Oh sh*t. What would you do?

namnhi

namnhi

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I was busy with work.... heard chain saw going off in the neighbor back yard. Figured the have someone trimming their tree. Walked outside to go pick up the kiddo at the bus stop... WTH saw a branch on top of my JM benches. Got pretty upset so I drove to talk to the neighbor... of course that isn't his fault. The company that did the cutting is... unfortunately they don't seem to speak English well. At the end, a few branches are broken. Soil felt out of the pots. A shaddy spot is now pretty much full sun. Just a bad day I guess.
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What a pain! Do you have other shade, or are you engineering shade cloth cover as we speak? You would hope that your neighbor would give you a "heads up" on something like this.

Speaking of which, I need to take out a 40 ft redwood near the property line with my neighbor. The tree is half dead and impinging on my pool. This will definitely take shade from my neighbor's back yard. What do you think I'm obligated to do to be a good neighbor? Ask his consent? Just notify? Clearly I need to let him know when the work will be done so he can stay out of his back yard then - just in case my crew is no better than the one in the OP.
 
BrianBay9 said:
What a pain! Do you have other shade, or are you engineering shade cloth cover as we speak? You would hope that your neighbor would give you a "heads up" on something like this.

Speaking of which, I need to take out a 40 ft redwood near the property line with my neighbor. The tree is half dead and impinging on my pool. This will definitely take shade from my neighbor's back yard. What do you think I'm obligated to do to be a good neighbor? Ask his consent? Just notify? Clearly I need to let him know when the work will be done so he can stay out of his back yard then - just in case my crew is no better than the one in the OP.
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That what a good neighbor would do. I actually don't blame my neighbor but it would be nice if he let me know a head of time. Our trees is precious for us but outside of bonsai community... they are just another tree to them. The dudes probably thinking am a crazy man for showing how mad I was.
 
Just because the contractors dont speak English doesnt mean they dont have any liability!!
Theyve caused damage and distress to you and your property by total incompetence and irresponsible workmanship.
What if you or a family member got injured or your house was damaged? Did they have consent for the work?
Is there a Tree preservation order or Conservation order on your neighbourhood trees?
Cutting trees during bird nesting season could also be an offence.
I would certainly demand some compensation , or at least a written apology and report them to your local authority and
 
It's no different from anyone being upset if it'd happened to there flower or vegetable garden.
Given it was trees in development mostly, I think you have ample recourse for a small claims suit against the company, just as if they'd damaged your landscape, and they would likely pay it outright rather than go to court.
And just talk to your neighbor and and ask for some notice next time so you can move your trees. No reason to stress out a relationship with the people you have to live with.
 
AJL said:
I would certainly demand some compensation
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I'd ask the neighbor for a straight reasonable sum, $50 or whatever you feel would make you whole. Pretty clear case of negligence on the tree companies fault. If your friendly with the neighbor I'd suggest they contact the company and ask they reimburse your claim. .02...
 
AJL said:
Just because the contractors dont speak English doesnt mean they dont have any liability!!
Theyve caused damage and distress to you and your property by total incompetence and irresponsible workmanship.
What if you or a family member got injured or your house was damaged? Did they have consent for the work?
Is there a Tree preservation order or Conservation order on your neighbourhood trees?
Cutting trees during bird nesting season could also be an offence.
I would certainly demand some compensation , or at least a written apology and report them to your local authority and
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I could have/ should have but after i went to talk to the neighbor i came home and inspected more carefully... luckily the damage wasn't as bad as it look. Also it was a busy Friday afternoon from work so I just let it goes. Am hoping the guy learn a lesson as I was pretty passed off when I first saw it.
 
Really not much you can do, just bad luck, it happens. Keeping the piece with neighbors is a good thing
 
I have two clients with similar problems from the same local tree removal business. Delaware has a timber trespass statute providing for treble damages for damage to trees.
 
BonjourBonsai said:
Check your homeowners insurance policy for coverage. Each state has different law on this issue. Also speak with a lawyer but damage might not be worth ithe costs.
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It sounds like it was a frightening surprise but not much actual damage. Iā€™d probably let it slide, but some people are more forgiving, and others are more likely to stick up for themselves. It all comes down to a difference in personality type.
 
Gabler said:
It sounds like it was a frightening surprise but not much actual damage. Iā€™d probably let it slide, but some people are more forgiving, and others are more likely to stick up for themselves. It all comes down to a difference in personality type.
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Yeah damage wasn't as bad as fear. A few broken branches and a couple need reposition back in the pot. I don't have the time to.... so I let it slide.
 
Now the pines will love it but I will need to shuffle my JM to a more shader spot.
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That is rather unfortunate for it to happen. I'm glad to hear the trees suffer some minor damage. Hopefully the shock from branch didn't harm the roots.

Your neighbor really should have informed you about the event. In my opinion, anything done on your property that has the potential to damage or change someone else's should be reported to the effected parties. The company that did the branch cut should be held reliable as the whole point of hiring a service like that is so they can safely perform the job without inadvertent damage.
 
Oh boy I hate when my neighbors hire reckless help. I stopped a group from dumping blocks of old pavement in the alleyway last month only for them to powder my entire yard with cement mix the next day, most likely intentionally. Another group that remodeled a house left an old stove back there before šŸ˜”šŸ¤¬
 
Keeping japanese maples in Houston is a recipie for disaster, natural or man made ;)

Maybe you can offload some of the damaged goods at the HBS auction 6/3
 
Kievnstavick said:
That is rather unfortunate for it to happen. I'm glad to hear the trees suffer some minor damage. Hopefully the shock from branch didn't harm the roots.

Your neighbor really should have informed you about the event. In my opinion, anything done on your property that has the potential to damage or change someone else's should be reported to the effected parties. The company that did the branch cut should be held reliable as the whole point of hiring a service like that is so they can safely perform the job without inadvertent damage.
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Cowboy contractors! YEEHA!!
 
AJL said:
Just because the contractors dont speak English doesnt mean they dont have any liability!!
Theyve caused damage and distress to you and your property by total incompetence and irresponsible workmanship.
What if you or a family member got injured or your house was damaged? Did they have consent for the work?
Is there a Tree preservation order or Conservation order on your neighbourhood trees?
Cutting trees during bird nesting season could also be an offence.
I would certainly demand some compensation , or at least a written apology and report them to your local authority and
Click to expand...
On one hand I agree. On the other hand, if this were to be a football that went over a fence and knocked a bunch of pots over, we'd be like "well, at least the kids are playing outside! Accidents happen.".
I get a bunch of birds in the yard that rip my seedlings out of the pots and scoop out entire soils within minutes. I could have removed the nests, put up capture nets that would tangle the birds and let them bake in the sun, maybe shoot them down even. But it's way less agressive to take some precautions and accept that these things are just part of life.
Reporting your neigbor or their contractor to the local authorities might set some bad vibes for the rest of the time you're living there. Seeing how kids nowadays get executed for playing hide and seek in the US, I'd rather have a good relation with my neigbors. But that might just be me being diplomatic.
 
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