This may sound crazy, but a handling the concerns of a neighbor could be the most difficult part of your job. Most contractors and owner builders don’t do much to accommodate neighbors when it comes to building a new house or remodeling an old one. After all, they are not working for the neighbor. in fact, the neighbor really has no direct line of communication or dispute resolution with the contractor or owner builder (unless home owner association CCR’s require one). Even though this is the case, you may be surprised how much trouble a neighbor can create for you.


Imagine a neighbor who does not like the construction crews starting at 7 or 8 am. He or she may call the City or County every time your crew shows up 5 minutes earlier to start their setup for the day. That kind of hassle is simply not worth it for you, yet neighbors have been known to do that and much more. It is a amazing how an annoyed neighbor can slow down your progress if they want to. So what can you do to stop these things from happening?

The key is communication. Not just during the job, but before you even start. Contact your neighbors or the neighbors of a home you are working on as a contractor and let them know what to expect. Tell them about your daily work schedule. Let them know about how long you anticipate being on site. Let them know ahead of time what potential impacts may be for them. A great example of this is to let neighbors know before any demolition begins on a renovation. In the past, I have made a point of informing neighbors ahead of time that there will be a lot of big trucks all day and that debris, dust, and noise will be high on that day. By giving them a week’s notice, some neighbors actually opted to take a short vacation so they would not be around for the mess. When they got back, the site was clean and the demolition had no negative impact on their lives.

Another to keep in mind, if you are a contractor, is that a little preemptive communication can please a neighbor so much that you may find yourself working for them in the near future. Because most contractors don’t bother to even introduce themselves to neighbors, let alone warm them about the impending process, the neighbors are liekly to be impressed with your up front and caring approach. Nothing like starting with a small renovation only to secure two more jobs on the same street!

Don’t underestimate the importance of having a good relationship with your neighbors or the neighbors of a client. This is especially true if you are an owner builder. After all, you will have to live next door to them long after the rest of the subcontractors have moved on to another job. Create a good relationship and your job (and post job life) will be much easier and more fun.

About the Author

Andrew Morison is a specialist in straw bale and green construction. He has shown thousands of people how to build their own straw bale projects through his comprehensive series of instructional straw bale, concrete foundation, and plastering DVDs. You can check these out at www.LearnStrawBale.com..

Email Updates

To be notified of new entries and to get our "7 Essential Steps to Straw Bale Success e-course" absolutely free, enter your email address below then check your inbox to confirm. More Info>>