you don't like it, take me to court. I was serious. I went back took pictures of the pole placements. I layed a fence panel by every pole to show they were perfectly lined up. I have my evidence. Plus I have witnesses to the discussion last night.
At this point, sick of dealing with these retards. I have been nice but they are acting ridiculous. First, they hire a contractor without talking to me, try to bully me into paying a lot of money, then agree to let me do the work and then complain about it. It's just a fence. I know they are 80 years old, but this is getting to be too much. I am not going to be bullied however. If they want to take me to court, then so be it. The judge will laugh them out of the building. My wife is major pissed and I am glad she wasn't there. Nothing like people becoming infantile in their old age and having their kids try to take it out on me. Jeebus. It's just a fence, lady.
Cliffs:
Fence needs repair, neighbor calls a contractor without speaking to me
We reach a compromise
They back out, son threatens me
We reach another compromise
They back out, son threatens me again
I tell them to take me to court
The mother is becoming infantile in her old age, and the son cannot see it
Update!
I filed for my permit to build the fence. It is required by the city. I intend to pay in full for the fence and place it on my property, that way they have no claim.
I took my survey, and measured my property line. The current placement of the poles is 6" on their side. I am going to rip them out and replant them a full 8" on my side to be in the clear. I also am posting no trespassing signs while I am out there.
Anything I am not thinking about?
Their old fence panels are currently laying on my property. I am thinking of moving them over to their side. Should I do this, or just dispose of them? I think I should leave them in their yard and let them worry about it. If they try and say I took down the old fence which was technically in their yard, my defense is that the fence is falling down (which it is) and that it presented a hazard. I simply pulled it down and left it in their yard.
Sound good?
Update 2
I just pulled all the poles out of their yard. They weren't there, so no witnesses. In any case, the poles are in my possesion. I replanted a few of them. Before I did that, I put up some plastic markers and connected them with closeline to signify my property line. Then I put up no trespassing signs.
First, the guy comes out. He asks me what I am doing. I tell him. He hasn't been uncivilized yet, but he doesn't seem happy.
Then the lady comes out and is giving me what for. For the most part, I ignore here. Then I explain that I have bought my own materials, have a permit, and am building my own fence on my property. She says this is not what we agreed to. I tell her since she rescinded the agreement, technically there isn't one. And I told her, as your son said, we never put it on paper anyway.
Then the oldest son comes over. Not the other one. He gives me some pointers and seems nice. He doesn't raise his voice. I blow him away with sunshine, whistling while I work. He grins, then goes away.
I have given neighbors cameras. They are going to watch and see what happens.
So far, so good. Tomorrow I will have a contractor finish the poles, and Saturday the fence will go up.
I am debating on colors to paint their side with. Any suggestions?
Update 3
Well it finally stopped raining, and I had a chance to put up the fence today. It was hot as hell but we got most of it done in the morning. A friend helped out.
After we got the fence panels up, we loaded all the old wood onto their side of the yard. It was their fence and on their property, so I figured that was fair. I asked my friend to use sealer on my side of the fence. I think it came out pretty good:
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/w...hampagnesupernova6.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/w...hampagnesupernova7.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/w...hampagnesupernova8.jpg
This should last awhile, and only require some touch up reapplication of sealer every year.
While he was doing that, I started painting their side :evil: You know, I didn't realize how much fun that was going to be.
While I was painting, their daughter and son-in-law came over. She said her mom (the older lady) was in tears. I said why?, I am just painting my fence. Her husband asked why I was painting the fence in this way, and I said to keep the wood from rotting! :thumbsup:
He then called me a lovely human. I told him I liked bright colors and I thought this was very nice. After all, these were the remnants of paint from some of my other projects, some of them rooms in our home. So they couldn't be that bad.
He told me not to trespass, which was funny. I laughed. I was standing on a stool painting with an extended roller brush. I wasn't touching their property.
He asked me if I would paint my side of the fence, and I said I might if I had paint left. Alas, I ran out right at the end :Q
The daughter said 'you win' and I said I wasn't out to win anything. I was simply building a fence on my property. I think they are beginning to figure out that every time they yell, threaten, or bully me, it just makes me more motivated.
