Is he retired? Or the type who seems to like doing yard projects?

People usually don't own chainsaws if they don't like using them.

No one around here has snow blowers or plows. Including most of the road departments. They do have some to keep the main roads clear, but that’s it. If we have a lot of snow, maybe after a week or more they will make it to the hilliest neighborhoods. It is quite comical to read all the outraged comments from newly transplanted folks that NO one has cleared their neighborhood! Nope, and likely they won’t. It’s just not cost effective to maintain a fleet of snow removal equipment that might only be needed once every few years. So we just accept being snowed in or buy vehicles that will take us out.

My neighbors have been really helpful the couple of times a tree has come down over my driveway, which is quite long, but I love using my chainsaw, ,too! My woodshed is full and I recently called a local church that maintains a firewood bank for people who cannot afford to buy it. They have a crew that shows up with saws and a splitter and make quick work of downed trees.

We live where everyone had a ton of old trees and they often lose large branches or just fall over. It would be unusual not to get at least two offers of help to clean it up. Group work goes fast. There's always someone who wants the wood. DH turns wood, neighbors make maple syrup, another one has a boiler that needs to keep wood burning for it. It's part of the charm of living where neighbors need to help neighbors.

You have wonderful neighbors for sure!! Most of the weak trees were thinned out during a hurricane some years back here. We only had the wind and not the rain but it knocked the power out for week. Luckily it was in September so it wasn't too hot or too cold.

I have fantastic neighbors. We help each other a lot. In fact my neighbor brought fresh made cookies last night.

We are also blessed with wonderful neighbors. It took several of us to rescue 2 lost dogs today and get them home. 🐕

I do my best to keep the tree down front trimmed up - a very tall old elm - costs me $1400 every two years or so. However, there are still some small twiggy branches that fall in the neighbors' yard. They hate it. The wife makes it a big event when she has to pick some up before she mows, maybe one or two at the most.

This summer, after it's trimming and a windy night, I was cleaning inside the house and looked out to see the wife madly mowing and her husband picking up some debris and yes some small sticks from my tree (not branches). She was pointing to where he should pick up, and when he had a big armful he stomped to the property line and with fury, threw the pile into my yard......okay.

I let that pile sit there for a week, I wasn't about to go down and gather it up. Finally I had to mow, they were outside, I ignored them and went down to the pile of sticks and in full view, I picked it up and scattered it all about into the center of my yard (they were big enough to mow over)! There - you didn't hurt my feelings!

Except, when I was mowing I ran over some and a piece leapt up and hit me in the cheek. It hurt, but I acted like I never even noticed. I don't know if they did or not. LOL

We have lots of trees and he has a fair amount of land as do we so it isn't unusual for neighbors to have riding mowers, chain saws, leaf blowers and such.

Schoolhouse, that reminds me of when i saw a former neighbor pick up a pile of small branches from a tree that is mine but smack on tne property line. I glanced out the window to see him putting the branches down on my lawn. That wouldbe me like raking up leaves and returning them to the tree owners.

Anyway, I moved them back.

“I glanced out the window to see him putting the branches down on my lawn.”

Exactly what we once dealt with. One of our tree‘s branches grew over into a neighbors lawn. He’d reach far into our property line to cut branches and then toss them in our yard. He had every legal right to trim what was on his property, but reaching into ours was not legal. I honestly don’t know anyone personally who’d toss the trimmings back. DH finally talked to him saying he could trim away anything on his property line, but he couldn’t reach over into ours. Neighbor claimed he could but must have checked what was actually legal. The trimming on his property line continued, but reaching into ours stopped, along with tossing trimmings back. Not sure tossing branches back is illegal, but it shows a total lack of class and maturity…IMO.

" it isn't unusual for neighbors to have riding mowers, chain saws, leaf blowers and such."

As one wrinkle to what I speculated, your neighborhood wouldn't be a good choice for people who don't have the time or the interest interest to use equipment like that to do the work that's needed. Unless they can afford to pay others to do it.

