Neighbours scaffolding – Am I being unreasonable?

pinkladyof66

it will be interesting to see if the scaffolding is erected tomorrow have you still not agreed to it yet

chrisdisco

Unfortunately we haven't come to an agreement. He hasn't spoken to me other than the few words above. I would think he would build from the inside out now although I'm not sure.

It's also a good job that I work 5 mins down the road. Although, the police might take notice if my partner feel threatened and is on her own (her words not mine).

pinkshoes

Has he paid for the damage to the other car yet? I'd want that sorting before any scaffolding goes up!

Azmataz

chrisdisco wrote: »

We decided to go out in my partners car and realised half way down the road that it had been splashed with concrete also!

Did you notice it on approaching the parked car? Couldn't the soiling have happened offsite? I get all sorts of muck on my car when driving. I would imagine dried mud spray could look like concrete splash.

Driving the car away and then returning to 'confront' the neighbour is only going to exacerbate tensions. If you had flagged it up while the car was still parked in situ, there would have been less room to argue the fact of who splashed what. Off site, it could reasonably be argued that it was from something else.

Sorry, Op, I feel your anxiety - I really do. But I don't think you're doing yourself any favours in preemptively searching for issues. You'll end up shooting yourself in the foot with a full blown dispute.

chrisdisco

I used the car yesterday and the cement wasn't there when I parked it. I would have noticed it as it was on the side window and windscreen. The mixer was facing towards the car and he has removed the fence panels. I'm guessing this was for putting the scaffolding on my drive.

I understand what your saying, but I feel that I'm going to get walked all over if I give him the slightest chance. I'm just making him aware of these points and giving him the chance to rectify then. If things do escalate and the council get involved, at least I can say I was fair. I know it will always be my word against his, but I would hope they would look at the photo evidence.

I do feel a bit bad because the builder was a really nice guy and was honestly sorry. I realise these things happen but I would have hoped my neighbour would have taken more care.

Takeaway_Addict

chrisdisco wrote: »

I used the car yesterday and the cement wasn't there when I parked it. I would have noticed it as it was on the side window and windscreen. The mixer was facing towards the car and he has removed the fence panels. I'm guessing this was for putting the scaffolding on my drive.

I understand what your saying, but I feel that I'm going to get walked all over if I give him the slightest chance. I'm just making him aware of these points and giving him the chance to rectify then. If things do escalate and the council get involved, at least I can say I was fair. I know it will always be my word against his, but I would hope they would look at the photo evidence.

I do feel a bit bad because the builder was a really nice guy and was honestly sorry. I realise these things happen but I would have hoped my neighbour would have taken more care.

If he was a nice guy he would have insurance...

artbaron

Armchair23 wrote: »

I've been on both sides of having problems with getting scaffolding removed. As the person who ordered it and as a neighbour.

Even if you're the person who's paid and has asked even BEGGED for them to come and remove it, it can be a massive task.

Scaffolders tend to use the buildings as 'storage' so only come and remove scaffolding when they've got they've got a job to move on to.

That's true. Next door had scaffolding in place for 6 weeks and it was only used for a quick facia job, less than half a day. But that's nothing to the guy up the road, his scaffolding was in place for 3 years - the company never bothered taking it down and he gave up asking.

As for the OP, I'd tell the neighbour to go **** himself. His attitude with the damage to the car shows exactly what kind of person he is. He hasn't paid for the damage or even acknowledged it so he's taking you for a mug, and he'll treat you like a mug if you give him an inch. Telling him "no" would not be registered as a dispute, either, when you sell the house. It's a simple refusal of permission.

paddy's_mum

chrisdisco wrote: »

the scaffolding would be going up tomorrow, so we will see what happens

You are joking, aren't you?

People who wait to see what happens when faced with asbo-worthy neighbours like yours end up being walked all over. They also frequently end up in bouts of fisticuffs, court appearances and Bindings Over.

In your shoes, I'd be staying home from work today and the instant the scaffold lorry turned up, I'd be out there saying "no paperwork, no permission".

Is it that you enjoy confrontation or do you prefer to be the proverbial doormat?

no1catman

Yes, in this case the neighbour needs to get to a stage where it is acceptable to have the scaffolding on someone else's property. And what conditions if any need to be met in order to achieve such 'acceptance'!
Just because h wants it to happens means it will happen, without 'acceptance' - unless no firm objections = acquiescence = acceptance.


I on the other hand (and I was tempted to start a thread but then saw this one), have a neighbour who has had scaffolding put up last week. We have adjoining drives separated by a boundary wall.
The thing, we have the from verge, not him, some when the work starts - their vehicles will be parked outside our house.
The guy next door only told us about the impending work (est. two weeks) on Monday - a day prior to the scaffolding going up - which we find presumptuous that we don't have anything organised - why couldn't he have told us earlier!?
So now we have the prospect , with 'new roof& guttering' as they, walk along boards, we'll have the sense of being 'watched' through the bathroom window!
When the scaffolding was put up - it took five hours (anyone know if this is slow), and a couple of the guys used our drive as a short cut - narrowly missing the car with the end of the pipe.


Moreover, whilst the estimate is two weeks, the rain has already halted the start!

chrisdisco

So I had a phone call from my partner about 2 hours ago to say that the scaffold lorry was outside and they had started to put the scaffolding up. At this point I said to wait and see what happens and let me know.

The scaffolding has now been erected. From what I can gather on the phone, they have put the scaffold 2 planks wide down the side where his extension is going with nothing on my property. There might be a slight overhang where the one corner is closest to the boundary.

It looked like a reputable local company that put the scaffolding up, so I would guess that all the various regulations would have be followed.

I cant understand why he didn't discuss this with me in the first place. I did ask for a plan or talk to the scaffolder doing the work. All this bad feeling could have easily been avoided. I will check things over tonight, but hopefully all should be ok.