In any case, my friend decided to leave because of the commotion. But we had a good laugh first. I came back and finished up after dropping him off. And so for those of you who wanted pics, I present to you my creation which I dub champagne supernova!
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/search.php?q=champagnesupernova
I wish I had more colors, but at least I got to get rid of some old paint in the process! Enjoy!
I live next two 2 old folks who for years have been the best neighbors. They are into their 80's now. They are very nice and often used to bring over apples and pies. Now, they have turned into the neighbors from hell.
The fence between our yards started to fall apart. The lady next door decides to call a contractor and schedule a visit without telling me. Three days before he is scheduled to come out, she calls and says I owe $700 (my portion) to fix the fence. I say what?
I talk to her an tell her that I would like to discuss options for fixing the fence. Most of the panels are still in good shape. The posts have been attacked by carpenter ants. She INSISTS we have a new fence and cannot use anything old. After all, she sits on her porch 12 hours a day and her backyard must be PERFECT.
I finally get her agree to let me to do the work. The contractor she is going to hire is going to build a shoddy fence. We are talking cheapest materials. I say it would be better to use metal poles and treated panels. And we should clear coat the wood to slow rain damage. The previous fence lasted 5 years, and wouldn't it be nice to get more use out of our next one? She says thats fine and lets me do all the work (which I was fine with, as long as I didn't have to spend $700 on a crap fence).
I go out there on Saturday and my friend and I put in the metal poles. Exactly where the old wooden posts used to sit. Exactly. She and her husband are pleased as punch that they are getting a new fence, and when I leave on Saturday, everythng is peachy. She even oftered me a diet coke several times and told me I was doing a great job. So Saturday I guess she is the sweet old lady I remember.
Fast forward to yesterday. Her son calls me on my cell phone, at work. I explain I am at work, but he interrupts. Apparently he is doing me a favor by calling, because if his older brother had gotten ahold of me, he would have 'torn my head off'. He goes on to make more threatening suggestions, to which I told him I would call the police if he didn't change his approach. I can tell already this guy is a knuckle dragger sort of guy. But I get him to agree to talk about it in person.
Last night, I talk to the neighbor. I tell him his son threatened me on the phone. I told him if he did it again, I was going to the police. I had talked with another neighbor who is an officer and gotten instructions on what to do in case it escalated. But I'm determined to make this work, so I am being very nice. Turns out, one of the poles is not exactly 8 foot in spacing. I pull it out and tell them I will re-concrete it later. I also told them that the location of that particular post was the neighbor's idea in the first place, which it was. Told me to do it on Saturday. Turns out his wife is going psycho, and now it has to be changed.
I spent about another hour with them and we reach a compromise. They are happy, their son is happy, and I go on an errand. (this involved adding one more poll at an end joint where they think it may not be strong enough. I was fine with this.).
AS I AM DRIVING to pickup my wife, said neighbor's son calls me back. Apparently, his mother changed her mind and now he wants all of the polls pulled out. And replanted. In some cases, 1 or 2 inches from their current location. SERIOUSLY. I said, well there is a lot of concrete on those. I spent all day Saturday in 95 degree heat putting those in with the blessing of your parents who were watching. I demonstrated the poles were almost exactly 8 feet apart, and demonstrated how the panels would fit on them perfectly (we are putting panels on Saturday, which was fine with them).
He says they HAVE to be moved. I say, you just agreed for a second time to the placement of the poles. Why are you going back on your agreement? He says, hey, our agreement wasn't on paper. I am thinking, WTF? So I say, look, I just did all that labor for free. We are splitting costs. So to make things even and fair, move the poles yourself. That way your mom is happy and we split the labor in half. He says he has 3 kids and cannot do it. I say I have family and I don't appreciate taking time from my day to address a fence pole that may or may not be out of place by 2 inches. He says his mother is 80 years old and we have to live with it. I say no, that is your family. That is an internal issue. You are making your problem my problem. I say, we had an agreement twice, and I expect you to honor it.
At this point, he gets upset and starts yelling. I tell him, I have offered my final compromise. If you don't like it, take me to court. I was serious. I went back took pictures of the pole placements. I layed a fence panel by every pole to show they were perfectly lined up. I have my evidence. Plus I have witnesses to the discussion last night.
