My plan to go to jail real soon

[Alter]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

Pull a Hezbollah.

What? Kidnap a couple of the contractors, start lobbing things over to the other house, and then fill your house with innocent neighbours prior to the inevitable response?

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by Alter

What? Kidnap a couple of the contractors, start lobbing things over to the other house, and then fill your house with innocent neighbours prior to the inevitable response?
And momentary revenge will be succulent. Then the dismal realization comes when you're surrounded by police, and shouting out desperate suicidal threats to the authorities.

 

[Lucky Strike]

Originally Posted by LabelKing

And momentary revenge will be succulent. Then the dismal realization comes when you're surrounded by police, and shouting out desperate suicidal threats to the authorities.
Heh...you sound as if you speak from bitter experience, LK?

 

[Tokyo Slim]

Jail might be quieter. And yes, I speak from personal experience.

 

[designprofessor]

Don't do jail. That would put a whole new slant on the phrase "annoying neighbor".

 

[faustian bargain]

Originally Posted by designprofessor

Don't do jail. That would put a whole new slant on the phrase "annoying neighbor".

also "dumping their junk in your back yard".

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by faustian bargain

also "dumping their junk in your back yard".

 

[new obsession]

If you truly want to go the revenge route, you should talk to some new York contractors who have been stiffed, those guys are pretty scary. Marbles in gas tanks, motor oil in swimming pools...

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by Lucky Strike

Heh...you sound as if you speak from bitter experience, LK?
I believe it was vicariously through Badlands.

 

[odoreater]

Some of your complaints are valid, like them putting holes in your walls or whatever. But, you can't expect construction guys to come in later in the day so that you can get some extra quiet time to sleep. I come from a construction family and people that work construction usually work pretty tough hours and want to get home just like everyone else. First off, in the summer you have to start that early because it is cooler and more bearable to work at 7 a.m. than it is at noon. Second, you have to start that early because you want to get home to your family at a reasonable time. Also, just because they leave at 11:30 am, doesn't mean that they are going home afterwards - in fact, they probably have other jobs to go to that are more amenable to working in the afternoon.

 

[rdawson808]

So what you are saying, Odoreater, is that they can schedule their day so as to be the least inconvenienced and in course impose that inconvenience on me? **** that. That's as two-faced as can be. If they have the "right" to do that then where are my same rights?

They were doing finishing work inside. They weren't out in the heat. The house has AC. They showed up and were working at 7am. I'm not trying to get a little extra sleep--I'm trying to get a reasonable amount of sleep.

If my other neighbors were just making any old noise at that hour I would call the cops and the cops would make them stop.

Those other neighbors recently had contractors working on their house too. These guys showed up and started working at 8am. They left by about 6 or 7. So that meant they worked in the heat of the day just like anyone else who has to work outside. Further, when they made such a mess that it got on our porch (saw dust, etc.) they came over and swept our porch. That's being a very good neighbor.

bob

 

[Nantucket Red]

Having spent over half my working life in construction and run my own business, I say that being a good neighbor and causing the least disruption possible is part of the job.

 

[edmorel]

Call up your town's building inspector, anonymously. Make up **** in terms of building violations (contractor is using play doh for foundation etc). If you can get a building inspector in there, trust me, they'll find a handful of violations. Also, call up your local INS office and complain about the "illegals" that the contractor is using (when they ask you how you know they are illegals, tell them the contractor has been bragging about how these 16 year old Mexicans work so hard and long for $20 a day).

 

[odoreater]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

So what you are saying, Odoreater, is that they can schedule their day so as to be the least inconvenienced and in course impose that inconvenience on me? **** that. That's as two-faced as can be. If they have the "right" to do that then where are my same rights?

Pretty much, that's what I'm saying. That's the way the world works - they have a job to do and they have to go out and do it. They can't wait around until everyone in the neighborhood can get their full beauty rest before they start working. Starting work at 7 am is pretty standard in the construction business. If they're putting in 12 hour days, are they supposed to come in at your neighbor's place at 9 and then go home at 9 pm just so that you're not inconvenienced? Personally, I don't think starting work at 7 am is all that unreasonable, and it seems neither does the rest of your town, which is reflected in the ordinance that sets the time that construction is permitted.

Maybe it's two-faced, but people realize that allowing construction without too many restraints ultimately increases the value of all the properties in town, which is money in people's pockets, which people like. On the other hand, allowing you to sleep for another half-hour or hour doesn't really do anyone much good other than you. So, given the choice between the two, I can see why people have voted to allow dusk to dawn construction.

 

[lawyerdad]

Originally Posted by odoreater

Pretty much, that's what I'm saying. That's the way the world works - they have a job to do and they have to go out and do it. They can't wait around until everyone in the neighborhood can get their full beauty rest before they start working. Starting work at 7 am is pretty standard in the construction business. If they're putting in 12 hour days, are they supposed to come in at your neighbor's place at 9 and then go home at 9 pm just so that you're not inconvenienced? Personally, I don't think starting work at 7 am is all that unreasonable, and it seems neither does the rest of your town, which is reflected in the ordinance that sets the time that construction is permitted.

Maybe it's two-faced, but people realize that allowing construction without too many restraints ultimately increases the value of all the properties in town, which is money in people's pockets, which people like. On the other hand, allowing you to sleep for another half-hour or hour doesn't really do anyone much good other than you. So, given the choice between the two, I can see why people have voted to allow dusk to dawn construction.
I agree with your point about the collective political decision to allow dusk-to-dawn construction. But without any disrespect to your family, the "they've got a job to do and they can schedule that job to suit their own convenience without regard for anyone else" part bogus. They may have a job to do, but there's a right way and a wrong way to do it.
I've got a job to do as a lawyer. At times, it involves dealing with people who are intimidated by the concept of dealing with lawyers. At other times, it involves compelling people through the use of subpoenas, etc. to show up and testify at depositions or trials, turn over documents relating to their personal or business lives, etc. I could be a dick about it and say "Hey, I've decided that this what might help my client's case and if it's inconvenient or uncomfortable for you, tough **** - that's the way the world works." Or I could be mindful and respectful of the fact that - unlike me - these people aren't getting paid to sit in a deposition all day, may be uncomfortable or unfamiliar with the legal process, and may find dredging up old records inconvenient, expensive, embarrassing, or a combingation thereof. I consider it my professional obligation to follow the latter course, to try to take people's schedules into account when I can (sometimes subjecting myself to inconvenience in order to do so), explain why I'm asking (or compelling) them to do something, not asking them to look for more records or divulge more private information than I really need. As I read rdawson's post, all he's really looking for is a modicum of courtesy and professionalism. The contractor could have responded to the request/complaint about the early morning noise by saying, "I'm sorry, we didn't mean to disturb you. Because of the schedule we're on, we really do have to start that early. But maybe we can do some of the noisier stuff a bit later in the morning. And of course we'll stop throwing our trash in your yard." I suspect that if that had happened, we wouldn't even be hearing about this. Instead, they chose to be jerks and be rude to his wife.
Personally, I'd follow the course suggested by several other people here and do everything I could to make their job more difficult and more expensive - which can quite easily be accomplished anonymously. In many, many circumstances, "don't be a dick" is not only a good ethical rule but a good big-picture business practice as well.