Advice for coping with next-door construction?

alwaysamom
Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:03:06 +0000

The advice to speak to the site manager is a good one. Get his cell number. Tell him what your expectations are. Prior to this, speak to the individual/individuals in your town who are responsible for noise issues, parking issues, etc. Keep their names and numbers handy. Find out exactly what the by-laws state and what type of enforcement is available.

We have been through this more than once. It’s a PITA, there’s no way around it. There is maximum 3 hour street parking here, at all times. Anything more than that, and you need a permit, construction workers included. The biggest issue we had was them blocking our driveway. There seemed to be no common sense among the workers on one particular project in our neighborhood. I asked them to move once. When they didn’t, I called the town office and they sent someone out that afternoon. That seemed to solve the problem, that is, until the next round of workers arrived. They come in waves, depending what work it is they do. So, yes, lather, rinse, and repeat.

Another problem we had was workers dry-cutting stone, a big no no in our town. Another instance of ‘educating’ the contractor and then, yes, calling the town when they chose not to comply. When we did our big reno, I made sure to speak to the contractor about this type of issue and he assured me that they would minimize any problem for the neighbors. He kept his word. My neighbors let me know on almost a weekly basis how great these guys were and two of them ended up hiring him for projects at their homes. A good contractor is worth is weight in gold. It’s why the good ones are always booked a couple of years in advance for big projects and why they never have to advertise.

As for giving the workers food and drinks? Nope. That isn’t your job. If anyone, it would be whomever hired them. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that those workers will somehow change their habits just because a neighbor baked them cookies. Be prepared for some aggravation. It’s almost inevitable, unless your neighbor happened to hire my contractor! ;)