Members Potts Posted May 6, 2013 Members Share Posted May 6, 2013 So a new guy moved in next door and although he and his family are nice people, they've already trashed their yard. I can't handle it- I've lived here for ten years and have a "cute" little house. Our backyards adjoin and his mess is plainly visable.I can easily put up a couple of sections of privacy fence that would connect to my garage and will block his entire yard from view. How do I go about doing this without offending them or pissing them off? We're going to be neighbors for a very long time. This would be the only portion of my yard that would be fenced. Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted May 6, 2013 Members Share Posted May 6, 2013 Good fences make for good neighbors. Put up the fence ... and do it with the confidence that you don't need to explain {censored} to him. If he asks - just dismiss the question with a simple "Oh, we've been planning to put that up for ages ... and finally got around to it." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted May 6, 2013 Author Members Share Posted May 6, 2013 SpaceNorman wrote: Good fences make for good neighbors. Put up the fence ... and do it with the confidence that you don't need to explain {censored} to him. If he asks - just dismiss the question with a simple "Oh, we've been planning to put that up for ages ... and finally got around to it." I seriously knew that you PERSONALLY would provide good advice! You didn't disappoint either! You're right too- I don't have to explain {censored}- it's my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimiv Posted May 7, 2013 Members Share Posted May 7, 2013 SpaceNorman wrote: Good fences make for good neighbors. Put up the fence ... and do it with the confidence that you don't need to explain {censored} to him. If he asks - just dismiss the question with a simple "Oh, we've been planning to put that up for ages ... and finally got around to it." This is the best advice. Just put the fence up and don't worry about what he will think. I stopped worrying about explaining things to other people a long time ago. (wife excepted, LOL). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted May 8, 2013 Members Share Posted May 8, 2013 I'm just hoping the neighbor I don't really know and have only invited over during a BBQ and a beer a couple of times just to be polite doesn't have any young girls locked up in his bedroom... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimiv Posted May 8, 2013 Members Share Posted May 8, 2013 guido61 wrote: I'm just hoping the neighbor I don't really know and have only invited over during a BBQ and a beer a couple of times just to be polite doesn't have any young girls locked up in his bedroom... God, if that isn't the truth. You really don't know what happens in people's houses, when they close the front doors. Can be the nicest folks on the block when they are out amongst us, but behind closed doors, yikes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SLScott86 Posted May 8, 2013 Members Share Posted May 8, 2013 I'm the neighbor with the weedy lawn. We bought it that way, and have done what people with more important things to worry about can do, but it'll probably be a few years before it's reasonable. I put some grass seed down in the middle of our two weeks of rain and that's coming up nicely in the previous owner's "garden" which was 100% weeds before we rounded up and planted last year. It's now about 70/30 grass to crab grass. The dandelions are ridiculous on the whole lawn. I'm hoping to have it turned around within a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted May 8, 2013 Author Members Share Posted May 8, 2013 SLScott86 wrote: I'm the neighbor with the weedy lawn. We bought it that way, and have done what people with more important things to worry about can do, but it'll probably be a few years before it's reasonable. I put some grass seed down in the middle of our two weeks of rain and that's coming up nicely in the previous owner's "garden" which was 100% weeds before we rounded up and planted last year. It's now about 70/30 grass to crab grass. The dandelions are ridiculous on the whole lawn. I'm hoping to have it turned around within a few years. I don't know if you're one of those "green" dudes that's anti- chemicals, but dandelions are the easiest fix. Just get some weed killer that attaches to your hose. One application and they're gone in a couple of days for the entire season. I did mine yesterday and peaked over in his yard to see if anyone was home. I sprayed his entire front lawn. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SLScott86 Posted May 8, 2013 Members Share Posted May 8, 2013 That worked for me, but not for the whole season. Now I forget what the weather was like when I did it last time. It also seemed really inexact. I avoid fertilizer more than chemicals ( as if the little bit of fertilizer on my lawn would somehow make any impact compared to the thick layer of poop spread on every field in the area.) Weed B Gone or generic is a big part of my several year plan, along with late fall seeding. Also, I can't hit my lob wedge, so I took it out of the bag. But I do use it to remove the largest weeds before they go to seed, and fill my divot with lawn patch seed. When all is said and done, I will have invested more money into this than I would have by just doing it like a normal person and hiring the folks who can buy stuff in bulk. Whatever, this is more fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted May 8, 2013 Members Share Posted May 8, 2013 I'll probably call my next band {censored} Dandelions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jimiv Posted May 8, 2013 Members Share Posted May 8, 2013 SLScott86 wrote: Also, I can't hit my lob wedge, so I took it out of the bag. But I do use it to remove the largest weeds before they go to seed, and fill my divot with lawn patch seed. Welcome to my world. I can't hit my lob wedge either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted May 8, 2013 Moderators Share Posted May 8, 2013 Unlike a lot of you who live in areas with lots of land at your