Schoolhouse, those are some 🦇💩🤪 neighbors.

Elmer, given the fact that once we told him he was not responsible, he stopped cutting, he wasn't doing it out of joy of chainsawing for which he has ample opportunity on his own property. Rather it was out of a sense of responsibility and courtesy to his neighbors. Please stop trying to undermine what was clearly a neighborly deed on his part by suggesting his motives were otherwise, especially since you don't have any first-hand knowledge of the situation. I've tried to explain it to you, but you insist it has to be your way anyway. It isn't. Just let it go. Don't make yourself look foolish and stubborn.

Even if people don't have their own equipment or a desire to use it, the best kind of neighbors to have are those that do and are willing to help. Not everyone lives in a sterile, tree free, paved over neighborhood, not everyone has the funds to buy their own equipment or the money to pay others to help them. Good people seem to be available to most of us but understandably not to everyone.

I've never lived in an area that was so rural or so heavily wooded to require a do-it-yourself approach to maintain one's outside property. Olychickc, your snark (as usual) couldn't be more wrong-headed. But I'd welcome it if you'd call my home insurance company (where I've been a customer with my current home for over 25 years) to tell them they made a mistake cancelling my fire insurance coverage because of what they consider heightened fire risk because of the thick expanse of trees and undeveloped/overgrown area not far away. As a result, I've had to use the provider of last resort, a state-created agency to pool high risks, and I now have the privilege of paying 3X more this year and in future years for normal home insurance including fire coverage. .

I was contacted last year by a neighbor who had a fair sized tree split from high winds during an atmospheric river event. He wanted my help and I was happy to give it. In response to his question about whether I could recommend a good arborist/tree trimming company, I was able to give him two names and phone numbers.

Jojo, wow, just wow.

Luckily our lots have been large enough that tree encroachment has not been an issue; it seems to be much more of a problem when homes are close together and tree canopies overreach.

Closest thing I can think of was years and years ago when we did a very large landscaping project and the downhill neighbor behind us claimed we had created more runoff. Luckily the work was done under the auspices of our landscape designer, a published expert on runoff of all things, who disproved this.

That WAS really helpful of you! Giving TWO numbers!

I'm a good neighbor.

I think he came to me because on another occasion, he'd asked for the number of my gardener. He engaged his services and has been pleased with his work, as I am.

“Elmer, given the fact that once we told him he was not responsible, he stopped cutting, he wasn't doing it out of joy of chainsawing.”

True, but lthis along with yoir original post also supports the notion that he was cutting it because he thought it was his responsibikity, not necessarily becaise he's a grear guy.

I have a chainsaw. It’s a tool. Like any other tool, it’s handy to have when ihe tool you need. If I'm looking for enjoyment while using it, I might try to play Jackyl's "The Lumberjack".

Funny story. A friend of mine was out mowing the lawn of his (very nice) property. Someone driving by stopped and asked if he had a business card. He said "yes, why, do you need a patent attorney for some reason?"

Annie, I’m glad things went in such a positive direction, he sounds like a wonderful neighbor. I’m sure your neighbors think the same of you. :)

We have helpful and kind neighbors and strive to be the same. Our homes here are quite close together, so I’m very grateful we all get along so well, including sharing custody of cats. :D

Our last street, we made lifelong friends … but the street before that, we had one neighbor who terrorized everyone. When they finally and thankfully moved away, one of the other neighbors threw a street party the day they moved. It was such a relief to not have to wonder daily what she’d do next. We heard she continued to behave badly the next street she lived on, and she was banned from entering several stores/beauty salons/etc in our town.

OMG Jilly!

I have one 'neighbor' gripe: Outdoor lighting.

We have only one close neighbor (40 feet away) to one side of our house. Current owners are a 40's couple with two young children and a small dog. When they moved in they added outdoor lighting that extends to the side of their house across from our bedroom. It's on from dusk to midnight.

