Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

Day 268

The banging again.  It always starts with the banging.  No later than 7:00am, often 6:50am letting the boss know an early birder is on site.  Bang Bang, saw saw, thumpthump thumpthump.  It's the thumpthump that drives you out of bed because you know that's the first of at least 20,634 thumthumps the nail gun will make during the course of the day.

Such is life in a house next door to a house under construction.

Almost a year ago it began.  They tore down the perfectly reasonable mansion next door to build, well, what looks like a hotel, but we're assured is a single family residence.  The family in question has five kids and apparently none of them are speaking to each other because they each need their own level and their own wing in the new house.

There's not a lot to look forward to when you live in the house next to the house under construction.  Residential construction workers are a different breed than commercial so there's none of that cat-calling or whistling lasciviously that let's you know you've put yourself together well that day.  Every afternoon a food truck honking the La Cucaracha song pulls onto/completely blocks traffic on our tiny cul-de-sac, beckoning the workers to join it.  And while it's baby-waking honk is not particularly enticing its wafting aroma of all things fried and guacamoled will have you thinking of it long...long after it's gone.  The worker's port-a-potty being emptied bi-monthly creates a stench so bad that one could actually confuse it with a gas leak and call the gas company and have a guy come out who also can't believe the smell but thinks it's hilarious when he figures out what's making it.  One just knows there's a gas company personnel website that now boasts a post of "They thought it was a gas leak but I told her 'Lady, that kind of gas I can't do anything about!'"

Now, you may say "Hey, won't a giant hotel house next door raise your property value?"  To which I'll respond "WHAT?  I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE CONSTRUCTION.  CAN YOU CALL BACK AFTER 6:00pm OR BEFORE 7:00am?"  And when you do, I'll kindly ask you if you'd want to buy the tiny two bedroom next to the hotel house that blocks out the sun.  Don't count on the family moving in to be very good neighbors - they can't stand each other enough to live anywhere near one another so I don't see how you're going to like them.

Months ago, after they crossed our fence to tear out our trees that were in the way of their master bedroom's view, we caved and decided to go talk to the forewoman.  Yes, it's a woman.  No, their equal oprtunity-ness does not impress me.  She distracted us with talks of "property lines" and "easements" and "taking it up with county" so it's difficult to say who really won that argument per se, but I do know that we were assured that come November - May of next year at the latest - they'll be done with the actual construction and then it will be just inside work.  Much less noisy. 

Alas, I cannot say the same thing to them.  Below you will see a photo of their pending master bedroom.

Now see a photo of our recently erected backyard playground for my two children, directly next to their pending master bedroom.

We're good neighbors though.  I promise my two young and loud children will only be allowed out there after 7:00am, maybe 6:50am if they've been very well behaved.