The Home Improvement Thread. Successes and Failures

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

There's now a sign "Smile You're On Camera". I'm not sure if there's anything we can do, but the intent is now clear and I think I'm going to file a complaint with the police. While he has a right to monitor his property, I don't think he can install a 24/7 camera intended solely to capture our activity in our yard.

Jesus. I’m sorry you appear to live next to a complete psycho

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Jesus. I’m sorry you appear to live next to a complete psycho

Never would've guessed when we moved in that the next door neighbor with the Trump 2020 sign still in her window would turn out to be the least problematic one.

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

Yeah. I know I complained about mine last weeek, but I don’t think it’s this bad.

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Unfortunately, there's nothing I can find in the city ordinances, and I already know that the state and federal laws on video surveillance are pretty clear. He can record video as long as the camera is on his property and isn't focused on the house or pointed into our windows (which I highly doubt). He can't record audio in Michigan unless he's a participant in the conversation.

My fiance wants to get a giant Pride banner to at least partially obstruct this miserable old ****** field of view, which makes me LOL, but the guy clearly wants drama. Obviously talking to him right now is out of the question, so maybe the best way to go is to simply not play his game and ignore him. It's not like we do anything illegal back there. And like I said, he can enjoy the view of the weeds for the rest of the year, I'm not obligated to do anything about it unless I get a letter from code enforcement, and if/when I do, I will be working through official channels to document everything I do in that area.

Next year, most of that garden is coming out so we don't have to battle so many weeds. It's far too large for the level of gardening we would like to eventually do. We were thinking of putting a patio in that section, and I'm wondering if we could obstruct a lot of his view by installing a pergola or similar roofed & screened patio structure to cover most of the area. As long as it doesn't touch his privacy fence and conforms to code for height and such, he can't do anything about it.

[St. Clown]

Unfortunately, there's nothing I can find in the city ordinances, and I already know that the state and federal laws on video surveillance are pretty clear. He can record video as long as the camera is on his property and isn't focused on the house or pointed into our windows (which I highly doubt). He can't record audio in Michigan unless he's a participant in the conversation.

My fiance wants to get a giant Pride banner to at least partially obstruct this miserable old ****** field of view, which makes me LOL, but the guy clearly wants drama. Obviously talking to him right now is out of the question, so maybe the best way to go is to simply not play his game and ignore him. It's not like we do anything illegal back there. And like I said, he can enjoy the view of the weeds for the rest of the year, I'm not obligated to do anything about it unless I get a letter from code enforcement, and if/when I do, I will be working through official channels to document everything I do in that area.

Next year, most of that garden is coming out so we don't have to battle so many weeds. It's far too large for the level of gardening we would like to eventually do. We were thinking of putting a patio in that section, and I'm wondering if we could obstruct a lot of his view by installing a pergola or similar roofed & screened patio structure to cover most of the area. As long as it doesn't touch his privacy fence and conforms to code for height and such, he can't do anything about it.

While I’m not wild about them, columnar arborvitae might be well suited to your situation, planting them along the fence. They grow tall and fast, and they’re evergreens.

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Welp, at my fiance's insistence, we spent our lunch hour erecting some poles and a temporary tarp (3 feet back from his privacy fence) to block most of his camera's field of view. I'm sure he's already on the phone with the city about it, trying to figure out if he can have us cited for blight or whatever. Maybe he'll just move his camera to the roof. More updates to come, lol.

FWIW:

[dxmnkd316]

Jesus

[Kepler]

You should definitely contact the police to begin the process of them knowing this **** is a threat. People like that aren't just ****ing with you, they're out there harassing, violating no contact orders, and voting for Dump. Hopefully all of those activities will be illegal eventually.

(Don't mention Dump, though; your cops do, too).

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

I'm pretty sure they already know he's a *****. He's apparently harassed the Trump lady next door over her chicken coop. The eggs are delicious BTW, the harried black guy in Clerks 2 was right. ;-)

[Kepler]

I'm pretty sure they already know he's a *****. He's apparently harassed the Trump lady next door over her chicken coop. The eggs are delicious BTW, the harried black guy in Clerks 2 was right. ;-)

I'm thinking maybe if enough of you complain it will all add up to a visit from the po po, and the loser might eat it then. I'm sure he's a coward.

Or he'll try his crap on them and wind up charged.

#usingYourPoliceState

[burd]

Welp, at my fiance's insistence, we spent our lunch hour erecting some poles and a temporary tarp (3 feet back from his privacy fence) to block most of his camera's field of view. I'm sure he's already on the phone with the city about it, trying to figure out if he can have us cited for blight or whatever. Maybe he'll just move his camera to the roof. More updates to come, lol.

FWIW:

Hang a Sioux banner there. I suppose you think that would strengthen his blight argument.

[burd]

So our garage came with a pegboard on one of the walls, which is nice. But the pegboard has no space behind it, meaning you cannot get any hooks in there. I suppose I can try to use a small 1/4" peg or dowel, but there is very little board depth holding it in, versus the weight of whatever is resting on the peg/dowel, so I don't think that would work very well). Is there another obvious solution I'm missing? (Other than nailing/screwing into the wall behind the pegboard through the holes, which is a possibility, but more of a last resort solution.)

People typically use furring strips behind pegboard. If you don't have tools to rip wider boards or dimensional lumber, 1 x 2s will work. I have a lot of finishing kinds of tools (Japanese knives and saws, miter gauges, protractors, some small planes, etc. No chisels) on the wall above my bench, but I stopped using pegboard a long time ago. I just have a piece of cheap, painted plywood with trimline finishing screws sticking out to hang the tools. I trace the shape of the tool so my demented condition doesn't cause confusion as to what is where.

[Kepler]

furring strips

TIL. Sorry, Dad, I'm a failure for not knowing this.

[St. Clown]

TIL. Sorry, Dad, I'm a failure for not knowing this.

Cheap, small boards, usually used for non-load bearing purposes. Kind of like long, narrow cutoffs from from a 2x4, but sold as furring strips at the store

[Kepler]

I hate reinstalling my 48 inch Philips fluorescents I swear to Christ they are too big for the brackets and it doesn't help that my arms are as weak as a ****ing newborn's.