Won't you be my neighbor....

When you are the only new house being built in an already established neighborhood there is an unspoken rule that you keep building disturbances to a minimum. You want to make a good impression and be respectful That means you don't start sawing, drilling or hammering at the crack of dawn. So it's never a good sign when your neighbor is calling you in the middle of the work day to complain about something building related.

My dad and the crew had accumulated quite a stash of left over brush, trees and 2 x 4 wood in a pile behind our home. It needed to be cleared to dig and install our septic and well.  The fastest way to get rid of it all would be to burn it. Our home is situated on a 1.65 acre lot and our closest neighbor is 400 feet away. 

The crew waited for a rainy day to call the town inspector to get an approved bonfire permit. With pouring rain above and permit in hand my father in law started burning the pile. A couple hours into the bonfire our neighbor came out and asked my father in law to stop. He said that the wind was blowing soot from the bonfire onto his house and it was staining his white trim. 

Our neighbor then called my husband at work and relayed the issue. He said he was concerned that there was damage to his home. My husband was completely shocked and apologetic. We couldn't have predicted something like this happening. We immediately stopped the bonfire. Then a handful of back and forth phone calls ensued between myself, my husband, my dad and father in law as we scrambled to come up with a plan B to remove the pile. We finally settled on a giant wood chipper for the brush and trees and a waste management bagster from Home Depot for any residual construction materials like 2 x 4s.

While the brainstorming phone calls were taking place. My mother in law who was home watching our daughters received a call from our local police department. They called and asked for me by name so she assumed it had to do with the bonfire debacle. She then started calling my husband and father in law to tell them the police had called our home. Turns out she misunderstood the call. The police department was calling for a donation. Thank god!

While all this was happening my husband was waiting for a follow up call with our neighbor to confirm the damage to his home. We were preparing for the worst, that we would have to come up with thousands of dollars we didn't have to pay to repaint his house or that we would have to submit a claim to our home owners insurance and our deductible would go sky high. Luckily the pouring rain washed away any soot that had blown over to our neighbors house.

After a roller coaster ride all afternoon my husband and I were left feeling relieved, exhausted and worried about our relationship with our neighbor. 

Awww...the joys of home ownership!