Should I be concerned? Neighbor issues.

[danny_galaga]

How does overspray on the near side of their house end up on your property?  I'm sure it happened but I'm having trouble visualizing them being aimed in the direction of your property while painting the near side of the neighbor's house.

Quite easily. The spray doesn't just go to an object and stick on it. You spray, and what doesn't stick, bounces off again. The the wind can take it any direction. It doesn't matter which way you are facing, or what side of the house they were on so long as the remote direction (the direction it would travel if there were no objects in the way) of the wind is headed towards his house...

[ed12]

to any extent any contrater would have put up a spray curtian
come on boy's and girl's u know they call it a SPRAY BOOTH WALL
get real

ed

[gabe]

Sounds like we really do need a sarcasm font around here.  People really thought we suggested he poison the dogs and do other weird stuff?  Did you think the trebuchet was a serious suggestion as well?

 

It's a trebuchet.  It should be built regardless.  Because, well, it's a freaking trebuchet.  Sweetness.

Holy ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- man I am so freaking sorry. See. That SUCKS. Hey Gabe! Are you reading these posts?! What do you suggest now?

He'd probably suggest Vigo's being a crybaby and to talk it over with the neighbor...

Raise hell, Vigo.  Raise hell.

Yeah, I'm reading the posts. Vigo created this thread looking for feedback. I provided some. I'm not really sure what kind of response you are trying to get out of me?

There are ---uvulas--- and idiots out there. Sometimes they win and paint your mom's van blue. I realize that. I was trying to convey a message of tolerance in my previous posts. That outlook on life generally works for me.

Vigo - sorry to hear about the unfortunate turn of events. Any updates? I'd be interested in seeing pics of the damage.

[ChadTower]

There are ---uvulas--- and idiots out there. Sometimes they win and paint your mom's van blue.

They saw yrmom's van and they had to paint it blue.  No colors anymore they had to paint it blue.
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes.  I have to turn my head until my darkness goes.
I see your driveway and your stuff is painted blue.  With flowers and my love you don't know what to do.
I see people post some crap and quickly look away.  Like a stupid trolling thread it happens every day.

[Mikezilla]

There are ---uvulas--- and idiots out there. Sometimes they win and paint your mom's van blue.

They saw yrmom's van and they had to paint it blue.  No colors anymore they had to paint it blue.
I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes.  I have to turn my head until my darkness goes.
I see your driveway and your stuff is painted blue.  With flowers and my love you don't know what to do.
I see people post some crap and quickly look away.  Like a stupid trolling thread it happens every day.

 

[Rando]

Here's the best part, her grandkids are constantly over to her house and they just riddle her computer with viruses.  Once a month she calls me to come over and clean up/fix her computer.  I don't know why I don't just say no, but I do it every time.

An old boss I had and didn't get along with once brought in his daughter's laptop which had a HD crash and asked me to see if I could recover any files.  I was able to get access to the files and burned them to CD for him.  Included in the files were some... risque pictures that his daughter (over 18!) had apparently taken for a boyfriend.  Those shots MAY have been stashed somewhere as a bartering chip should our relationship ever have gone south.  Not saying you should snoop of course while fixing, but you never know what files may be causing a problem... 

[shateredsoul1979]

and that's why you should never trust anyone to fix your comp...

Also, sometimes it's as easy as taking the hdd out and using an external hdd dock to recover data.

[stu33]

After the 2nd time I just ghosted her computer post-fix and kept the copy.  Now, when I have to fix, I just restore the ghost image.  Easy peasy japanesey.

And honestly...there are no risque pictures involving an octogenarian that I would ever be interested in, unless it's an 80 year old copy of that contra ad in 2065.

[Vigo]

Thanks for all the support guys! I have been too worked up to post anything on the subject over the weekend.

Really Really long story short is they painted on my stuff, and I just cleaned it up to avoid damages. I talked to neighbors and painters and nothing got accomplished. I can go into details later, even after all they did to my stuff, I still tried the civil route trying to work things out and compromise to just let them finish and be done.  After I proposed a few  reasonable solutions, which they admitted they could easily do but just were not going to, they resorted just end up throwing out insults and walking away. I asked them what they solution was, and the painters and neighbors both said they were fine not painting that wall. That's a solution for me. Their house can look like ass, not my problem.

There is a lot more to the story, I just don't feel up to posting a 10 page summary of the issue.


