Next to the house where I live there was an empty lot, where now they’re building a house or something, they’ve been working since last year. At first, I didn’t payed too much attention, but then they started hammering the walls. For what I understand, when building a house you need to make your own walls and don’t use your neighbors. I told their boss about it and he told me:
“We aren’t nailing the wall, we are nailing the bricks.”
And they continued, I told them again, and they continued. I then decided that it was useless and decided to call the house owners, they told me to let it be. So I ignored them, maybe I was wrong, maybe is okay to use the next house walls to support yours. That was more or so a year ago, since then until now they continued hammering over and over again.
Anyway, during Holly days (last year Christmas) that group stopped working, and during new year some new people started working there and continued the hammering. It was (is) a torture specially since I work from home and I’m sick so I have to spend many time at home, but I decided I’ll deal with it, after all the house owners told me it was ok, and eventually they finally built a wall and I thought whenever they are hammering, is their wall, so I was OK with that.
As I said, I spend a lot of time home, a couple weeks ago I listen the door opening, when I went to check there was no one. I thought it was just the wind or something and continued my day as usual. That night when getting ready to go out, I couldn’t find my shoes. Since covid, I always leave my shoes near the door, so it makes no sense to be anywhere else, I looked everywhere, but I never found them.
The neighborhood have a private security (which honestly I don’t pay since is expensive), I asked the guard if he knows who own the place, maybe talking to the boss/owner will have some results. The guard asked me what happened and I told him, he then said he would talk to the owner and tell he’s boss (the guard boss) about it since it was dangerous for the whole neighborhood.
Next day the boss (of the construction workers) rang my bell, he had an angry looking and asked me if I have a problem with them using the house entry to park their bikes. I told him no, my problem was that they were throwing all the debris and trash on the entrance (they even put some giant rock they dug out on my walkway. He told me not to worry, that they’ll take them. That was before Easter.
The next day there was some beer cans and empty soda bottles all around the entrance. Last week they finally moves away some of the rocks.
Some days ago, I heard noise on the ceiling. I hit the ceiling with the stick of a mop and ask if someone was there, one of them answer me not to worry, that a tool fall on the ceiling , I then told him to not get on the ceiling.
Today, I heard some noise near the windows, I went to see and they were throwing wet concrete or cement all around the yard and to the windows.
Honestly I don’t know what to do. I can’t go anywhere else and the owners of the house just tell me to be careful since the country is dangerous (I’m not in the US) the guard also told me something similar.
Edit: The country where I live is Nicaragua.
I want to thanks everyone for your advice, it really helped me having different points of view. During all this time I’ve tried to be patient, but since they get in the house I lose it, but I guess been patient is all I can do, hopefully they’ll finish soon and I can go on with my life leaving this behind.
You’d usually want to reach out to the city - there should be an inspectors’ office. This is usually a municipal issue.
Really good idea, but like I said, I’m not in the US, I don’t think there’s even an inspector’s office here.
When locals have a land beef the municipal government is usually responsible for resolutions. Sometimes that’s a division in city hall, sometimes it’s a justice of the peace or the mayor themselves, sometimes its a council of elders… in one instance I know of its actually the federal government - but it’d usually the local government.
What country are you in?
You might need to be more specific than “not the US.” There are countries that have good tenant protections and countries that are shitholes where you’re on your own, and the type of advice that would be useful strongly depends on which kind you’re in.
I live in Nicaragua
They’ve been building the house for a year? What kind of house are they building where they’ve been hammering on the walls for a year?!
Also you don’t generally hammer bricks in my experience. At any rate, unless they’re building the Taj Mahal, it shouldn’t be taking that long.
Also why are they on your roof? They’re not building an addition to your house or anything. Something weirds going on sounds like to me.
They’ve been building the house for a year?
They first removed the weed, then like 3 feet of dirt. When they started hammering there were only two of them doing the work with no machine. This new crew is like ten workers (with no machines)
What kind of house are they building where they’ve been hammering on the walls for a year?!
I don’t know, when I went to talk to them, they were nailing some wood to the house, when I asked then, they told me it was for measuring. Now they have their own wall, I don’t know why they continue hammering.
