In February a new person bought the house next to me. By then I had already soda blasted all the sheet metal I needed and painted the inner fender aprons and radiator support to install back in the truck. Then I proceeded to my two bumpers whic were epoxy painted and color painted on the side. Windy and I didn't like how the color went down. The neighbor also got involved and asked me to cover my painting area which I did for the next time. The paint went down better and was satisfied that there was no further work to be done on them. The neighbor noticed a white dust, and it was dust as it wiped right off, and asked me to paint on less windy days. I agreed and did somethings at 8am when it was dead calm. The equipment if the garage can barely be heard outside. This was at the end of March. The last thing I painted in calm air was back on August 28th and now stay inside the garage for the cab last week.

I come home last night and there is a notice on my house about me operating any illegal painting business and I must cease immediately or be fined or worse. There is a copy of a picture, taken over the side of the fence, on the first page of my two bumpers sitting outside on a Sunday after they had been painted at the same time the neighbor asked me to try to paint on calm days. Four violations are listed that pertain to an illegal business, an illegal home occupation all equaling a public nuisance.

So I called the enforcement officer on the papers to set her straight. It wasn't a business or a home occupation just a personal owner painting his own truck. I have a state license for my real job, and she asked painting, I said no and here is my office number if you want to call and see how the phone is answered. She said no problem and told me she would void out the complaint as it didn't apply. However, she did say painting in a residential zone is illegal. Does that include the garage? She says yes and I ask what is the code number so I can read the exact wording as painting covers a lot of ground. She says she will call me back in 15 minutes with the answer. When she does call back she tells me she can't find a code but knows it is illegal both as painting and as a biohazard, but she will have to talk to planning. I said fine but I want to see hard copy of everything since there are no restrictions by the State or EPA on a hobbyist painting a couple of cars a year when it comes to VOC's and the like.

Now off the phone I ponder this neighbor who asked you do do several things, which I complied with, and still files a complaint. Painting parts in a closed garage is not that hard to do since a basic piece of metal can be epoxy coated in 10 minutes and color laid on in 14 minutes max. There is the noise of the HLVP machine which sounds like a powerfull vacuum cleaner to get around especially if it is outside the work area for fresh air. So I decide to test something out. The neighbor stayed home today, unusual, but knows this is my day off as well as Saturday afternoon and Sunday. I go into the garage and turn on the machine in the garage along with my shop vac. Lots of muffled noise and I let them run for 20 minutes. Turn them off and go to the front door to take a peek. Right then a police officer is walking up to my door and rings the bell. I pop the door open right away and he asks me if I am painting a truck on the SIDE of my house. He has the old photos. I said no as I stopped that and am using my shop vacs right now. Do you want to see? He said no need, thank you and left.

Well the neighbor phoned the police the moment he heard the machines running Now I will run the machines several times a week just for the heck of it. I have no painting to do but why not have some fun. If the police come out they will realize it is a wild goose chase after awhile with this guy. Then when I need to paint an item I will take an unexpected day off and do it in the garage in 30 minutes in the middle of a weekday. Will even move both cars in and out of the garage several times a week just to sow confusion.

Question now is what to do with this neighbor. I see no need to be nice since I accommodated him earlier and he still made a call. He did buy a house that has a major building code violation right out in the open. He didn't build it but the carport has no permit, is set back from the property line by 2 inches (not 36 inches) on the roof and 8 inches (not 5 feet) on the posts, besides dropping rain water onto my property and causing soil erosion. The girl at planning wanted to refer it for a demolition order but I told her I would get some pictures first just to delay her.

 

Neighbors are always in everyone's business but there own. I work with a guy like that. They point out all of things that everyone is doing wrong and never consider the things that they do or have wrong. I would make it my goal to drive this person out. Be like the neighbor in the Richard Pryor movie "moving".

 

Karma will come around. Be the better guy and just go about your buisness. Wave to him and be extra nice to him. If he gets to you he wins, and do you want that? Just got done dealing with a real PITA, and that was my tactic and the smile on my face when the karma train came around and hit him. Priceless.

 

Mike
I like the idea of running your equipment randomly. Do that frequently. After a few false alarms to the authorities they will lable this guy a the wack job he is and quit responding. He clearly has too much time on his hands!

 

Mike, be careful painting in the garage if there is a gas waterheater or gas furnace.

 

Yes, the pilot lights always get turned off.

 

I had a similar situation with "codes". Neighbor would report me every so often for having my wife's antique caddy parked in the back yard by my shop (no garage then). It was legal... tags, car ran, parked on gravel. But at least twice a year... letter/visit from codes. I would have to schedule a day off to PROVE my legality! I finally noticed that his home had 3 codes violations. (He didn't know that I knew who kept reporting me.) One day I casually mentioned to him that the next time codes paid me a visit, I was going to escort the officer directly to his house for a little tour! That was the last I ever heard from either him or codes! Maybe you should enlighten your neighbor that there are MANY OTHER codes in that book... like set-backs!

 

That is the problem when you live in hoods with HOAs and the like. A guy that is gonna play with ol trucks needs a couple acres to not be harassed.