***

So today, my wife went out with her camera to check out our property for any further damages. Not even realizing the painters were here, she saw that they were working on our driveway and had stuff sprawled all over it. They weren't painting, they were taking off tape and putting the gutter drains back. Stuff they could have easily done from their property. My wife snapped some photos quick, then told the guy to get off our driveway. The painter went into a storm of profanity screaming at her. She held her ground and her cool and told him to get off or she would call the cops for trespassing. The guy picked up his ladder and pretending not to know where my wife was, swung it right at her. My wife dodged it, and then the painter went over to her roses and stomped on one of the bushes out of spite before leaving the driveway. My wife is really shaken, but wife doesn't want to call the cops over it, and the painters have also ditched shortly after the incident.

This has gotten really ugly....but this might all be over for a while at least, it's too early to say.

[yotsuya]

Thanks for all the support guys! I have been too worked up to post anything on the subject over the weekend.

Really Really long story short is they painted on my stuff, and I just cleaned it up to avoid damages. I talked to neighbors and painters and nothing got accomplished. I can go into details later, even after all they did to my stuff, I still tried the civil route trying to work things out and compromise to just let them finish and be done.  After I proposed a few  reasonable solutions, which they admitted they could easily do but just were not going to, they resorted just end up throwing out insults and walking away. I asked them what they solution was, and the painters and neighbors both said they were fine not painting that wall. That's a solution for me. Their house can look like ass, not my problem.

There is a lot more to the story, I just don't feel up to posting a 10 page summary of the issue.


***

So today, my wife went out with her camera to check out our property for any further damages. Not even realizing the painters were here, she saw that they were working on our driveway and had stuff sprawled all over it. They weren't painting, they were taking off tape and putting the gutter drains back. Stuff they could have easily done from their property. My wife snapped some photos quick, then told the guy to get off our driveway. The painter went into a storm of profanity screaming at her. She held her ground and her cool and told him to get off or she would call the cops for trespassing. The guy picked up his ladder and pretending not to know where my wife was, swung it right at her. My wife dodged it, and then the painter went over to her roses and stomped on one of the bushes out of spite before leaving the driveway. My wife is really shaken, but wife doesn't want to call the cops over it, and the painters have also ditched shortly after the incident.

This has gotten really ugly....but this might all be over for a while at least, it's too early to say.

Oh man-- did she at least get the license plate number off of the vehicle?

[Vigo]

Let's see the photos.

What photos you wondering about, paint overspray or guy on our driveway?

Oh man-- did she at least get the license plate number off of the vehicle?

Yeah, she did. They are in unmarked trucks, so that is about all we got on the painters in general.

[spoot]

Please please!   Will sumone think of the roses!?!?!   <- Screamed in sum random politicians voice. 

What the hell man.  Those painters need a kick in the nadz.

[yotsuya]

I assume they're probably not a licensed and bonded outfit. Are they done with the house?

[Vigo]

Besides the side of the house facing me, yes. It looks like they are.

[Mikezilla]

Wow. Im glad your wife has a spider sense. Jesus. I dont even know what to say to all that. These people are scum, and their hire scum painters. Who knows, maybe they are relatives. What are you going to do Vigo?

[Well Fed Games]

I know it is a cost and inconvenience, but I wonder if a surveillance camera (could be hidden) pointed towards their place and your front door might not be a bad idea? That way your wife could keep an eye out (and potentially record any illegal junk) without going outside.

I think it is really good you are constantly trying to build bridges and compromise. They still may be massive --bags of cream-filled twinkies--, but I hope that someday there can be at least less aggression coming from their side.

[hypernova]

Included in the files were some... risque pictures that his daughter (over 18!) had apparently taken for a boyfriend.

No risque photos posted online = story not true

Assuming no blatant nudity, we have a cheesecake thread for exactly this situation.

Unless she's fat and/or ugly. 

[Louis Tully]

.

[CCM]

You need this:



http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16881377018&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-81-377-018-_-Product

[ChadTower]

What good does video evidence do when you're confronting someone who does not deny the issue?  He doesn't need proof.  He needs to stop rolling over for them.

[404]

Honestly, i feel for you in this situation. The big issue i see here however is that you are allowing them to essentially abuse your good nature. There is a time in any situation where you just need to put your foot down and if you need to, call the police every single time a confrontation occurs. I have lived around some crazy neighbors before. I feel your pain here, at times it makes it completely unbearable to even go home with the anticipation that you may just end up see those guys before you get into your house.

[Vigo]

Thanks, everybody! 

Well, I think right now I will wait and see what they will do, if anything. I'm in Minnesota, so there is not much painting season left, and I can breathe a bit easier about the issue soon. I have everything pretty well documented, and I feel pretty good that I have done far more than needed trying to compromise. The painters shot themselves in the foot by bringing themselves into the issue to begin with. If they just left it to my neighbors to work it out for themselves, then I doubt this would have a serious issue. Of course, the fact that my neighbors would rather leave one wall of their house not painted than to compromise and work with us speaks volumes about their general attitude.

