Neighbor Tries To Build Unstable Wall In Between Their Properties, So He Uses Their Area’s Construction Laws To Make Her Destroy It
Ryan McCarthy
For many people, including me, the thought of their neighbors being able to see right into their backyard, or even worse their house, is a little unsettling.
So while many people would jump at the chance to put a cartoonishly large wall in between their properties, if that wall has the chance to fall down and destroy their house… They might reconsider.
When this user’s neighbor tried building an illegally large wall that threatened to collapse into their house, OP’s Dad used the construction laws against her and had it torn down.
Check it out!
Illegal wall-building neighbor gets her 7ft wall torn down and rebuilt.
The next-door neighbor and my dad have this old emnity because of a small invisible line between our house and theirs outside in the street.
The neighbors were complaining that our trash bags were getting onto their grass.
To define that line, my dad built a small (~2ft) concrete wall (kind of like the Great wall of China or the Berlin wall. you get the idea).
But when the neighbor began construction on her own wall, things got dicey…
Fast forward a few (quiet) years later, the neighbor starts building a new wall directly next/against the dining room wall (the entire side stretches about 60ft long).
Over 9am breakfast you can hear guys slapping concrete blocks on the thing, and it’s pretty terrifying because the wall is years old so it has a fairly nice chance of breaking and falling.
Not to mention that the original (kitchen/dining room wall) is only about 6ft tall; the neighbor is building a 7 FOOT WALL.
Unfortunately for the neighbor, OP’s contractor Dad knew the construction laws all too well…
Because my dad oversaw the reconstruction of the house (he’s also an engineer btw), he knows the ups and downs and laws of house construction in our area.
But just to be sure, he asks my lawyer godmother for some legal help, and the rules from the HOA engineers as well. So, you can’t build a wall over 6ft without a permit.
If you start building over 6ft you’ve got a hefty fine to pay and get a permit or it gets knocked down, pay a fine, get a permit, and restart construction.
Then, he knocks on the neighbor’s door and asks about the wall. The guy that comes out is the Son, and is pretty chill to talk to.
And then my dad asks, “Is there a permit for building that wall?”
But according to this neighbor, she was the exception to the permit rule!
This is because you need a permit to build anything over 6 feet tall. Son didn’t say anything, but he said he’ll ask his Mom.
Mom comes out, wondering what is going on, and my dad politely asks what’s up with the wall. Mom says it’s fine and dandy, until my dad asks Mom if they have a permit for the wall.
She says they don’t need one. Politely, my dad tells Mom that they need to get a permit for it.
Of course, he said he’s willing to wait until they get a permit and that this is just a small warning, and he goes on his merry way.
He clarifies he only asked if they had a permit; he didn’t say anything about what happens if they didn’t get a permit and the HOA engineers found out.
But after a month had gone by, it seemed like the neighbor was no closer to getting a permit…
A month passes, and he’s back, this time with a recorder. He again asks if they have a permit for the wall, and Mom immediately snaps at him.
She cusses at him, screaming for him to get out or she’ll sue him for invading the house and her privacy.
Anyway, my dad re-consults the lawyer and the HOA engineers, to make sure that all the information he’s got is correct.
Oh, and the lawyer told him that swearing or cursing someone can be taken against you (hence the recorder). He goes back to the neighbor’s house two weeks later with a HOA engineer.
This time the exchange was so heated OP could hear their conversation from inside his own house!
This conversation I heard from inside the house:
My dad: speaking normally, couldn’t hear; probably asking if they had a permit again
Mom: OF COURSE NOT; WE DON’T NEED ONE (as in, legit screaming at the top of her lungs)
My dad: Then you wouldn’t mind if the HOA engineer inspects that wall of yours?
At this point me and my mom were giggling inside the house.
So once the HOA engineer confirmed the obvious lack of any permit to build a wall over 6ft, OP’s neighbor had no choice but to knock it down!
The HOA engineer confirmed that this was a >6ft wall they were building, and that they didn’t have a permit.
I guess the neighbor thought it was cheaper to knock it down, pay a fine, and have it rebuilt rather than pay the hefty fine; we could hear the wall getting torn down a few weeks later.
OR, ofc, the HOA engineer said it was the only thing they could do. Oh the recorder? He didn’t even use it anymore; the stupid reconstruction of the wall was enough music for him.
Well, OP’s Dad did try to warn them, multiple times! He’s a better neighbor than I would have been after being screamed at! That inspector would have been there the next day!
Reddit loved OP’s Dad and his by the book revenge, but many (including me) originally thought he was bringing a tiny flute to the neighbor’s front door!
This user said that he, on the other hand, would love having a bigger wall between him and his annoying neighbors.
Finally, this user wasn’t so sure OP’s Dad’s revenge was justified…
