Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

to be beyond fuming with the people renovating the house next door?

18 replies

ShadowsCollideWithPeople · 04/04/2012 02:19

I live in a wee block of four apts, built into the side of a hill - rather difficult to explain, top two apts built into the top of the hill, bottom one is on the street at the bottom of the hill, in a valley, and mine is in the middle (all own front doors). There is a passageway that runs from the top street to the bottom valley, right by my front door.

The house next to us (on the top street, not part of our building, which backs on to the passage that runs alongside out apts) is being renovated. The workers have been using our passage, even though they do not legally have access. I really wouldn't mind, but they have regularly covered it with cigarette butts, crisp packets and coke cans.

A few weeks ago, our power was cut, out of nowhere. DP rang our electric company, who assured us that it did not come from their end. Their tech discovered that our main fuse had been removed (from the panel that is in the wall along our passageway). We subsequently discovered that the workers in the other house had blown their main fuse, and just helped themselves to ours. Fuckers.

All fucking infuriating, but it gets worse - tonight I was walking down the back steps, and stepped on a fucking rusty nail - embedded in a lump of wood, filthy, and tossed in our passage. Went right through my trainers (fecking expensive Asics and now destroyed) and into my foot. Am raging. DP is going to call LL up tomorrow and let him know about this shite, WIBU to phone the contractor in charge of the work on the house next door and freak the fuck out at them?

OP posts:
Tiddlyompompom · 04/04/2012 03:12

YANBU at all - call them first thing and make it clear they need to do a site visit immediately and sort their workers out.

You should call your GP in the morning, you might need a tetanus shot? Confused

The site foreman needs to get the mess cleared up ASAP, and you should refuse access thru the passageway until it's sorted.

Take pics of the offending rusty nail, rubbish left in passage, and fusebox, so if this drags on while the works are completed you have records of the issues.

Ideally, if they're decent about it all, they should reimburse you for your damaged trainers, and apologise for the fuse incident and rubbish, so try to be civil about it on the phone. Freaking the fuck out at them will probably get the passage cleared but nothing else! :)

KingofHighVis · 04/04/2012 03:28

You could consider calling the local authority to complain about nussiance, or HSE if the site is unsafe.

Tiddlyompompom · 04/04/2012 03:32

Sorry OP, just reread my post and it's v bossy! Do this, do that... Blush
I hope your foot's ok!

ShadowsCollideWithPeople · 04/04/2012 03:35

Thanks Tiddly - have taken photos of the passageway, and the foot - piercing nail. Also kept the piece of wood with nail in, just in case.

DP wanted to drag me out to get a tetanus tonight, but I would have had to go to A&E, so wouldn't go. Don't really like going to A&E unless it is really an accident or emergency. Will take a trip to GP in the morning.

Am raging as I am training for a marathon right now, am out running every night, So now I have to replace my trainers, at high expense, and will have to miss quite a few nights training as my foot is in bits. They should reimburse me for the cost of the trainers and Dr's visit though, right?

You're right though, freaking out will not accomplish anything - except to satisfy my need to punch someone. Aaaargh. Am extremely cross right now!!

OP posts:
ShadowsCollideWithPeople · 04/04/2012 03:41

Thanks King - will defo consider that. Tiddly, your bossiness is much appreciated Grin. Will follow your advice for sure. Foot is fecking sore, throbbing, bleeding and keeping me awake. Am thinking it is a good thing I have not started my Krav Maga classes just yet Wink.

OP posts:
Alltheseboys · 04/04/2012 06:03

I don't know why you didn't put in a complaint to the contractors & the council earlier?Hmm

Alltheseboys · 04/04/2012 06:06

Btw you should have got your foot checked out, at least if would have got logged at a&e & might get infected.

bumbleymummy · 04/04/2012 07:06

The chance of you getting tetanus are very small but the chance if it getting infected because it came through your trainer (sweaty feet/lots of bacteria) and into your foot are very high. Make sure it's cleaned out properly.

Flossiechops · 04/04/2012 07:16

No yadnbu, that's disgusting behaviour from the builders. Our neighbours were having work done last summer and moved out for four months, they had asked if the builders could use our drive (we have 150ft long drives and they had theirs landscaped so you can't drive up the last 50ft of theirs). We had skips on the drive, building materials, deliveries but the difference is that the builders were always very courteous - the skips were delivered and collected on the same day and they were very careful not to leave any rubbish on the drive. If they had asked you and then treated you with the same courteousy then I'm sure you would not mind but that is a blatant piss take!! Complain and don't let them use it against!

PurplePidjin · 04/04/2012 07:53

In addition to what everyone else has said, I reckon a no win no fee company would have a field day with this - go for compensation (or at least tell them you're going to!)

BikeRunSki · 04/04/2012 07:56

Ask to see their method statement for working adjacent to someone else's property. Ask them what their arrangements are for safeguarding public health and safety. Ask them for their form F10 (site is safe to start work) and then report them to the Health and Safety Executive. Actually a domestic site might not need an F10.

But seriously, speak to your LL, the contractor may have made some arrangements with him which he's not told you about, in which case your issue is with LL not contractors. Also, speak to them about your foot. If it had been one of their workers who had got injured would be potentially a notifiable incident, and HSE could close the site.

MrsMuddyPuddles · 04/04/2012 08:01

What did they say when you complained about the stolen fuse? Or have you not complained about that yet?

Definitely tell the foreman (not just the first person you see onsite ) about your injury, they are legally meant to keep the public safe, and take a log of injuries caused by their negligence.

MrsMuddyPuddles · 04/04/2012 08:03

Xp with bikerunski :)

BikeRunSki · 04/04/2012 18:39

I am on mat leave at the mo, but DH, who also works in construction industry and has to think about these things every day, has reminded me that the client is responsible for site health and safety.

JuliaScurr · 04/04/2012 18:49

www.ucatt.org.uk/
builders' union - will take a dim view of health & safety breaches and will advise you

RuleBritannia · 04/04/2012 20:13

Even if you telephone or e-mail, don't forget to put things in writing and keep copies - dated.

RuleBritannia · 04/04/2012 20:14

I mean write to yourn 'respondents'.

fiftyval · 04/04/2012 20:20

This may not be relevant dependent on the scope of the work but it could be worth contacting the local authority's planning department to see if they applied for plannning permission and building regs. The latter are required in far more cases than people realise and if the builders are as lazy and incompetent as they sound then they may not have applied for the building regs - you can get enforcement onto them.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread