We don't get on anyway - the 1am drunken garden party singalong under my bedroom window to that lyrical classic "oooh eee chirpy chirpy cheep cheep" finished off my one remaining drop of goodwill toward the guy.
Anyway, disregarding his non-existent singing skills... 1920s semis - fronts of all the houses are rendered and let's just say style has moved on from the "badly iced Christmas cake" look of old. Lots of houses have had theirs redone with the more modern less lumpy looking stuff - and we had ours done last year too. There's a guttering downpipe that is just before the border between the two houses and our guys took the render removal and replacement just to the downpipe as we didn't want to risk going a milimetre onto neighbour's side and pissing him off (he's a habitual miserable git).
Neighbour has obviously been pissed off at us having our house done and it looking neater than his (he's had the stupidity to have conversations to this effect out in the street with us having our windows open so we've heard every word), so he collars us in the street last weekend with a "having my render done in the next few weeks so that drainpipe is coming off so they can do it" (drainpipe is a shared downpipe but technically and very very clearly on our side of the boundaries and therefore attached to the front of our house).
No issues with him doing that if he wants to get it changed - but the usual issues with him announcing it's happening and not even asking... but the render work's been done this week - plaster company knocked on my door to check I was OK with them cutting a channel down to remove his old stuff and my only concern that I expressed to them at least 3 times was, "fine, but please make sure you don't damage my render doing it"... there's a chunk of ours come off and we've had a morning of huffing, puffing, that his stuff "isn't the same compound" before they've huffed and puffed that they'll "find some way to patch it in".
Haven't been out there to check they've done that yet (the line of 5 blokes drinking tea sat on the wall watching the one bloke who apparently isn't allowed to drink tea and has to do all the work) has been rather intimidating to be honest... legally - what rights do I have if they've left the front of my house looking like shit? I have photos from the day they pulled up and started work with their vans outside (wanted the contact details in case we had any problems so took a few on the sly) so have clear evidence of how the house did look on the day work commenced.
Hoping they'll do as their word and make good - but with our neighbour's past form I'm doubtful and he's a bit of a bully but on this one if he's physically damaged our house I am really prepared to dig heels in.
Also regarding him deciding he's removing the drainpipe. Legally that's attached to my property so I'd assume he's not allowed to just do that - but is the fact it's a shared downpipe negating that? (It's not faulty at all - just looks a bit old and battered like me really so that's not an argument he can use).
And yep he's a prick. The last choice of garden party singalong material finished my patience off completely (previous hits have included 2.30 am attempts to play God Save the Queen on a vuvuzela out there, and we shall not mention his garden topless darts habit...)