Damage caused by construction from neighboring property

[meme405]

Originally Posted by Soundy

No. no. no. You only call in Mike after you already made a debauchery by trying to put a fence yourself.

[underscore]

You call Mike after the first contractor you called mangled your fence and stole all your money.

[quasi]

Yeah, and even if it's done right Mike can come by and explain that's it's done to code but it's wrong because he wouldn't have done it like that, rip it apart and proceed to use the most expensive products known to man to redo it.

[blkgsr]

haha yup....watch some of his original shows and he does his repairs like a regular contractor....now he still doesn't an great job but uses stuff WAY beyond what's needed (like all that treated lumber for interior framing) and that no one would ever pay for

[BlkCat]

We were in a similar situation a few years ago.
Contractor wanted to put up a cedar fence to replace the chain link fence that both I and my neighbour put up. There was nothing wrong with the chain link fence so I said to leave it alone.
Then the contractor intentionally damaged the fence by placing pallets of lumber against it. The weight bent the posts and railings as a result.
We took the contractor to small claims court to get it resolved.

It was damn hard to serve the papers as the contractor was dodgy with his business address and ownership. Did a lot of footwork and finally tracked his address down.

The contractor was an a**hole as I couldn't be present for the hearing and he caught up to my wife outside of the courtroom and tried to bully her.
The judge basically told the contractor that you cannot damage another person's property and that he had to pay us. The many supporting photos we showed the judge helped our case.

Originally Posted by reamemiya

FYI, I don't recall anything about the owner approaching me about taking down the fence (it might be my fault that I forgot about it). Either way, nothing's been written down, and I have no recollection of the owner asking if it's ok to take the fence down.

There was nothing wrong with the fence prior to being taken down. Reading from the posts, it seems that the responsibility should fall on the person taken it down.

The only problem right now is I started off asking IF a fence would be put back, and he suggested that if I wanted one we could split the cost. I'm not very good with words, and I don't want to sound offensive to him and say, "hey you took it down, so why should I pay for it?" kind of thing.

edit:

On the other hand though, if the original owner of his house was the one who paid for 100% of the original fence, technically, would the new owner be entitled do whatever he wants with the fence (since in that case, it would be his)?

Of course, it's also hard to prove how the original fence was paid for.

[b0unce. [?]]

Tell the contractor to use Multivista next time! (Shameless, but useful plug from my company)

We offer construction photo/video documentation. Our Site Survey Exact Built would have resolved the issue right away holding the contractor accountable. Nearby homeowners have access to the photo's if needed for legal purposes and disputes.

The Multivista information system provides simple to use records which are invaluable for combating inevitable quality issues, schedule delays, invalidated change orders, voided warranty claims, legal claims and disputes.

The Multivista Exact-Built® system provides an independent third party documentation that keeps your entire design and construction team accountable and provides for a more transparent project that ensures you, the owner of the facility, are getting what you paid for. We accomplish this by offering the following project services.

The pre-construction site survey provides coverage of the site and its immediately surrounding area to provide picture perfect memory of conditions prior to the start of construction. Should you have issues regarding damage of your facility, or a neighbor or municipality claims you caused damage, you will have third party date-stamped images which prove the pre-existing conditions; An ongoing insurance policy for the owner.

[meme405]

Originally Posted by b0unce. [?]

Tell the contractor to use Multivista next time! (Shameless, but useful plug from my company)

We offer construction photo/video documentation. Our Site Survey Exact Built would have resolved the issue right away holding the contractor accountable. Nearby homeowners have access to the photo's if needed for legal purposes and disputes.

So you go take pictures of the site on behalf of the owners, and neighbours?

[b0unce. [?]]

We're hired by the contractor to take photo's of the site, neighboring properties, etc
Homeowners are usually extremely excited and eager to co-operate with us because it costs them nothing and offers protection in case of situations like this.

[meme405]

Originally Posted by b0unce. [?]

We're hired by the contractor to take photo's of the site, neighboring properties, etc
Homeowners are usually extremely excited and eager to co-operate with us because it costs them nothing and offers protection in case of situations like this.

Makes sense I guess.

Just never really heard of anyone going to that extent, What's the difference between 3rd party pictures and some superintendant or PM walking around and snapping pictures. It's a picture, you can't really refute what you can see in an image...lol

[b0unce. [?]]

The difference is, we place "hot spots" for each photo and mark them on a map or architectural plans which have grid lines and etc as reference points. Clients have access to the photos through our website or mobile app. Through the app they take their own photos, pin them and write notes/comments for other users to see.

Here's an example of the Site Survey for a current job site. They are tearing down the building in the middle there. They asked us to take photos of the sidewalks and neighboring properties in case of any existing or new damage takes place.



Construction documentation has really only started becoming more popular within the last 5 years or so. Most of the big name contractors (Polygon, Bosa, Onni, Ledcor) now have us on board for every job. We're also doing work for the City of Surrey, Coquitlam, North Van, Vancouver. People are starting to see the value in having us for their project.