The house across from us has been vacant since purchase years ago -- beautifully tended, just not lived in. The owner comes to visit family for a few nights once or twice a year. That house also has outdoor lighting. Worst is a 'security' light that is on and off most nights (various animals). You can stand at our front door and read by that light.

Across the creek at the other side of our house new owners have created a warehouse effect with bright sheets of structure lighting that's on all night. We cleared some wild growth along the creek that was killing our 200 foot screen of arborvitae, then they did 'bare earth' on their side. Now we must rebuild our shield of trees, fast!

Our city has 'Dusk to 11 p.m.' lighting rules. Ha-ha-ha.

I don't know why people escape to a quiet suburb, then recreate 'city' with these lights. I'd hoped it was just a fad of wretched excess, but no.

" It’s a tool. Like any other tool, it’s handy to have when ihe tool you need. "

I get this sentiment but I look at it differently.

I've made it a practice to never buy a tool that would be the right tool to use for a situation I'd rather not deal with myself. I'm the opposite of a DIY person.

Just a few weeks ago, I had an electrician out to do a number of things. I greeted him at the door, walked him around to point out the various tasks, and he started to laugh. He said "our dispatcher said you had a honey-do list that you wanted us to do for you, now I understand why"

I told him that besides the more "electrician" stuff I knew how to do but didn't want to (install a new fixture, replace a worn out wall socket unit that plugs fell out of, refasten a socket box inside the wall), there were other things (changing bulbs in a delicate fixture and changing bulbs at the peak of a high ceiling) that I didn't want to take the risk to do. Plus, I said, I don't have a ladder. (Never get a tool you don't want to have to use, as above). He got it.

My motto is that if it's worth doing right, it's worth hiring someone else to do it. Same is true outdoors. We're not into gardening or flowers, when we had a lawn, I didn't want to mow it, all suitable things for someone else to do.

( Water use restrictions on some years then off theN on again, most have given up having lawns. It's green with mostly weeds during the winter rainy season, then brown until rain comes at year end)

Elmer -- Good for you, adding to the 'trickle down' economy. The problem is finding good people to do handyman jobs. Ours now charges $85/hour and has quite the waiting list. He can also do larger jobs, like bath remodeling. He left his desk job some years ago and is much happier working with his hands.

I gather that his father taught him to do many things -- things my DH didn't have a Dad to show him, plus he doesn't have good 'conceptual' skills -- and he was forced to become right handed as a child. He claims to have gotten a record-worst score on a Navy officers training test when in college. ("Which of these things is not like the other?") He just can't visualize it.

This guy has a state electrical contractor license and the rate was 3X what you cited for a handyman.

We have a very active Next Door here where people often post for help when they don't have the $85 an hour to pay someone to fix something. The community is quite generous helping, from mobile mechanics to other pros who donate their time and skills to help. One interesting thing our newish young sheriff did was create a fund for donations to give to people that law enforcement encounters who need car repairs. Instead of giving them tickets for no headlights or brakelights, they give them gift cards to get their cars repaired. One of the local auto parts dealers just donated a couple thousand dollars in gift cards to help people. I love this so much!

chisue, to your "left his desk job and is much happier now", this story fits. Apologies if I've told it here before.

A guy is having problems with a leaking faucet and calls a plumber. The plumber comes, fixes the faucet in just a few moments, and says "I have a 30 minute minimum charge, so that will be $125.

The customer says" $125? That's $250 an hour!! I'm a lawyer and I can't charge my clients $250 per hour!!!

The plumber replied " I believe you. When I was a lawyer, I couldn'tcharge $250 an hour either."

chisue - your DH made me think of my younger brother. A leftie also but his south paw nature was reinforced since the thinking about being left dominant changed over the years. However, even though our father was skilled at mechanical & building skills & eager to teach them, my brother had zero interest in DIY. He seemed to have zero apptitude for it as well. His life goal was to have enough $$ to pay someone to do the ’hard stuff’. Fortunately he met his goal & has held C Suite positions since his early 40’s. My younger sister, who also held C Suite positions, did spend teen years time with our dad learning how to change tires & oil in her cars. She & I gave our dad sons-in-law who enjoyed working with him on building projects in my parent’s home and in our homes. It’s nice to know my dad was able to enjoy passing on his knowledge in that arena. My dad learned those skills from his dad - it wasn’t his primary means of employment.