disposal, I live 2 blocks from the beach in So Cal. We have tiny yards. And being blessed with great weather most of the year, you get to know your neighbors. Steve and Emily to the south are very shy. Then the kids started growing. Now they're in the back yard running and playing and I love those guys. Love the sound of kids having fun. Paula and Eric to the north, he drills oil wells so they live in Jakarta most of the year. But... ...the 2 college aged boys live there all the time while attending UCSD. Which means I live next to a frat house. A very nicely maintained one, but... the techno kick can be felt. Now, I've partied with the boys myself. Walked down to the pub, or shared the odd six pack in the yard with them while pretending to not stare at their girlfriend's bikini boobs. But it can be a pain in my 53 year old ass at times. Mitra and John to the west? Well, he created some drug that will somehow cure cancer or something and is retired at 50 and plays World of Warcraft all day. I can see him on the PC 24/7 from my bedroom upstairs. So, while I don't like him much, a big stupid kid he seems, I never see him for real, just at a distance through a sliding glass door, so that's good. his wife Mitra is awesome aside from her bizarre mix of Iranian and Berkeley politics she goes off on when drinking Margaritas. Grew up there then moved to hippy land. But I love her. I'm lucky. And we all pay the same gardener so that's fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SLScott86 Posted May 9, 2013 Members Share Posted May 9, 2013 I don't know our neighbors very well. I'm closer in age to their kids than to any of them. We keep to ourselves a little more than I'd like, being such a little town. I'm playing a memorial party in one neighbor's backyard later this month, so that should help break the ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted May 9, 2013 Members Share Posted May 9, 2013 guido, I can see positives and negatives of HOAs. Lately, I can see the positive and negatives in just about anything though. Positives are they should ensure everyone keeps their property looking nice. Negatives would be HOA nazis who try to micro-manage the neighborhood. I had one friend tell me the head of the HOA where he lived took HOA funds to upgrade her own house!Also, some places with HOAs might have pools. Growing up my parents both had pools, but after I moved out every place until my current house had community pools. I really liked it because you don't have to do anything to maintain the pool and it's a good way to meet your neighbors. Every now and then there would be someone listening to music too loud there, arguing or whatever... but it was pretty rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted May 9, 2013 Members Share Posted May 9, 2013 I'll put the HOA rules to the test after the first band rehearsal at my house I suppose... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted May 9, 2013 Members Share Posted May 9, 2013 Hahaha... that will definitely depend on your neighbors. As long as it's not late at night they should be pretty happy to check it out unless they are crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SLScott86 Posted May 9, 2013 Members Share Posted May 9, 2013 Or old, or stuffy, or really close to his house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Vito Corleone Posted May 11, 2013 Members Share Posted May 11, 2013 This is going to be fun: the house doesn't close until next week and already the HOA has fined us because the front lawn is dead.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceNorman Posted May 11, 2013 Members Share Posted May 11, 2013 guido61 wrote: This is going to be fun: the house doesn't close until next week and already the HOA has fined us because the front lawn is dead.... Reminds me of an incident from my college days. My roommates and I were moving into a house we had rented in the student ghetto near campus. The easiest load in was to angle the truck so that it was partly on the front lawn (which was nothing but a collection of closecropped weeds) - allowing us to simply extend the ramp onto the porch. It was a dry sunny day in late August (the implication being that the lawn was dry and the ground firm so the truck was doing no damage). With 15 minutes of us pulling up and starting to unload the truck - the police were there ticketing us for having a vehicle with wheels that were off the driveway. Welcome to the neighborhood! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MartinC Posted May 13, 2013 Members Share Posted May 13, 2013 guido61 wrote: This is going to be fun: the house doesn't close until next week and already the HOA has fined us because the front lawn is dead.... Get out now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members toober Posted May 14, 2013 Members Share Posted May 14, 2013 guido61 wrote: This is going to be fun: the house doesn't close until next week and already the HOA has fined us because the front lawn is dead.... Paint it green. That is what resorts and golf clubs are doing nowadays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Potts Posted May 14, 2013 Author Members Share Posted May 14, 2013 UPDATESo he finally cleaned up the yard. I stood under his opened window and talked {censored} about him while I was on the phone.I was saying nice things about him while ragging on him. I'm 99% percent certain that he heard me. It would have been impossible not too."The new neighbor and his family are great. It's too bad that he lives like a {censored}in slob and doesn't take care of his house""It's too bad that XXX trashed his new house. It's been one of the nicer houses on the street for the 12 years I've been here."We'll see what the rest of the summer brings! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yer Blues Posted May 14, 2013 Members Share Posted May 14, 2013 Well, just like your fence he has probably been meaning to do it for awhile now. Every time I don't hear my neighbors dog for 3-4 days I start to think they have gotten rid of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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