[meme405]

Originally Posted by b0unce. [?]

The difference is, we place "hot spots" for each photo and mark them on a map or architectural plans which have grid lines and etc as reference points. Clients have access to the photos through our website or mobile app. Through the app they take their own photos, pin them and write notes/comments for other users to see.

Here's an example of the Site Survey for a current job site. They are tearing down the building in the middle there. They asked us to take photos of the sidewalks and neighboring properties in case of any existing or new damage takes place.



Construction documentation has really only started becoming more popular within the last 5 years or so. Most of the big name contractors (Polygon, Bosa, Onni, Ledcor) now have us on board for every job. We're also doing work for the City of Surrey, Coquitlam, North Van, Vancouver. People are starting to see the value in having us for their project.

Interesting. I've never seen anything like that before.

I'm more geared towards industrial type projects, or major infrastructure, not residential where it seems this would be more useful, but maybe i'll see this on some commercial, or highrise projects in the near future...

[Soundy]

Originally Posted by b0unce. [?]

Construction documentation has really only started becoming more popular within the last 5 years or so. Most of the big name contractors (Polygon, Bosa, Onni, Ledcor) now have us on board for every job. We're also doing work for the City of Surrey, Coquitlam, North Van, Vancouver. People are starting to see the value in having us for their project.

Sounds like a cool job!

[GLOW]

Originally Posted by b0unce. [?]

Tell the contractor to use Multivista next time! (Shameless, but useful plug from my company)

We offer construction photo/video documentation. Our Site Survey Exact Built would have resolved the issue right away holding the contractor accountable. Nearby homeowners have access to the photo's if needed for legal purposes and disputes.

hey i've been on a few projects using that, it's nice when you need to know what's behind walls months after it's been boarded. few times i've actually needed it though we didn't have a pic of the area

[Neoxphuse]

Originally Posted by meme405

Every construction project carries atleast a few basic forms of insurance. The most basic and mandatory form is Commercial General Liability (CGL) Insurance. CGL is specifically tailored to respond to liability resulting from damage caused by the insured to third parties.

You can try speaking to the builder, see if they want to pay/repair the damage themselves, otherwise just go through insurance, and get it dealt with.

CGL coverage is remarkably lenient, I have seen some pretty vague claims, and in general they have been covered. We had to do some blasting on one site, and a neighbour who lived a substantial distance from us, complained (successfully i might add), that our blasting caused a crack in her concrete garage floor. The best part was that she wasn't even the closest property to our site, and she was the only one who claimed for any sort of damage.

Hah, this always happens. I'm surprised it actually worked.

[Great68]

Originally Posted by BlkCat

We were in a similar situation a few years ago.
Contractor wanted to put up a cedar fence to replace the chain link fence that both I and my neighbour put up. There was nothing wrong with the chain link fence so I said to leave it alone.
Then the contractor intentionally damaged the fence by placing pallets of lumber against it. The weight bent the posts and railings as a result.
We took the contractor to small claims court to get it resolved.

It was damn hard to serve the papers as the contractor was dodgy with his business address and ownership. Did a lot of footwork and finally tracked his address down.

The contractor was an a**hole as I couldn't be present for the hearing and he caught up to my wife outside of the courtroom and tried to bully her.
The judge basically told the contractor that you cannot damage another person's property and that he had to pay us. The many supporting photos we showed the judge helped our case.

Just curious, did the contractor want to replace the chain link with cedar fencing at his own cost?
I guess there's nothing wrong with chain link if you like the feeling of an open yard between you and your neighbor...

[i-vtecyo]

Bumping this thread due to similar experience

Construction next door to my GF's house has been on going since November and the vibration has been causing her house to shake violently everyday. Gf's family cant complain to the city because the construction company has been compliant with the noise bylaw regulations (starting after 7:30AM on weekdays, 10:00AM on Saturdays and ect).

It's very stressful for GF's family as the noise & vibration is constantly waking them up in the morning. On top of that, the construction workers left quite a bit of dirt on GF's property and the vibrations has gotten to the point where it may be causing structural damage to GF's property as one of their door's use to function but now its badly misaligned and requires force to open/close.

I will try to talk to the construction workers/company for GF's family tmr and see how it goes...

[GLOW]

only advice is document the progression of structural damage. at least if they hire a 3rd party structural engineer to do an assessment, you can argue that the work accelerated any degradation that they might try to justify as normal 'wear/tear'. if shit is falling apart all in a matter of months and during construction.

[i-vtecyo]

A bit of an update from my last post..

So over the course of construction, both the rear upstairs and downstairs door have been nonfunctional since January. The workers have been operating heavy machinery on GF's property and even to the point where the machines are a few inches away from her house. If in an unfortunate event of a fire or gas leak, there would only be one exit for GF's family (front door).