Elmer, I agreee with chisue - your honest assessment of your lack of interest in DIY for home maintenance chores is a good thing. It’s also great to be in a position to pay for someone else to do it. A person who doesn’t want to do a chore is less likely to do the job well so it’s a great case for hiring the experts.

For myself & DH, though we’re quite able to do many of the chores we pay to have someone else do for us, it’s a question of safety & good use of our time & energy. We love to pay someone else to clean our roof & gutters - a necessity living under huge conifers - and also to wash our windows inside & out a couple times a year. Keeps us off the ladders too as well as contributing to the ’trickle down’ economy chisue mentions.

I've never, ever ever cleared gutters. I don't do ladders. My gardener, who's been with us for over 20 years, can do it efficiently. The roof pitch isn't too steep so he gets up there with his ladder and walks the perimeter with his leaf blower. He can do most of it rather quickly. For the remaining stubborn parts, as at the downspouts, he just lays down and removes debris with his hand.

I'm not a believer in anything supernatural and especially not in any deity but it occurred to me years ago that if there were a deity, s/he has a sense of humor. A typical rain storm in my area is preceded by high winds that blow leaves off of trees and all over. Once the fallen leaves are in place to block gutters and drains, then the rain starts.

Elmer, my husband usually does our gutters. He is fit and healthy and at this point wants to do these things. He has a chainsaw too and all kinds of other goodies, including a power washer. I have never washed a window but he’s great at it. He’s also very particular so the job is always well done. We can well afford to pay for these things but at this point in our lives, if he is physically able and wants to do the work, I’m fine with it. He mows too, unless we are traveling. I think it is good for him mentally and physically. I know the day will come when we will need to bring in help 😊

Tina Marie

Olychick -- I love that program! Everybody gains when people have a way to be real members of a community. Good for givers and recipients.

Elmer -- Our handpman was a mid-level exec. IDK how he managed to ditch it with (at the time) two boys starting college. It's rare for customer and worker to feel able to communicate at the same educational level.

KW -- I can relate to reaching a time when you finally ask yourself, "Why am I doing this when I don't need to?" I mowed our lawns, washed our cars, etc. DH cleaned gutters. It was the way young couples in our neighborhood did things. Later...we wonder why we didn't hire the work done. Today, I don't see couples like us even starting out doing their own house/yard work. (Maybe what's why so many Americans are in debt?)

I lived in a Philly rowhouse. Across the alley was an absentee landlord with a four story tall tree that had been gutted out by spotted lantern flies and the base of the trunk was swaying in the wind. You could hear to moan and creak. It was one storm away from falling on my house or the house on either side of me.

The neighbors to the right were afraid of their shadows, scared to do anything without the permission of the landlord. The neighbor to my left knew that Philly is the wild west and it is just fine to go on to an absentee landlord's property to save your own house.

I found a tree company, arranged the work, and gladly paid the $1,000 for the tree removal. I didn't need any neighbors to reimburse me for the work. The tree was directly across from our house and chances were great that we'd be hit by it.

Our cool neighbors left an envelope of $600 cash on our dining room table when they were over. They wanted to pay more since I put in the efforts to make it happen. And, they knew if they wrote a check or zelled me I wouldn't accept it. Such thoughtful people! I miss them.

chisue, you could be on to something about why so many are in too much debt - they aren’t self sufficient enough to do manual labor chores that must be done so have to hire help. I’m certain many of us grew up learning to do necessary things on our own because we couldn’t afford to pay for the services. As time passed, we could afford it but since we knew how & already had the necessary tools, well, why not do them? You’re spot on about suddenly wondering why we’ve been doing a thing we don’t really enjoy when we could have it done for us. My epiphany came while washing windows outside. Even with our single story home most of our windows are high enough to require a long handle extension. And, we have a lot of windows. It took DH & I the better part of a day to clean all of them even with the right equipment. While on a neighborhood stroll I saw window cleaners working on another home so I asked for their business card. Now they call me if I haven’t called for my usual seasonal cleanings! Love it!

