Neighbors To Start Demolition And Renovation

[Brooksie]

Just got a call today from my next door neighbors about a major renovation they will be starting within a month. They said they're doing a COMPLETE demolition of the car port/garage and will be putting on a massive addition. She said its going to be very noisy and should take most of the summer. I appreciate the warning but now I'm trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do to manage with this. Their house is right on top of mine. This car port them will be demolishing is about 3 feet from where my nap area is.

Part of their fence and building serves as my mandatory fully fenced in/blocked off yard. So I'm trying to think now:
1. How any I ever going to manage with 2 infants and a toddler and a 4 year old needing to nap all summer, some of them multiple times a day.
2. How am I supposed to keep the kids safe from all this debris and nails and random construction work/workers that will basically be IN my yard doing this work. and
3. How am I supposed to approach it with THEM. Honestly I'm a little irritated about it. Especially because our properties are so close they will be IN my yard to do this work.

I don't like that at all.

Has any one else dealt with this? I mean I kind of feel like being a you know what and refusing to let me step foot on my property and I feel like this is a major liability if they get nails and splinters and stuff in my yard. We spend a TON of time in my yard and to safely block off the area where they will be doing work I am going to lose 1/4 of my yard... Its a big problem for me. What should I do?!

[momofboys]

Just got a call today from my next door neighbors about a major renovation they will be starting within a month. They said they're doing a COMPLETE demolition of the car port/garage and will be putting on a massive addition. She said its going to be very noisy and should take most of the summer. I appreciate the warning but now I'm trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do to manage with this. Their house is right on top of mine. This car port them will be demolishing is about 3 feet from where my nap area is. Part of their fence and building serves as my mandatory fully fenced in/blocked off yard. So I'm trying to think now: 1. How any I ever going to manage with 2 infants and a toddler and a 4 year old needing to nap all summer, some of them multiple times a day. 2. How am I supposed to keep the kids safe from all this debris and nails and random construction work/workers that will basically be IN my yard doing this work. and 3. How am I supposed to approach it with THEM. Honestly I'm a little irritated about it. Especially because our properties are so close they will be IN my yard to do this work. I don't like that at all. Has any one else dealt with this? I mean I kind of feel like being a you know what and refusing to let me step foot on my property and I feel like this is a major liability if they get nails and splinters and stuff in my yard. We spend a TON of time in my yard and to safely block off the area where they will be doing work I am going to lose 1/4 of my yard... Its a big problem for me. What should I do?!

Do you know them well (the neighbors)? Can you set up a time to speak to them about your concerns? Do you not have to grant someone permission to basically be doing work that will take place on YOUR property? I would find out what your rights are pronto!

[frugalmama4]

Just got a call today from my next door neighbors about a major renovation they will be starting within a month. They said they're doing a COMPLETE demolition of the car port/garage and will be putting on a massive addition. She said its going to be very noisy and should take most of the summer. I appreciate the warning but now I'm trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do to manage with this. Their house is right on top of mine. This car port them will be demolishing is about 3 feet from where my nap area is. Part of their fence and building serves as my mandatory fully fenced in/blocked off yard. So I'm trying to think now: 1. How any I ever going to manage with 2 infants and a toddler and a 4 year old needing to nap all summer, some of them multiple times a day. 2. How am I supposed to keep the kids safe from all this debris and nails and random construction work/workers that will basically be IN my yard doing this work. and 3. How am I supposed to approach it with THEM. Honestly I'm a little irritated about it. Especially because our properties are so close they will be IN my yard to do this work. I don't like that at all. Has any one else dealt with this? I mean I kind of feel like being a you know what and refusing to let me step foot on my property and I feel like this is a major liability if they get nails and splinters and stuff in my yard. We spend a TON of time in my yard and to safely block off the area where they will be doing work I am going to lose 1/4 of my yard... Its a big problem for me. What should I do?!

Ok, slow down pump the brakes ...First of all they have the right to remodel their home...yes it **** that it's so close to your home and that your yard will need to be used in order to do so. BUT THEIR RIGHT!