Also you don’t generally hammer bricks in my experience
I don’t know either, I know the first floor wall of what they are building is made of bricks, the second of concrete blocks.
Also why are they on your roof?
My house is one story high, whatever they are building is at least two.
If your country has no government agency that you can take up a complaint like this with, your only option is probably to hire some thugs to beat up the construction workers.
All you need is a bulldozer and a cement truck.
I don’t have any good advice that won’t likely escalate or make things worse so I just want to say I feel for you, this would drive me insane.
Thanks, this is really driving me insane, I can barely sleep and I’m nervous all the time.
Have you tried explaining how it’s making you feel to the construction workers?
So far it sounds like all your communication has been boundaries and orders.
You remove any ongoing construction projects in the area, as well as set up traps. Eventually the construction workers will migrate elsewhere. Consider calling pest control.
I find a 24-pack of Mountain Dew at the bottom of a deep hole works pretty good. Just make sure there aren’t any ladders around. Those construction guys are tricky with those ladders.
Your first step is security cameras. You need footage of all this weird behavior.
From there, assuming you live somewhere with a decent legal system, you can get them in all sorts of trouble.
If they are truly behaving this way, that is really fucked up. We have mechanisms for stopping fucked up behavior in our society.
Can’t offer help without important details like where you are currently living and who hired the construction crew? Is that under construction building owned by your landlord? Is it some public funded projects? Are you living in Europe or Asia?
I live in Nicaragua, Latin America.
I don’t know who hired them, one day they just started showing.
My landlord doesn’t own the contruction, no one from the block know who own it. I just know that when they were starting, one night I heard one man talking to the phone about some apartments. When I asked the guard he told he will speak with the owner, but he only told the construction boss.
I don’t think is the government the one building that.
Sorry if you already move on from this. I don’t know much about Nicaragua to say if you will have any luck with trying to ask the local government for help. However, I lived in a third world country before where if you escalate to the local government, all they do is shrug their shoulder and ask you to move on. Unless you are rich and powerful enough, which would negate all of these problem from even happening from the beginning, to have somebody in the “local government” to help then that road is typically a dead end.
Other stuff you can try is directly appealing to the working crews. Just a little bit of food and some greetings would sometimes give you a lot of information regarding who they are, who they are working for and what they are doing. If you know who they are working for, you can then go and appeal to them, which might solve your issue (or make it worse), but try to asset before reaching out just in-case. Knowing the crew might also reduce the annoyance since people tend to be more considerate around people they know. However, it might not help much if the crew is also under pressure and constraint from their contracts and workload.
Check to see if you have any local “nuisance” laws, also called “disturbing the peace”. You might also keep a journal, make photos or recordings. Speak to the sheriff and consult an attorney. Many work on a sliding scale or are public representatives. Ask around when you are out from people you trust, how might you go about getting help. Wishing you all the best.
Sounds like you fucked up and need to make amends with that construction crew.
What did I did to them? The only thing I can think is telling the guard that they were throwing trash and get in my house to stole my shoes. When their boss asked me if I have a problem with them using my entrance to park their bikes I told him I didn’t and I didn’t tell him about my missing shoes.
It doesn’t matter.
You’re in conflict with a group of people and everyone is telling you to be careful. You need to get right with them as soon as possible.
Any suggestion?
It sounds like you live in a place without “working” local government.
Make friends with the workers. Employ social engineering tactics. Don’t be angry at them.
Do it for at least couple of weeks. You will need to keep the relationship for the whole duration of the construction.
Ask hows the work going. Ask hows the weather. Maybe something about mainstream sports event (soccer?)
Bring them water/beer/food.
Barter with them to clean the entrance and you will bring them something better in couple of hours or tommorow (e.g cold beer)
Plan ahead how much reasorces can you invest into the whole endeavour. Will it be profitable? Maybe moving to different location will be less resource intensive.
Kindness in word and deed works wonders over here. I don’t know where you’re at but where I’m at no one turns down a pan of cornbread or biscuts and a case of beer. I’d start with food and an apology.
Start with “hello” when you see them. Smile and make it pleasant, or at least polite.
Even if they refuse to say hello to you the first few times, just keep doing it.
Sounds weird but that’s how it works in much of Asia.