With all the global warming & other toxic BS on the news, folks don't want your toxic vapors in their pets or childrens lungs so they protest.




John

 

I'd ride him like a rented pony. Dont know what state you live in or how the rule applys but in n.y. you can sray up to 25 gal. a year without a problem as a private garage.
Code enforcer's are wannabe cops that could'nt make the grade.

 

One idea to keep in mind for anyone doing painting near fussy neighbours is the smell from the paint fumes can be transmitted a few houses down the road. The epoxies are especially strong smelling. An old timer told me to solve this problem run some outlet ducting from your fan(s) into a 45 gal drum partially filled with water. The outlet should be just above the water surface and it will "filter" out alot of the odors of the paint fumes.
What to do about someone who complains everytime you turn on your compressor, move it to the outside of your garage on his side in a vented shed and leave it plugged in all night with leaky hose attached so it turns itself on randomly all through the night. Never turn it off, and when he complains tell him it is your central vacuum system for the house and your wife is a neat freak. When the cops come by make sure you have a vacuum cleaner in your hand when you open the door.

 

Too bad with the PITA next door..I often wonder if I can do something to pre-empt a complaint...some times (not all the time LoL) .I try to think of other people, and what they may think of my garage antics.
In my younger days I may have fired the vacume up or ran my sprayer(paintless ) in the shop...but now I think that sometimes just adds fuel to the fire so to speak.
I might casully wander over and try to find some items in his yard that needed painting.., then get the neighbor involved in the process..now he's an accomplice..he he..
Also ..if you decide to paint in the shop,why not get an explosion proof fan,make-up an exhaust system with a few filters for incoming and out-going fumes and dust..it would help you keep your shop cleaner,and help with the stuff in the nieghbors yard, bring your nieghbor over and show him your set -up..ask for his suggestions.
I'm not one to back-down from some wacko trying to make my life miserable...but some folks you just can't talk sense to and that's a fact of life..Good Luck on your choices...

 

Screw the neighbor, completely ignore him, do what is right by the law(which it sounds like you are). I mean are you freakin kidding me? He objects to the sound of your HVLP?!! I maybe can understand the paint fumes aspect, but that is reaching. The guy needs a life...at least you have one.

 

The best trick for paint fumes is to duct your exhaust fan to a garbage can 1/2 to 3/4 full of charcol brickettes. put the duct hose to the bottom and pour in the Kingsford. Just don't use the match light stuff.

 

Well this is what is going to happen:

1. I am going to run equipment on my days off like usual only the machines will just be running to confuse.

2. My cars will be cleared out of the garage as though there was painting and this will be done on every off day just to confuse. The door will be closed and the machines on for a 30 minute period.

3. His un-permitted carport and concrete slab will remain on the radar screen. The planning department already knows and are just waiting for me to say go. There will be an inspector out sometime next week who needs to access my property to see a shed built on the property behind me that I called on. A 6x8 foot shed, with lights on at midnight, it's own A/C unit and the unmistakable smell of rabbit do do on calm days is another violation of farm animals and setbacks. I'll bring the inspector in the side gate so he can't miss the carport.

4. Once again he parked his dually F-350 with the last half of the truck blocking access and egress on the left side of my driveway. On a court we park head in and the two of us talked about this months ago. Specifically told him if he didn't want to use his driveway then not to park within the parallel lines of my 24 foot slab and angle towards his driveway. In short block his driveway a little and not mine.Well he has been doing the opposite. So I'll be taking the car on that side to work early Saturday morning and will call the police for a tow. We talked about it and since I did what he wanted concerning painting while photographing me at the same time to make his complaint I see no need to cut him any slack.

Funny thing about the paint is that I do not smell anything from the epoxy and a little residual smell from the urethane in the garage. Yes, I wear a dedicated air supply. Once outside the garage things get pretty windy due to the Bay Area air conditioner being in effect up through the delta. Plus no one is around on Wednesdays and the HLVP turbine has very little over spray to begin with. With the new turbine and gravity gun I have been over estimating how much paint is needed for a simple thing like 1 fender. Probably have wasted a good 12oz. of paint and 6oz of activator which isn't cheap.

 

Don't you just love the way the system works. Someone files an anonymous complaint and you have to prove that it is invalid. Guilty until proven innocent.
When I had a neighbor complain about me, I painted my side fence bright pink for him to look at. He filed a complaint about the color and the city said they have no control over my choice of colors. I finally caught him outside and had a talk with him about it. I told him that I was crazy enough to paint my complete house that color or worse if he didn't stop complaining. He agreed, the fence got repainted and I never had another problem with him.
Years later, now I have another neighbor that is complaining and I will find out who it is. If it is the person that I think it is, he has quite a few infractions that will be called in, only I will let him know who did it.
I agree with you to keep running the tools in the garage just to annoy him and I would let him know about his problems that are going to surface if he doesn't stop complaing.
In Arizona, we are allowed to emit a certain amount of vapors in the air without permits as long as it is for personal use.

Consider the pink paint on his end of your house.
Good luck,

Kevin