Put the shoe on the other foot...if you we're adding on to make an NEW DAYCARE AREA...you would want the same respect/courtesy RIGHT?

What you can do, find out if their contractor has a schedule in place for what work will be done and when. Then work your out door time around it (if possible).

Kids-adjust to new things all the time...once they get use to all the noise (a week tops) it will be fine. Are find a new nap area/room away from the noise if possible.

Bottom line...what if they start complaining about all the noise/traffic your daycare brings LET IT GO!

[rmc20021]

Wow...I would not want to be in your shoes. And here I get upset when my next door neighbor mows the yard every time right during nap time.

Since she was nice enough to inform you, I would try working with her. The contractors will obviously be taking a lunch and hopefully at least during that time it will be quiet and you could coordinate their lunch/your nap time.

That would cover at least one nap. Is there any way you can temporarily move the nap area to another part of the house so it would be a little quieter? I know in my house I can't.

As for the yard, I would definitely figure out a way to section off an area where the kids cannot have access to and hopefully be able to deal with it.
Just make sure YOU get to it first and section it off so you can control how much access they will have or they may take a lot more than what is really necessary.

[NeedaVaca]

I would be tread carefully, like the PP said, if you cause them trouble they are likely to reciprocate! Kids playing outside all summer is a lot of noise for them too ya know? Ask if there will be any scheduled lunch time for the construction workers and use that for your nap time. I bet they will be concerned about safety as well and can put up a temporary fence. I have seen some that are like orange/plastic/netted fences? Have a construction theme for the kids. I bet your kids will get used to it and sleep through the noise. You can also use white noise for them. Kids adjust pretty well

[countrymom]

before any construction is being done, go get a survey of your property. My sisters neighbours decided to put a fence up, they followed what they thought was their property line, till my sister pulled up her survey and it turned out that they were 3 ft into their yard. The nieghbour had to rip the fence down and build it on their property.

also, they should have a building inspector, trust me, they will need it inspected before it begins. But go and find out where your property line is first, because for all you know they may be building way to close to your property and when you go and sell your home there may be problems. As for the debris, its the contractors job to clean up after themselves.

[itlw8]

It could be that new regulations do not allow them to build right on the property anymore... Here you have to be 3 ft from the property line. If they tear down the old they may need to move away from the propery line. Call the city and ask. Ask to meet with the people and contractor to see what their plans are for keeping your children safe. You will definitely need to quickly replace the fence on the property line for your regulations. if the building and fence come down you have to put one up. WHO owns the fence? if you or someone that owned your house put it up they can not take it down.
would tell them if the fence is removed it needs to be immediately replaced by you or them. The same day.

[e.j.]

I would be tread carefully, like the PP said, if you cause them trouble they are likely to reciprocate! Kids playing outside all summer is a lot of noise for them too ya know? Ask if there will be any scheduled lunch time for the construction workers and use that for your nap time. I bet they will be concerned about safety as well and can put up a temporary fence. I have seen some that are like orange/plastic/netted fences? Have a construction theme for the kids. I bet your kids will get used to it and sleep through the noise. You can also use white noise for them. Kids adjust pretty well

When we first moved to our current home, we built an addition to make room for my day care and renovated various areas of the house. The kids got used to the noise pretty quickly and usually slept right through all of it, even though they slept in the room right next to where the work was being done. The contractor and crew were also meticulous about cleaning up. I never found nails, trash, boards, etc. out in the yard. They knew I did day care (I had discussed this with them and the kids loved to watch them work!) so they were very careful not to leave anything around that would be considered hazardous.

[jenn]

Last spring we had massive hail damage in our area. The houses in our neighborhood are positioned oddly so that 4 other backyards touch our backyard. Our house and all 4 of the others had new roofs put on. It was annoying, but honestly, after the first hour or so, the kids just kind of ignored the noise. I rearranged my schedule so that our nap time was the workers lunch time. I spoke with the project manager before they began to let them know that little ones were around and they were very respectful of language and music when we were outside. All of my boys were fascinated and watched out the windows for hours.

[MarinaVanessa]

Do you know them well (the neighbors)? Can you set up a time to speak to them about your concerns? Do you not have to grant someone permission to basically be doing work that will take place on YOUR property? I would find out what your rights are pronto!