At this point, sick of dealing with these retards. I have been nice but they are acting ridiculous. First, they hire a contractor without talking to me, try to bully me into paying a lot of money, then agree to let me do the work and then complain about it. It's just a fence. I know they are 80 years old, but this is getting to be too much. I am not going to be bullied however. If they want to take me to court, then so be it. The judge will laugh them out of the building. My wife is major pissed and I am glad she wasn't there. Nothing like people becoming infantile in their old age and having their kids try to take it out on me. Jeebus. It's just a fence, lady.
Cliffs:
Fence needs repair, neighbor calls a contractor without speaking to me
We reach a compromise
They back out, son threatens me
We reach another compromise
They back out, son threatens me again
I tell them to take me to court
The mother is becoming infantile in her old age, and the son cannot see it
Update!
I filed for my permit to build the fence. It is required by the city. I intend to pay in full for the fence and place it on my property, that way they have no claim.
I took my survey, and measured my property line. The current placement of the poles is 6" on their side. I am going to rip them out and replant them a full 8" on my side to be in the clear. I also am posting no trespassing signs while I am out there.
Anything I am not thinking about?
Their old fence panels are currently laying on my property. I am thinking of moving them over to their side. Should I do this, or just dispose of them? I think I should leave them in their yard and let them worry about it. If they try and say I took down the old fence which was technically in their yard, my defense is that the fence is falling down (which it is) and that it presented a hazard. I simply pulled it down and left it in their yard.
Sound good?
Update 2
I just pulled all the poles out of their yard. They weren't there, so no witnesses. In any case, the poles are in my possesion. I replanted a few of them. Before I did that, I put up some plastic markers and connected them with closeline to signify my property line. Then I put up no trespassing signs.
First, the guy comes out. He asks me what I am doing. I tell him. He hasn't been uncivilized yet, but he doesn't seem happy.
Then the lady comes out and is giving me what for. For the most part, I ignore here. Then I explain that I have bought my own materials, have a permit, and am building my own fence on my property. She says this is not what we agreed to. I tell her since she rescinded the agreement, technically there isn't one. And I told her, as your son said, we never put it on paper anyway.
Then the oldest son comes over. Not the other one. He gives me some pointers and seems nice. He doesn't raise his voice. I blow him away with sunshine, whistling while I work. He grins, then goes away.
I have given neighbors cameras. They are going to watch and see what happens.
So far, so good. Tomorrow I will have a contractor finish the poles, and Saturday the fence will go up.
I am debating on colors to paint their side with. Any suggestions?
Update 3
Well it finally stopped raining, and I had a chance to put up the fence today. It was hot as hell but we got most of it done in the morning. A friend helped out.
After we got the fence panels up, we loaded all the old wood onto their side of the yard. It was their fence and on their property, so I figured that was fair. I asked my friend to use sealer on my side of the fence. I think it came out pretty good:
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/w...hampagnesupernova6.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/w...hampagnesupernova7.jpg
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/users/w...hampagnesupernova8.jpg
This should last awhile, and only require some touch up reapplication of sealer every year.
While he was doing that, I started painting their side :evil: You know, I didn't realize how much fun that was going to be.
While I was painting, their daughter and son-in-law came over. She said her mom (the older lady) was in tears. I said why?, I am just painting my fence. Her husband asked why I was painting the fence in this way, and I said to keep the wood from rotting! :thumbsup:
He then called me a lovely human. I told him I liked bright colors and I thought this was very nice. After all, these were the remnants of paint from some of my other projects, some of them rooms in our home. So they couldn't be that bad.
He told me not to trespass, which was funny. I laughed. I was standing on a stool painting with an extended roller brush. I wasn't touching their property.
He asked me if I would paint my side of the fence, and I said I might if I had paint left. Alas, I ran out right at the end :QThe daughter said 'you win' and I said I wasn't out to win anything. I was simply building a fence on my property. I think they are beginning to figure out that every time they yell, threaten, or bully me, it just makes me more motivated.
In any case, my friend decided to leave because of the commotion. But we had a good laugh first. I came back and finished up after dropping him off. And so for those of you who wanted pics, I present to you my creation which I dub champagne supernova!
http://pics.bbzzdd.com/search.php?q=champagnesupernova
I wish I had more colors, but at least I got to get rid of some old paint in the process! Enjoy!
Facebook
Twitter