My fence project was going so well. No drama. So, of course you know that couldn't last.
My guys were wrapping up. While we were settling the bill, fence guy goes "your neighbor to the corner came out and said you needed a permit for a fence that high".
Whaaat? Was he mad, I asked? No, he said. But, I've dealt with neighbors long enough to know they are petty, petty people.
Normally I'm permit happy - but this is a fence for sucks sake. Technically you need a permit to even change a light fixture - I'm not getting a permit for a fence.
This is the deal with the fence. At the tallest point the fence is slightly less than 7 feet. I guess they are suppose to be only six feet - but I didn't really think about it because people have six foot fences with 2 feet of lattice.
Mr S. already told cheap ass neighbor we were going to build it a foot higher. But corner neighbor didn't really know. I thought we only shared 15 feet of fence, but it turns out it is about 35 feet. But, I'm still not asking him to pay anything.
And honestly, I'd be more sympathetic if I was spoiling their view of something. Crazy corner neighbor has 20 foot tall privet trees that span the whole length of the fence. Cheap ass neighbor only gets a view my my two story house. And while I understand why they have these rules, I think a six foot max height is ridiculous. Any neighbor over six feet is able to see over your fence line at all times.
And yeah....maybe my 7 foot fence was a slight over-reaction. But you know.. I have pets too. Maybe I'd like them to use their own back yard without the fear of a hunting dog jumping the fence. How selfish of me.
At any rate... I'm all in a bunch about it. My guys say that if the building department sees it, they will make me lower it. We'll see how that goes.
As a side note - last night after the fence was up Mr S. and I had the following conversation.
Me - remember when we moved into this house and we went over to ask Cheap Ass Neighbor if he minded if we trimmed the privets that hung over onto our side of the property?
Him - yeah.
Me - Why didn't they tell us those privets didn't even belong to them? I mean.. why would you just say "yes, and not say "those trees don't even belong to us - go ask Crazy Corner Neighbor"?
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I don't know what kind of socialist neighborhood you live in, but I believe you should be able to do whatever you want to your property. Yup, I'm that guy with the pink flamingoes on his lawn. My advice is to tell cheap ass neighbor that if you have to do it to code that you'll need to use some kind of official contractor (read: more expensive) then get him to sign the paperwork. That way if your other neighbor has a beef, you can throw up your hands in the air and complain about how your bunnies are missing that extra one foot of view.
ReplyDeleteWhy didn't they tell us those privets didn't even belong to them? I mean.. why would you just say "yes, and not say "those trees don't even belong to us - go ask Crazy Corner Neighbor"?
ReplyDeleteThat would be, "Because your neighbors are nuts," Alex!
And incidentally, why didn't your guys doing the fence know that you needed a permit? Isn't that, you know, like, their job?
ReplyDeleteDavis - I was going to take pictures of a house down the road that had a flock of flamigo's in their front yard. But I think it was one of those pranks, and it was gone by the time I got over there.
ReplyDeleteBut your comment made me totally laugh. How sad is it when someone who lives in SF thinks my city is more socialist than SF?
Kasia - The short answer is - yes. The long answer is, most people don't pull permits. Since cities are so restrictive here, it isn't in the best interest for a contractor to push a permit.
My guys who do all the stuff on houses are all about the permits. My outside guys... not so much.