I would definitely talk to the neighbor as soon as possible as well and discuss that there are a few concerns

1. That you have licensing requirements that require you to have a safe environment free from debree and dangerous items and you are worried about the possibility of hazard. Explain that you will be placing a call to your licensing office to make sure that while they do their remodeling and demo work that you can still continue to run your business within regulations.
2. Explain that by them removinf any part of the barrier this renders your backyard unsafe to allow the children to play in because you need an enclosed yard and that it is a concern for you. Tell them that you are willing to work with this with and ask them if they are willing to put in a temporary fence to block off the area on your property that they will need to use and create a safe barrier so that the children can still play in the majority of your yard with no way to get out. I would request that they pay for this and you will have no problem with them being on that part of your property during the work.
3. Reassure them that you want to work with and don't want to be a problem but that you do run a business and just want to make sure that you can run it within regulations and without the threat of receiving citations. Let them know that once you get the details of your concerns from licensing that you will relay the info you got to them.
4. I would discuss and request the possibility of keeping the area in your front yard and front street and curb free of any machinery, tools, equipment andor large trash bins/containers so that your clients don't have to worry about not having a place to park or falling/tripping hazards.
5. I would lastly discuss the nap issue. Explain that you have nap between x-x time each day and that you are concerned that the noise during that time will disturb their nap because the work is so close to the nap area. Explain that you do nap in that area because it is the only (if you can't have nap in a different area of the house) area that you can nap the kids. Ask if there is any way that they can talk to their workers and request that the workers lunch/break period be held during the time that you do nap and if they can keep the amount of work being done with loud machinery/tools closest to that part of your home to a minimum during that time.

I don't feel like you are asking for anything irrational if you approach it this way. You have legitimate concerns and you should be able to approach the neighbors with them. Give a little, take a little. If they want to be on your yard during the demo and remodel then they can make a few accommodations.

Ok, slow down pump the brakes ...First of all they have the right to remodel their home...yes it **** that it's so close to your home and that your yard will need to be used in order to do so. BUT THEIR RIGHT!

Actually they technically can't be on your property without your permission. I agree that it'll be an annoyance to the provider but I think that the two can work out a compromise.

Put the shoe on the other foot...if you we're adding on to make an NEW DAYCARE AREA...you would want the same respect/courtesy RIGHT?

The neighbor doesn't have additional licensing rules to follow and doing demo work and having hazards and trip/fall areas can become a problem with licensing regulations. I think that the neighbor can accommodate a few things in order for her to still stay within her licensing regulations. If the provider decided to do remodeling or demo work she would have to call licensing, get their approval, keep the daycare areas safe while the work was being done etc. The neighbor would not have these issues if the provider decided to renovate, only the provider does KWIM?

Bottom line...what if they start complaining about all the noise/traffic your daycare brings LET IT GO!

If her daycare clients break laws or regulations like block driveways, double park, create a grid lock etc then by all means the neighbor has every right to complain, and I for one as a provider would be on my neighbors side if my clients did these. Noise on the other hand is usually mentioned in noise ordinances and are usually between the hours of 7am and 10 pm. The provider would not in this case be breaking any rules, the provider may however be breaking rules by having this demo work and safety issues created by the neighbors project. I can see why the provider is concerned, I would be to and would want to do research to make sure that I would still be in compliance.

It could be that new regulations do not allow them to build right on the property anymore... Call the city and ask. Ask to meet with the people and contractor to see what their plans are for keeping your children safe. You will definitely need to quickly replace the fence on the property line for your regulations. if the building and fence come down you have to put one up. WHO owns the fence? if you or someone that owned your house put it up they can not take it down.
would tell them if the fence is removed it needs to be immediately replaced by you or them. The same day.

The removal of this "fence" would be one of my main concerns. How would be able to use my yard with the kids if no fence was there especially while demo/building work was being done?

It might even be that (unless the neighbors are retired or plan on taking some time off of work) that most of the work will be done on the weekends and the nap issue won't be a problem at all, only the fence ... or lack of one will be.

