Midnight Handyman

Devil Ledbetter

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So my next door neighbors have been having a little work done on their garage. Not like a major rebuild, just replacing some rotted wood, etc. The handyman has been coming and going all week.

I was awakened at 2:30 AM this morning by a loud, repetitive banging. All I could think was that there was some kind of emergency, and someone was desperately trying to wake up the whole neighborhood for help.

I jumped out of bed and looked out the window. There was the handyman, pounding something on the lid of our neighbor's massive, hard plastic trash can.

I flew downstairs, flung open my back door and demanded to know what it was he thought he was doing making all that racket at 2:30 AM.

He said, "Oh, I was cleaning out this filter. I didn't think anyone would hear it."

I said, "Are you out your fucking mind? You're banging on a trash can at 2:30 AM under my bedroom window and you didn't think I would hear it?"

Okay, so enough my inability to suffer fools. My question is, what the actual fuck? Do handymen really work outdoors at 2:30 AM, or is this guy completely off his nut? I've never heard of such a thing. He was not there when we went to bed, either. It's not like he lost track of time and worked late. He arrived sometime in the wee hours to do his banging around.

My neighbors appear to have left town, BTW. Have I mentioned that I like these neighbors a bit less all the time?

If Mr. Midnight Handyman returns tonight I think I will call the cops and report a prowler.

What would you do?
 

Lyxdeslic

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Maybe they're letting him stay there in exchange for work. Maybe he's an oddball, down on his luck who happens to be an insomniac. Maybe if you see him again, just ask him what the situation is and use the interaction to see if the redflag factor heightens or wanes.

I dunno. Cooler heads prevail. I wouldn't flat out call the cops on the guy just 'cause you see him again. You and DH could maybe just talk to him. After that, go with your gut.

Lyx
 

katci13

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I'm thinking something's bothering him and he couldn't sleep so he decided to go bang out some of his frustration. Hopefully you embarrassed him and he won't do it again. If he does, I would try one more time to reason with him. If he acts up a third time, I'm writing him off as a psycho and calling the cops to say I fear for my safety, there's a crazy man banging on crap outside my window. ^_^
 

Devil Ledbetter

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Maybe they're letting him stay there in exchange for work.
No, he's not staying there.

Maybe he's an oddball, down on his luck who happens to be an insomniac.
No. I am the oddball insomniac.

Maybe if you see him again, just ask him what the situation is and use the interaction to see if the redflag factor heightens or wanes.
:roll:Have we met? Did I strike you as a wannabe social worker?

To be more clear, I am not at all afraid of the guy. Just completely bewildered that anyone would think it appropriate to do loud handyman work in a residential neighborhood at 2:30 AM.

I dunno. Cooler heads prevail. I wouldn't flat out call the cops on the guy just 'cause you see him again. You and DH could maybe just talk to him. After that, go with your gut.

Lyx
My "gut" would be to find out where he lives, wait til he's asleep and then set my car alarm off and walk away, so my gut is probably not the most reasonable judge of what's reasonable. When awakened for dumb reasons in the middle of the night "cool head" is not one of my attributes. More like "rip off somebody else's head and shit down their neck.":ROFL:

Hopefully you embarrassed him and he won't do it again.
Aside from sheer venting, that was my aim.

My only reason not to call the cops is that I know they're super busy eating donuts that time of night in our wee little town.
 

Devil Ledbetter

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And you have the perfect alibi!

"Sorry, officer, but I was trying to catch the rat that had been getting into the bins overnight!"

:tongue
We get opossums around here sometimes, so that'd be a great excuse for a giant glue trap.
 

thothguard51

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Ahhh, if he shows up again at that hour, call the cops. In most small towns and villages there are noise ordinances that limit what time work can start and must end so as not...NOT...disturb the neighbors...

In my neighborhood, he would have been met with a 12 gauge...

PS...I only opened this thread because it sounded Erotic...wrong,
 

regdog

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Or they are trying to have way more work done than they either stated on the permit or get the work done without a permit. Happens here all the time and 9 times out of 10 the city goes in and finds an illegal apartment. But then my city sucks.
 

Devil Ledbetter

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Or they are trying to have way more work done than they either stated on the permit or get the work done without a permit. Happens here all the time and 9 times out of 10 the city goes in and finds an illegal apartment. But then my city sucks.
The neighbor whose house is getting worked on is the city attorney. :tongue But maybe it is something extra-permitcular. The garage has a second floor--could they be putting in a mother-in-law apartment?
 

regdog

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The neighbor whose house is getting worked on is the city attorney. :tongue But maybe it is something extra-permitcular. The garage has a second floor--could they be putting in a mother-in-law apartment?

The first thing that popped in my head when I read the homeowner is the city attorney was, here it's all the more reason they'd be skirting city regulations.