How would you handle these people?
 

I am not trying to start a war. I would just like to hear what some of you will say to these young people (under 35 is young because i am over 40)?

Today, my welding contractor started at about 9:00 am on some fencing and metal deck supports on the hillside. This is part of a small job we're doing. This is a yuppified area. I am not sure if I can call them yuppies. I am not sure how to describe these people. YOung moms with a Volvo or Pruis in the driveway. Many of the younger, late 20s, men ride a bike to work. These kids always seem to have some kind of head gear and carries a bag with tassels at the end.

About noon, this young lady comes over and ask if we can turn off the machine because it is too loud and its coughing up stinky smoke. They can't stand the smell and the sound of my contractor's machine because they want to work on front yard. I politely told her the welding will be done by the end of next week. We'll stop by 3:00pm and I don't want to ruin their Saturday. Within a half an hour, the "man" comes over and ask me I can stop due to the exhaust because we are killing the environment and was not OK with it. He threaten the call the police about the pollution. Its a freaking old generator. I said, OK, I'll see what I can do.

I am thinking, instead of fighting a battle where I know I am not going to win, why fight. Just say yes, and not go through with it so he walks away. What's one to do? Any thoughts?

As long as you are performing the work within legal hours and Sat. is legal around here. Go for it. Not much they can do.

Keep the work going, but if they come back to complain again, hand each one a clothespin for their nose and a pair of earplugs.

We are more then within our legal right to be there with that kind equip. I know there is not a thing they can do about it, but the BS about the pollution is what gets me. Not so much about calling the cops. What would you say to them?

Our old wood shop was in North Hollywood off Sherman way in some ratty commercial building. Sometimes we were backed up with work and have to work many nights after 8 or 9pm. The neighbor in the back across the alley would yell and complain about our saws and nail guns. I handed him a set of ear plugs once.

FINISH THE JOB...

And if they have a problem with it let them call the police. The police are well aware of the law and will politely tell them to fuche off.

Maybe they are trying to enjoy their weekend. Work all week, try to enjoy a quiet weekend outdoors. They can not enjoy the outside that day because of the noise and fumes from your work. I bet you have less problems during regular work hours Mon thru Fri. Just as an example: there is a guy in our neighborhood that mows his lawn every Sat. From 1 to 6 pm he has the worlds loudest lawnmower running, except when he stops to refuel it. We live on a lake, and can barely see his house. But all we can hear all day Sat is this mower. It is frustrating as you really can not even sit out back and read- neighbors have talked about it, but he has the right to mow.
I think it is the same thing. Be aware of their needs, a Sat is likely not a work day for them.
Gary

Continue with your work, get the job done and leave, if the guy comes back ask him he likes to sit when he pees because he has obviously been neutered.
I mean it isn't like you have hired Black Label Society to play a kegger, it is a job. If they are so self centered that they can't deal with a few hours of noise on a sat, temporarily, for the betterment of the surroundings they will likely not live to see 35 years of age. They will either cross the wrong person with this BS and end up as coyote food or simply implode and have some form of internal circulation issue. Disregard my comments because I am 46, and GET OFF MY LAWN!!

Running a machine for an hour or so between 9 am and 3pm on a Saturday is no big deal. It's like running the lawn mower and then the weed eater. Not a big deal. Running the damn thing for six hours on my day off would have been rather annoying. Especially if the old generator seems to be burning as much oil as gasoline.

Sorry to be the dissenting opinion but as many hours as I work, I would really like a reasonable amount of peace on my days off. Weekdays? Knock yourself out.

angela

What was the final outcome of this?
If you were out there every Saturday, or if they were having a special occasion/party at their house, I can see stopping work as a courtesy. If this is a normal Saturday and it's only going to happen once, they'll have to tolerate it.

Hey wait a sec - you're in So. Cal., right?

Doesn't California have some very stringent rules about small engines (e.g. lawnmowers, generators, etc) and their emissions? Just going out on a limb here, but if your neighbor does make a complaint and it is investigated finding that the generator really is spewing noxiously, can they get your job site shut down because of the emissions issue?