[Country Kids]

Everyone is giving great advice but please really think about the questions you are asking them when you talk to them.

This is their house they are remodeling, on their property and sounds like it is their fence they are tearing down. Yes, it is making an incovenience to you but I would be really upset if my neighbor was basically telling me what an inconvenience it was to them for their business with my remodeling. They are remodeling for them, not you. Yes, I would be considerate but I wouldn't push through my project any faster. You don't want the childcare to become a thorn between you and the neighbors.

My neighbor has their lawn done, always at naptime but I've never said anything to them. Its a service they are paying for and has it done when convient for them. The oil guy comes there also, seems to be right at naptime. Same thing, thats when it happens and I'm not paying for it so why complain.

There is a construction outfit behind be and a sandblasting place-talk about loud-especially during naptime but I've never said a thing because I expect no one to run anything around my business because my children need to nap at a certain time and play outside.

[MarinaVanessa]

Everyone is giving great advice but please really think about the questions you are asking them when you talk to them.

This is their house they are remodeling, on their property and sounds like it is their fence they are tearing down. Yes, it is making an incovenience to you but I would be really upset if my neighbor was basically telling me what an inconvenience it was to them for their business with my remodeling. They are remodeling for them, not you. Yes, I would be considerate but I wouldn't push through my project any faster. You don't want the childcare to become a thorn between you and the neighbors.

My neighbor has their lawn done, always at naptime but I've never said anything to them. Its a service they are paying for and has it done when convient for them. The oil guy comes there also, seems to be right at naptime. Same thing, thats when it happens and I'm not paying for it so why complain.

There is a construction outfit behind be and a sandblasting place-talk about loud-especially during naptime but I've never said a thing because I expect no one to run anything around my business because my children need to nap at a certain time and play outside.

From the OP "2. How am I supposed to keep the kids safe from all this debris and nails and random construction work/workers that will basically be IN my yard doing this work ". If they stay on their side of the yard prefect. Chances are however that since they are doing demo and the fence and the neighbors wall divides the property that this stuff isn't all going to stay in their yard KWIM. If it does then great and the provider has no real room to complain, if they plan on taking the wall down and putting a new wall up in the same spot or rebuilding a fence chances are they will have to stand on her property. If they have to stand on her property to do some of this labor then I think it's fair of her to allow them to do so with no problem if they cover the cost of a temporary barier KWIM? If they stay on their side and the fence and wall is the neighbors then yes, the provider is is responsible for putting something up if she has to.

As for the nap thing, although it's not something that she can require of them it is something she can discuss with them .

If they say no to anything ... ok, they said no, and she can let it go and move on ... you never know unless you try right?

[Meyou]

I don't have any advice but I did just have some major work during daycare hours on my home. Despite my panic all of the kids slept as usual at naptime even on the day they pulled down a chimney right over them. It was LOUD. It went on for two weeks here and after the first day they didn't even talk about it.

[countrymom]

please don't discuss nap time with them. They will laugh at you. I would worry more about the debris and the fence then nap time. And really kids will like the noise, they will probably sleep better with the noise.

[Brooksie]

Thanks for all the advice ladies! After the initial shock of how drastically my plans for the summer will be changing, I am not so concerned with the napping, just more so the debris and being in violation of my licensing requirements. I was on the phone with the director of the office of child care yesterday and he's going to come look at my yard and tell me the best way to approach this all but was glad that I was being so proactive about the concerns for safety. I think I have decided that BEFORE they even start their demolition, I will be putting up a permanent fence on MY side of the property (pretty much right up against the building to be demolished). I'm going to file for the building permit next week and get that started ASAP. I'm going to have to call them and give the neighbors a heads up but it has to be done before they start whether its an inconvenience to them or not. My landlord wanted me to be VERY clear with them that they are NOT to come on to the property and THEY are responsible for insuring that no debris or hazards fall onto my property since I am running a business and the kids safety is at risk.
I'm on really good terms with this family as I seasonally provide before and after care for their SA boy. I'm not concerned about this being a hostile situation and am hoping they are going to be as understanding as me. Wish me luck !