For long term, I might give the security camera idea a whirl. That Newegg one looks sweet, not a bad price for the system either. I do already have a UV webcam that I could use for the time being. Security cameras systems are getting so cheap though. 


I'll admit, I have done more rolling than I should, but my willingness to compromise would remove any emotional argument from them if they think they can take this to small claims court. Which is all the argument they have to begin with. Of course, they don't know much about our legal system. The lady said that she went to the neighborhood association and they will enforce the issue (We don't have an association, we have a neighborhood facebook page  ). She also said that she was consulting with the city attorney and they would be forcing us to give up our driveway to them. (She doesn't know the city attorney is the lawyer for the city, not for the people and doesn't deal with this kind of issue.) My wife and I have resolved that the time for compromise is over, and we will just immediately call the police every time they trespass on our property. 



I think I'm gonna watch Gran Torino tonight. 

[CheffoJeffo]

There is a time in any situation where you just need to put your foot down and if you need to, call the police every single time a confrontation occurs. I have lived around some crazy neighbors before. I feel your pain here, at times it makes it completely unbearable to even go home with the anticipation that you may just end up see those guys before you get into your house.

This.

Document and notify. Don't be afraid to call the police to report stuff -- if you are afraid of wasting the time of street cops, then volunteer to go down to file your report at the station.

We have neighbours at the cottage who are pretty much despicable and think that everybody should do whatever they want. So far, we have had visits from the fire department (illegal burning), the police (a number of visits for everything from having our septic bed redone to having fireworks displays), bylaw enforcement officers and a number of visits from the building inspectors -- all based on false reports. We document everything and deal with the authorities appropriately. We have never been issued any citations or even been cautioned, but our documentation and reporting to the authorities has them tagged for harassment and abuse of system.

[Well Fed Games]

What good does video evidence do when you're confronting someone who does not deny the issue?  He doesn't need proof.  He needs to stop rolling over for them.

Well, trying to defuse the situation does not equal rolling over. And as far as the camera, I was more concerned about his wife being able to know what is going on outside without having to engage the crazy neighbors.

[yotsuya]

Unfortunately, if they leave that wall unpainted, it might affect your property value if you do decide to move. Who wants to live next to a half-painted house! 

[Vigo]

True enough. The same could be said about buying a house with a shed and a fence that had paint overspray all over it. I think the neighbor also shot the value down a tad when they painted their beautiful, all-wood porch gray and bright blue. It was an awesome looking porch.

[ChadTower]

Well, trying to defuse the situation does not equal rolling over. And as far as the camera, I was more concerned about his wife being able to know what is going on outside without having to engage the crazy neighbors.

He has gone well past defusing the situation into allowing them to do whatever they want whenever they want without any consequences.  Defusing the situation includes eventual compromise.  Where do you see the neighbor agreeing to any reasonable changes to their behavior?  Where do you see the neighbor making any considerations whatsoever?

[Malenko]

I still want to know how moldy bagels and empty cookie trays are racial slurs.

I guess Jews are known for bagels (I dont get it) and I think its cause you put cookie trays in the oven?
I mean whats the point of a racial slur that no one gets?

[Alpha17X]

If you or your wife don't ever want to do anything 'to avoid issues'. Every time something comes up. The issues you're dealing with are obviously frustrating but it seems like every time there was a solution neither of you wanted to take it, giving your neighbors the easy way out and unsurprisingly they continued to walk all over you.  Putting things like poisoning their dog of building a trebuchet aside, the police should have been involved long ago, initially the issue should have been taken up with your city's bylaw and licensing department, or it's equivalent.  When a contract swings a ladder at your spouse  and the goes and causes blatant property damage, that is not the time to remain silent, that's the time to call the police because she was assaulted on her own property.

I feel for you, but my day job is a city administrator, and from that perspective, you have let big things slide so many times that the only thing they're likely to care much about at this point is whether or not the contractors had the appropriate work permits, older issues are over and done with, they might be good legal ammo if you have documented proof they actually happened, but due to the fact that they are no longer occurring, not much can be done about those now.

Document events as they occur and take action immediately. If a contractor assaults your wife, she should be calling the police and reporting and filing charges for assault.

At the end while I wouldn't say you brought any of this on yourself (that would be ridiculous) I can confidently and unfortunately say that you did allow them to continue.  These issues all sound like they could have been easily stopped near the very beginning of your ordeal. You need to put your foot down firmly,  you've almost literally been letting your neighbors and these contractors walk all over you. Remember you've got a backbone and got to to 'war'using your cities by laws and the law.