Saturday, August 1, 2015

Cranky old man

Another quiet week...not! There is a 19 home development going in right behind us and they have begun site work. This involves moving a lot of dirt around and to do that they have to use some heavy machinery. Noisy machinery!

When we bought the house we knew that the fence line was only 15' feet from the house but since there was a 5 acre farm behind us we weren't concerned. There were some horses,  goats and a few donkeys back there but they weren't a problem. Then the farm was sold and plans were made for 19 homes on the 5 acres.

We thought we were prepared for the construction phase but we soon realized that the 15 feet between us and them...wasn't nearly enough! They have been moving dirt since last Monday and they have been doing it for 9 hours a day. Yesterday it was for 10 hours. This is a clue that they are non-union builders. And yesterday was a day for compacting the soil by using a vibrating compactor. The glasses and dishes in our kitchen cupboard were dancing! And it never stopped...for 10 hours.

I'm going to assume that they only have another day or two of site preparation before that work will be done and they will move on to less bothersome activities. Such as forming and then pouring the concrete pads; hammers and the concrete pump. After that they will begin framing; lots of hammering. Plumbing and electrical will be some of the quietest work but will be followed by the interior and exterior finish work; more nailing! Roofing; nailing! and then quiet once again as they paint...but, what I haven't mentioned is that since these are non-union contractors, they will work any hours they want and we can expect noise from sunup to sundown.

The finished homes will sit 60 feet away from the common fence and that will help. Plus, they are supposed to be selling in the mid $400,000 dollar range and that will help our property values around here. On the minus side, they are still just shacks built by non-union labor. Do you get the feeling that I am very much a Union Carpenter even though I am retired? What gave you a clue?

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