That would suck. I think I'd skip weekend work if any part of that is valid.

angela

As Laneco stated, I would knock off on Saturday, and hit it on Monday. I would also apologize about the inconvenience, and point out that I am only trying to do a job, the sooner the better for everyone.

If you need to, rent the proper generator as a last resort.

Be proactive and approach them. See what solution they suggest, and if you can live with it, then follow it. They are your neighbours, and members of your community, after all. Even if you are "within your rights" -- a little concilliation may go a long, long way.

People will moan about anything that causes them inconvenience. I just hired a local contractor to do a siding job on myhouse. It involved tearing off the old siding, repairing sheathing, wrapping with Tyvek and alot of cutting and hammering( cedar shingles doncha know). Well the neighbors beotched every day about the trucks, saw dust,noise and general mess. I'm caring for my property and keeping it quite nicely. Which, by the way protects their value as well but noooo they just gotta moan.

If they didn't want noise, well then they shouldn't have bought a house with neighbors. Easy peasy.

That sound familiar. I'm sure some people just don't have a life :rolleyes:

As I posted earlier... If it was me I would finish the job and let the cops sort it out if need be.
Be polite but get it done. Don't walk away.

Tell him you'll turn the generator for the welder off if you can run a 220v extension to his house... after all, if he don't wanna smell it/hear it he can pay for the "clean" and "silent" option...

Your story reminds me of the neighborhood my family and I lived in for 9 years. High maintenance North Shore families. Moved away over a year ago and I can't say that I miss any of it.

Providing you are doing everything right, permits, safety, etc - finish the job. Elitism borderlines on racism to me.

My dad was a rig weldor and while he was home doing a project that required more power than the buzz box could provide he would slip a piece of pipe into the machines exhaust that had a cheap muffler welded into it to knock down the engine noise.
They can get a little annoying especially if they are powering up and down all the time. (the welder, not the neighbors!)
This may be the cheapest and most considerate route.
The smoke is probably from burning rod. Nothing you can do about that....

Sounds like you can't get the fence up fast enough.When it's up they wont be able to come over. You should buy an old rusty porsche and start the rebuild right in your drive way. After all you work all week and will only be able to grind the rust off on weekends.Tell them it will take five years to complete the project. Then you'll have to tune the motor. I've been in your shoes before myself.

As a builder, and familiar with welding/generators, I'd save it until monday unless the welder only had a few minutes of work left to do.

I have to listen to construction 'noise' all week, I wouldn't want to hear it on a weekend either.

A sheet of plywood near the generator will deflect the noise from their direction, as would a set of longer cables to get it further away.

I love the smell of welding in the morning.

ZOOmiata, the neighbor is not going to come up with a reasonable solution although charging them with the task would be fun. I wonder if their gardener has a solar powered mower.

Can you describe the headgear and bags with tassels? Odd.

Tell them you are putting up some solar panels and are trying to save the enviroment.

I would continue the job. Tell to put theilr ipods on while outside.

Good luck

I've heard there are areas more nanny-state than the North Shore, but I find it hard to believe. I lived in Winnetka a couple of years when I first moved to Chicago and holy crap are they fussy. You could have a Satanic orgy sacrificing bald eagles and other endangered animals, but don't paint your house trim a contrasting shade. :)

Tell them to get off your property and don't come back. Continue your work, knock them off @ 3:00 and don't do any work on Sunday. Most people have to do house and yard work on Saturday as they have to work all week and this is their only chance. Saturday sounds like a foundry around my neighborhood but come Sunday morning, quiet as a mouse. We all relax and pop the tops on a few.

Call the cops on him. He keeps harassing you.

I disagree -- and it is a chance to show good faith. People rise to the occassion when given the chance.

Maybe Canadians will "rise to the occasion" but it ain't 'gonna happen down here.:(

I'm sure they would rise to the occasion. I just don't think from what I read here that they would be reasonable. And for that reason I say they are out of touch.

I have to say I live in a fairly gentrified designated historic district and I hear dogs constantly, chain saws on any given day including one Christmas day, construction promptly at 7 am and gardeners any day and a few times on Thanksgiving (Mexicans could give a turkey crap about Thanksgiving, but they do respect Jesus). Landscaping occurs 7 days a week and the sod truck was out in the street last Sat at 5:30 am with the fork lift beeping in reverse.