I spoke to the owner of the property who is also the "principle" of the developing company about the damages and after 3 weeks, he finally sent his project manager to take a look at the doors. After failing to "tweak" the door frames with a few bolts, the project manager suggested to shave the doors. At that point I told them that I was going to get an adjuster + expert involved instead since I was not satisfied with their solution.

In addition, the workers have been very disrespectful to GF's property as there are damages to her concrete walk way. Whenever the workers need to get to the back of their work site, they would always use my GF's property. It has also gotten to the point that they started placing their tools and materials on her back yard without permission. And on a few occasions from 2am-5am, the owner or workers would enter my GF's backyard to work for half an hour such as turning on some pump to drain the water out of their work site. Next time this happens, should she just call the police?

It has been a very frustrating year for my GF and her family and I am trying to help the family deal with the situation but sometimes I dont know where to start. My GF and I want to stop the workers from using her property because they are causing too much damage but would that be reasonable or legal? But at the same time I dont want to cause too much trouble and create a bad relationship between the owner and my gf's family as they will be future neighbors...

[Soundy]

Doesn't sound like the owner is particularly concerned about being a good neighbor and at this point is just taking advantage of your GF's family. Do what you know needs to be done.

Sent from my XT1635-02 using Tapatalk

[DragonChi]

Setup a security camera to capture any further damages. That way you have evidence of them trespassing, and causing damage to the property.

You may want to ask the city to provide you the geotechnical engineering documentation that should have been required for the builder to get a construction permit (assuming in Vancouver). This will show the study that was taken on so the soil structure in your area should not have been affected by their construction.

[Euro7r]

If you just want to be "good neighbors", just let them keep doing what they want, not sure what's the point of asking for opinion on your options of what to do. Clearly they don't give a "damn" about your gf place. It's like they are helping themselves as they see fit. E.g. Would you be okay if they grabbed her tits and be like well "I want to have good neighbor relationship" and not do anything as I don't want to cause trouble...

If I were in OP shoes, I would document with footage the trespassing/damages and they are using your gf private personal property without your consent. Call the City as calling the Police won't do you anything. Unless you plan to call the Police to tell them you see strangers in your GF backyard at 2AM, looks like they are trying to rob homes, then I'm sure Police would seem effective in this situation.

[racerman88]

Document everything with video and journal if you can and call the city to report to a site inspector. Take pictures of g/f's house now to show no damage to areas where the construction is happening so that there is proof they did the damage.
Definitely get an independent person to evaluate the damage the workers are causing b/c the company will do everything on the cheap.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Hondaracer]

Have you gone and talked to the owner in respect to fixing the problems that have arisen as a result of this? Talked about fixing the issue going forward etc. ?

A cedar fence is far nicer than chain link..

If you have its one thing, but like OP and similar situations that have arisen here in the past, what they are doing is pretty typical when building in Vancouver and areas where development is tight. A good builder would have came up right off the bat and discussed what was going to happen and how they would address problems like this. However, most builders are not "great"

I would definitely go forward documenting and taking pictures of everything happening including dates, times, pictures, etc. and then go to the builder/owner and explain your issues.

If you're just sitting inside brooding over what's going on with little to no discussion as to how things can be refiticied, I don't have much sympathy for you as these types of situations go both ways and as the old saying goes, you gotta crack a few eggs to make an omelette. Building new houses is messy work and you can either work with the builder to have an amicable relationship or people can be assholes on either side.

[i-vtecyo]

I've already spoke with the owner on multiple occasions in person, text, and phone. He would always pretend to be nice like "i'll call my guy tomorrow" but leave me hanging for days or make excuses such as "i've been so busy because my guys are so slow". I kept chasing him for weeks and eventually he got his guys to fix the cement walk way and his project manager to look at the doors but nothing was done since we didnt like the idea of shaving them. In addition, in less than a week the workers created new damages on the walk way and the old repairs started to crack again. I feel like talking to owner is useless as the repairs are half ass work.

I already had an adjuster come by to give me some advice and he said that I may be able to take the owner to small court claims for the structural damages assuming an expert will side with us and be able to provide a basic report. However the adjuster also mentioned that the walk way damages are an entirely different claim and we would be losing money if we were to take that to court?

We already have pictures but I wish we took more prior to the construction and damages. We also have video footage of them trespassing at night. I tried calling the city but the city said they cant do anything about it as this happened on private property.... so even with all these documentations, photos and videos, it still feels hopeless atm..

Does anyone have any recommendations on a professional engineer that won't cost a fortune? To be honest, GF's family isnt wealthy and im also worried that this may all be a waste of time and money if there isnt enough solid evidence that the construction caused the structural damages to the doors/ foundation of the house.

[Hondaracer]

Where is this house and how old is it?

Settling is normal for any house and yea, kinda shitty that it's occurring via another persons actions but as long as it's settling as a whole there isn't nessacarilly "damage" doors binding on their frames isn't really damage to the structure. Hard to determine what was caused by the construction etc as well.

Have a walk around the outside of the house and look at the portions of the foundation walls that are exposed, any new cracks? That would be my concern