<p>
</p>
<p>Well, because they’re right there. If it’s a small issue that can easily be addressed by the foreman, it’s easier for everyone just to handle it directly. Then upward to the owner and then to the city, as needed. </p>
<p>Saddest part will be seeing the old house being torn down. The former owners were a wonderful older couple. Here’s to hoping that the new neighbors are even a fraction as kind.</p>
<p>I don’t get the idea of bringing the workers on someone else’s property refreshments. Although it’s a convenient way to dispose of cookies I don’t think it’ll buy you anything. They already have their own refreshment anyway - possibly including drinking beer for a couple of hours afterwards. Most of the workers will only be there a short time and on and off anyway since usually there are different people who do the excavation, plumbing, foundation, framing, electrical, more plumbing, drywall, siding, roofing, etc. so trying to buy them off with some refreshments wouldn’t buy their loyalty for long anyways. Some of the workers will only be there for a day or few days before they’re done and off to another job elsewhere so they may not pay much attention to you assuming they even speak English.</p>
<p>While you should talk to the owner to take care of issues or if that doesn’t work then maybe the foreman, if I saw someone doing something that affected me I wouldn’t hesitate to head over there to stop it immediately. It’s best to deal with the owner and let them take care of it but if the drywall or tile people are tossing their buckets of plaster/grout onto your property you need to stop it immediately. Ditto with them parking on your lawn or blocking you driveway or plopping something down in your petunias.</p>
<p>Another suggestion - if they have a compressor running all day long annoying you, you might want to talk with them to see if there’s a better placement for it rather than next to your house. </p>
<p>It sounds as if you already know the official city rules for construction so that’s good.</p>
<p>Be prepared to take pictures/video of infractions - parking, messes, noise, etc. so you have some tangible evidence of the issue. If the owner is off-site, as I assume the owner will be, then it might help illustrate the problems if they’re chronic.</p>
<p>Some contractors are respectful and intelligent but others… aren’t.</p>
<p>On the bright side - maybe the new home will make your property value go up.</p>
<p>Just keep telling yourself you’re lucky it is just ONE house and “this too shall pass. . .”)
We’ve had construction in our backyard for over a year. (Abandoned driving range turned into a huge apartment complex.) Not only did we mourn the loss of “our” kite-flying field and sledding hills, the constant noise of heavy equipment, the blowing dust, the blowing trash left by construction workers, disturbed wildlife–deer, coyotes, fox, snakes, skunks, etc. have made their way into the neighborhood more frequently–and pounding of hammers has been MADDENING. Just staying away from the house helped me cope, and avoiding certain rooms where the noise was the worst. Still going on, but the worst is over. Except for the expected plunge in property values. Good luck, you have my sympathy.
Wanna bet you’ll find fast food trash, cups, chip bags etc. in your yard?</p>
<p>In my defense, the two guys doing the work next door were super sweet, and helped me move things in my yard, when they would see me struggle. They also found the shut off valve in my basement when I couldn’t when I broke off the outside faucet. (the one at the meter broke off. & it was a very warm day- I also gave a drink to the city repair person who installed the new meter)
It doesn’t cost me anything to get them some water.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Clearly, you’ve never had my cookies. I don’t have to “dispose” of them any more than International Olympic Committee has to “dispose” of pins. 
</p>
<p>Our property is fenced all around, so some of the issues others have had with parking and trash will hopefully be mitigated. </p>
<p>GladGradDad has our property values going up because of the new construction, atomom has them going down. I figure it all evens out to a wash.</p>
<p>EK4:
That’s a different scenario - those guys deserved at least cookies. I was referring to the norm - where the construction people do work next door and only next door.</p>
<p>I haven’t had any construction people who didn’t have water, usually lunch, etc. with them. They know they’re going to be at a construction site all day.</p>
<p>
No, but I am willing to learn.</p>
<p>GGD, they’ll be hiring next door pretty soon. :)</p>
<p>When there were guys next door doing a couple days of hot yard work, we offered cold water and cookies. Easy enough for us–we were outside, they were outside, the fence between the properties is 4’ chicken wire so you’re passing close by each other-- so why not?</p>
<p>I remember during our kitchen remodel…had lunch for the guys the first two weeks…always had cold drinks…about week 14…not so much…at MONTH 14…hope.</p>
<p>But you are very kind. I hope that your kindnesses are reciprocated.</p>
<p>SlitheyTove:</p>
<p>That was nice of you. When I said what I did it was from the perspective of doing it for currying some sort of favor rather than doing it to be kind as it sounds that you did.</p>
<p>I’m not quite as bad as I sound. Although usually construction guys bring water, etc. with them and therefore don’t usually need someone to hand them drinks, the ‘undocumented immigrants’ who do yard work around here often don’t, usually because they don’t own a car and are on foot or a bicycle. Although I won’t hire them, a neighbor did and this one guy was working out there all day on a very hot day with no apparent water jug so in that case I went over and handed the guy some cold drinks.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yeah, right. I can tell when someone is trying to weasel his way into getting some of those cookies. Nice try, bub. 
:D</p>
<p>(shuffles off to non-french-door freezer, digs out some chocolate cake, cuts off thin slice as peace offering)</p>
<p>And ellebud, yeah, I’d give up at DAY 14 let alone week 14.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>For years, we looked out through our kitchen window onto a beautiful old Tudor house that was not occupied (so in essence, we had the perfect neighbors). Periodically, “Bob” would come down from Connecticut to mow the lawn. We were friendly with him, and he with us. Then our side neighbors (who would have qualified for a bit part in one of those shows I don’t watch – desperate housewives of the New Jersey Shore) – charmed Bob into selling them his house. Which they didn’t need. And which they said they would restore, but which was torn down in a series of awful clawing motions by John Deere trucks. And they built a ginormous* cheap boxy structure in its place. And they took down all the trees. </p>
<p>To me, trees are like heroic mute animals – benign, protective, and unable to speak for themselves.</p>
<p>We moved.</p>
<p>*SAT word</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s a shame. You can’t do that where I live. You have to get permission to take any trees down, and that permission is difficult to get.</p>