Keep your neighbours happy during a home building project

Home. It’s an evocative word. Toronto is a city full of beautiful homes. At Lorne Rose Architect, we believe that “home” should be a place you go to find peace, happiness and fulfillment, a place where you’re living the life you want to live. Neighbours play a big part in this. We all want our relationships with our neighbours to be cordial, civil, amiable and mutually respectful. And one instance that can make or break these relationships are residential architecture projects. Whether you’re building a new house or renovating your current one, a residential architecture project can be noisy, dirty, and disruptive. It’s important that you display the traits of a good neighbour to help the people living next to you and nearby deal with the inconvenience.

If you are considering, researching or preparing a residential architecture project, these are things you can do to be a model neighbour—some obvious, some less obvious—at its various stages.

Communication: Inform your neighbours about your building project

Let your neighbours know well in advance of your planned residential architecture project what you’re planning to have done: as soon as you have approved your project’s plans, you should notify your next-door neighbours; for a major project—demolition, extension, or addition—you should visit all your surrounding neighbours. Be clear about the details (scope, timeframe, contact information for you and your contractor); bring the plans and walk them through what they can expect, both during the project and resulting from it if, for example, the view from their window will be dramatically different afterwards.

It’s wise to do this before securing the necessary building permits, since this way makes it seem like less of an afterthought: by listening to their concerns before the permits are issued, it shows you care about their receiving their input and allaying their fears before construction becomes imminent. (For the record, you can even drop by prior to having the proper architectural plans drawn up, bringing along your own rough sketches: if you hear major objections, you can factor those in before the expense of proper plans is incurred.)

Of course, it’s no good to notify your neighbours if their input is going to be ignored. So, listen! That said, if your project is reasonable, legal and permitted, you needn’t be swayed if one neighbour, for instance, doesn’t care for the particular tint of paint you intend to use on an exterior. But hear them out. Explain your choices and respect their concerns and, where possible, come to an agreeable resolution.

In addition to bringing your plans, you should consider bringing a ‘peace offering’ as well: it’s a nice touch. Some baked goods or a bottle of wine can make a huge difference. (Keep in mind that food allergies can complicate the former and abstinence from alcohol the latter, but demonstrate good taste and sensitivity and you should have your bases covered—if in doubt, Toronto has some excellent chocolatiers.)

Honesty: Provide correct and complete information

When speaking with your neighbours, provide honest and accurate information. Don’t sugarcoat or spin things: how long will it take? What are the timeframes for the various stages of the project? What periods will be noisiest and most disruptive? If plans change as the project unfolds—delays, alterations to the design—revisit your neighbours with an update. It will only make things more strained if your neighbours are operating with inaccurate or outdated information.

Indeed, honesty goes multiple ways: Ask your neighbours to be honest with you if they are being inconvenienced in some way that you might not realize: Are paint scrapings drifting from your property to theirs? They should feel free to let you know so that you can ameliorate the situation. It doesn’t help anyone if they’re keeping this information to themselves, and growing more and more disgruntled as they do so. Everyone’s an adult here: get the issues out in the open and solve them.

Finally, demonstrate the same honesty with your architect and contractor: be clear with them about any restrictions that they need to be aware of during your residential architecture project.

Empathy: Think of your neighbour’s needs

This entire reaching-out process is an exercise in empathy. Sure, you could just get the permits and start building, but you’re interested in maintaining healthy, cordial relationships with your neighbours. To this end, in addition to speaking with them, try to put yourself in their shoes: During what hours will the noises of construction be most inconvenient? (Do your next-door neighbours work ordinary business hours? Or would starting construction at, say, 8 a.m. be extremely inconsiderate for one of them? Try to find a solution for things like this.)

Ensure that any debris that lands on your neighbour’s property is tidied up. (One trick: if the weather is very dry during construction, the ground on your property can be occasionally dampened to encourage dust and dirt to remain settled.) Ensure that work vehicles do not interfere with your neighbours’ ability to park and that dumpsters are as inconspicuous as possible. By putting yourself in your neighbours’ shoes, you improve your chances of nipping problems in the bud before they even arise.

Availability: Provide contact info and respond promptly

Provide your neighbours a way they can reach you directly: phone; email—whatever method is best to contact you with potentially urgent inquiries or concerns. Cultivate a relationship where they will feel comfortable contacting you directly before they escalate their issue with another, third party.

And don’t think you need to wait for them to contact you: consider periodic check-ins with all your neighbours. If forthrightness isn’t their specialty and they would prefer to stew over some issue rather than call you and bring it up, this gives them an opportunity to get their concerns out in the open.

Helpfulness: Solve your neighbours’ issues with your project for them

Accidents happen; what matters is how you deal with them. Before your project begins, you should first confirm that your contractor’s insurance policy will cover damage to neighbouring properties. If your neighbour’s property is damaged as a result of your residential architecture project, inform them immediately that you will remedy it and deliver on this promise as swiftly as possible. Do your best to anticipate the potential stress points in the project: Is it plausible that a neighbour’s car may get covered by dust because of, for example, carpentry or drywalling? Well then, be willing to cover the cost of carwashes for them. Solving your neighbours problems for them will certainly make them more amenable to your home-building or renovation project.

Gratitude: Thank your neighbours for their patience and understanding

When the renovation is finished and the dust has settled, take the time to express your gratitude to your neighbours. If you feel it’s warranted and/or appropriate, you might even invite them over for an open-house, a dinner or a cocktail party. In any case, some gesture of appreciation is advisable: a small gift, as at the outset, such as a card, baked goods, or a bottle of wine.

A large or even medium-scale residential architecture project can be the source of discomfort and inconvenience for your neighbours. If you incorporate the advice outlined here into your process, you’ll make it as painless as possible for both you and your neighbours, and you’ll give yourself the absolute best opportunity to cultivate a neighbourhood that you look forward to spending your time in: one that is, in other words, home.

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