A welding rig after 9 am on a Sat? Phffft.

First of all, be sure your generator won't get you in trouble with emissions codes.
Next, apologize and suggest that they contact the people that hired you since you will be happy to use a more environmentally friendly system if they want to increase what they are paying you to do the job.
Finally, point out (with a pleasant "have a nice day" smile on your face) that their child's disposable diapers have an environmental impact that is 1000 times more obnoxious than your generator and they should save the planet starting with their own back yard.

Damn hippies, Get outta my yard. I would have a hard time not telling them to go pound salt. I hate people interrupting my work as much if not more than these tree huggers hate people ruining their enviroment. Saturday afternoons are fair game in my book.

A beanie hat in 90 degree SoCal heat. That was what's on the dude's head. :rolleyes:

I left for a long lunch. I told the guys do not stop no matter what they say or do. Unless the cops show up. That would never happen. I was back by 1:30 and we did go until 3:00pm. The neighbor's did not come out at all. I think it was too hot for them. Heck they live on the other side four houses down from our job site. I try to understand the noise issue if they were right next door.

I know nothing about emission codes because I do not own a generator. I have been thinking about this a bit. It may have started it when I pulled up and parked in front of their house with my Dodge diesel truck a couple of weeks ago. They gave me the dagger stare because it was so loud.

I understand the situation with the noise and being a Saturday. The most important thing for me are my clients. I must make sure they get their project done in a timely manner. I wouldn't stop because some tree huggers think I am polluting their air. If they don't like construction noise or pollution, stop pestering people and allow them to finish, so they can get out of their hair sooner then later. Any upgrade to an old home in a established neighborhood is good for their home value. What the heck are they thinking?

I am thinking about causing trouble and park my diesel near their house and leave it running for few minutes. It should not be against the law to do that? I started the truck to warm it up one morning, around 9:30 at my own house. This is during the week. Someone turned it off when I ran inside to get some paper work. It was too loud for them I suppose. I love to find out who it was that turned off my truck.

I think all small engine made after a certain year (08, I think?)must have a cat on it. My welder is a certified and does lots of commercial work, so I would think his equip. should be up to code. I will find out Monday. With any equip. running, I am sure they are never as clean as a car or it always smells like crap.

Jeff

Is this in Silverlake? If so, I feel sorry for you.

Close, Los Feliz. 3/4 mile north of the actual lake itself.

Yep, makes sense. Same "culture". A few of my high-school friends (I'm 26 btw) have moved into that area and it's rubbed off on them a little bit. One of them made a comment about the gas mileage of my "old Porsche" and questioned its emissions and environmental friendliness. I told them my carbon footprint is infinitely smaller than theirs as my dad bought the car new and I've been driving it since I was 16, whereas they go through a new whatever ****box car made of recycled soda cans with good fuel mileage that their parents lease for them every 3 years.

Just make sure everything is legal and keep to yourself. I wouldn't waste my time being antagonistic toward the complainers, just smile / be nice and tell them you've made sure everything is in accordance with the law.

I know all about that crowd. I went to high school there in Los Feliz. The are coming over to my hood as well in Mt Washington.

I am great at killing them with a smile.

Tell them you'll C them next Tuesday.

Hopefully for your sake that generator is rated at under 50 hp. if it isn't you could be in trouble.
Operating any internal combustion engine in an industrial setting that is capable of putting out over 50 hp requires a permit from the AQMD PRIOR to operating and significant tracking of operating hours, amount of fuel used, etc.

The AQMD doesn't care what condition it is in, they just want the money for the permit. If you don't pay them their kickback they get mad.
It does not matter if you own it or rent it or a sub is using it, still your responsibility.

Note to all construction workers in So Cal, keep it under 50 hp.
BTW, a 40 hp generator costs almost twice as much to rent as a 75 hp unit. Go figure.

If the generator is under 50 hp, tell those tree-hugging enviro-nazi wimps to go pack sand.

Actually they do care....they are banning older engines and making them replace them with new cleaner models. The old permit system was in place so they could track them and then make them shut them down.