Rant: My client's neighbor kept moving my line markers

I was putting up a privacy fence last week, and the guy living next door kept moving my spray paint marks. He thought they were too close to his flower beds. It delayed me by half a day because I had to re-measure everything. I finally sat down with him and the client to go over the property lines with the survey. Now I always bring a copy of the survey to show neighbors upfront. It saves so much headache and keeps the job on track.

3 comments

3 Comments

oliviajenkins5d ago

What do you do when they still argue after seeing the survey? I had a guy once who kept pointing at his old shed corner like it meant something. I showed him the survey, but he just wouldn't listen. So I ended up calling the city to come drive in those metal boundary pins. Once he saw the official stakes, he finally dropped it. I mean, it took an extra day, but at least it was settled for good.

adam1866d ago

Bringing the survey is a good move, but what if the neighbor just says it's wrong? I've had guys point to their own faded markers or old fences like that proves something. Isn't it crazy how people dig in even when you show them the paper? You might need to call the city out to mark it with stakes they can't move. That usually shuts things down for good.

sager596d ago

Yeah no you're totally right @adam186. It's wild. They see the official paper and still argue. Like their rusty fence post beats a licensed surveyor. That's when you stop talking. The city stakes are the only thing they can't fight. Makes it real for them. Sucks it has to go that far though.