Zyada and I never used our swimming pool, and were spending money all the time for cleaning and chemicals, so we decided to have it filled in.
It wasn’t as simple as it sounds.
The contractor couldn’t bring in a backhoe from the front, so we called our back neighbour about access. She was a little concerned about possible damage to her (very large) property, and her husband wanted a letter agreeing that we’d be responsible for any repairs. The contractor’s guy came over with me to look at her yard, and assured us all there would be no problem. We talked about the need to bring in some fill for the pool, and he offered to bring her some for herself, since her yard has some low spots. So far, OK. The crew arrived and took down a stretch of fence to get the backhoe and a loader in, and we hear from the neighbour again, worrying about the truck that came along. That smoothed over with a little talk with the crew about how they needed that truck. Then they started to bring in fill, and she showed up again, saying nobody told her anything about trucks coming into her yard - I don’t know what she expected them to fill the pool with. The crew measured the space beside the garage and decided even a Bobcat wasn’t going to fit (not to mention the extra $1500 that would cost), So we went back and forth on that, and after she talked to her husband, she said to go ahead. The crew finally finished up, put back the fence, and left.
Everything is done and gone, right? Wrong!
A little while later I got another call. As they took out the trailer with the backhoe on it, they scraped the new pavement on the street in front of her driveway, and she had run out to stop the other truck, because she was afraid the city would come after her for that. She also had expected the crew to spread a pile of fill she already had to cover the tracks from their equipment. (I think she had talked to the contractor about getting another load of topsoil for the scarred area of her yard.) She also now wants copies of the pictures he had taken of her driveway, because the cracks are much bigger now.
I’m glad the contractor came by earlier today for his money, and left me with a receipt marked “Paid in full.” I don’t know if they’re going to be making any money on this job.
The crew came back, shortly after my first post, to spread her pile of fill and the one more load she had expected.
She called again. This time she wanted me to look again at her driveway and the cracks the trucks allegedly caused. There are cracks; they may be new. She wants the pictures Joe (the contractor’s guy) had taken before they started, so I tried to call him, but no luck. I’ll call in the morning.
Ah! Good neighbors. Sounds similar to the guy next door to me. He’s adding on to his house and rather than pay someone to haul away the construction debris, he tries to give it to me because, “you can use it for something.” So far, I’ve refused, so he puts a few pieces on the curb each trash day.
He disposed of a whole pile of used bricks from the chimney they removed in the remodel by getting free boxes from the Krogers and putting the bricks in the boxes and setting a few on the curb each trash day. He asked me if I wanted the bricks, first, though. What a nice guy.
So, so far, your neighbor’s had two loads of topsoil spread and she’s angling for a new driveway. Of course, she could be right. The cracks could be bigger. I bet the contractor suspected something, though, or else he wouldn’t have taken pictures first.
I dunno. I’d be hesitant to allow my neighbor to have heavy equipment drive across my driveway and lawn for their convenience. Not saying I would never allow it, but it wouldn’t thrill me - and I’d be pissed if my property incurred even the slightest damage as a result. And a loaded truck can cause a hell of a lot of damage.
Be careful about making too big a deal out of the extra fill - for all we know, she might have been perfectly happy to have lived with the existing low spots.
This morning I heard the sounds of a truck, but thought nothing of it since the city is laying sidewalks in the area. Later I went out, and heard what sounded like a truck in her yard. I looked over the fence, and there’s a cement truck driving around! Half an hour later that truck (or maybe another) was still there, and I saw it coming out of her driveway as I passed on my way to work.
This actually gets at my initial thought. If her driveway was already cracked, she should have taken this as an opportunity to have you contribute a couple hundred to whatever it would cost to repair/replace. “Sure, I’ll let you drive whatever you want over my driveway - for $500. Let’s draw up a brief contract.” That way it is a clean business deal, instead of a messy neighborhood disagreement.