When we have storms strong enough to topple trees and break off limbs, we’re not the only ones that experience this. Tree services typically triage the damage to help those with the greatest need. A couple of summers ago we lost 12 trees in three storms that occurred over a two week period. Twice we had limbs down blocking our drive preventing us from leaving. In these instances a chainsaw is a tool. And like food stated earlier, handy to have.

It is usually a couple of weeks before they can schedule you for the non emergency stuff.

During my working years, I especially didn't want to squander the limited free time I had by spending it doing chores that people were easily hireable to do. Finding those extra hours for "me time" after weekend and evening family obligations when my presence was needed was more valuable to me than saving a few bucks.

I was fit and healthy during my prime adult years and am still am at a reduced level now in my Social Security years. I never wanted to do any yard work, house maintenance, or DIY stuff and still don't.

jrb, I've never lived in a wooded area as your photo shows, there's nothing like that where I've lived but anyway it's not to my liking if there were.. It looks interesting.

FOAS: "supports the notion that he was cutting it because he thought it was his responsibikity, not necessarily becaise he's a grear guy."

That's what makes him a great neighbor...because he was taking responsibility for something he thought was his issue without even being asked.

?????

Food's comment made sense in the context of what had been said. This, less so.

It can be helpful to have neighbors with somewhat similar values.

Gutters: one day in our new-to-us house in a wooded neighborhood, DH was up on the roof cleaning gutters. The neighbor behind came running through our little wooded edge waving a business card and calling to me ”tell your husband to get down from there and call this guy!” Gutter guards. Best thing we did for our house!

Snow: when I ws a child, snowblowers were rare, but one guy on our block had one. He did the sidewalk on the entire block. In our last house, we would shovel the walk in front of our house, plus the stretch in front of the neighbors, but they never did the same (they rarely cleared their driveway either, just the apron, so I guess it didn’t matter to them). On the other side, 12’ separated ours and the neighboring driveway. We would shovel the whole 12’ because why not? But the neighbor would shovel their 6’ and no more.

Then there was the time we came home from vacation and were having an oven delivered the next day. The delivery is there, and my neighbor comes running up the sidewalk with a baseball bat! I come out and she starts laughing ”oh, you’re back! I thought you were being burglarized!” ”Susan, just what did you think you were going to do with a baseball bat?!?” She was a hoot and I loved that about her.

“My motto is that if it's worth doing right, it's worth hiring someone else to do it.”

The corollary is something I find myself saying too often after hiring something out: "If I wanted it f 'd up I'd have done it myself."

I get your point, I really do. If you can afford to hire someone for every chore, or you need help doing it, go for it. When I look at the honey-do list you gave your electrician, the only thing I might not tackle is hanging the fixture, if it was awkward, heavy, or otherwise tricky. I can't imagine hiring someone to swap an outlet at this point of my life, rather save that money to spend when I can't.

I had a leak in my hall bath, from a shower we rarely use. Known to me due to stains in the drop ceiling of the bathroom below. Last week I removed the ceiling tiles, saw that the shower body was leaking, sent pictures to Kohler who identified the model and told me which replacement parts I needed, ordered from Amazon. Parts came the next day, installed, all in all about an hour of my time. Today I tackled the ceiling tile below. Had to do the whole bathroom as the old tile was no longer available, as far as I could find. I hoped it would take an hour, it took two. In total I spent about $125 for parts and three hours labor. What would it have cost to call two trades in? I didn't "enjoy" any of the work but I'll admit there is some satisfaction in having done it myself. And the three hours of my life? At least I have something to show for it, which is more than I can say for three hours spent on Gardenweb!

“The problem is finding good people to do handyman jobs. Ours now charges $85/hour and has quite the waiting list. He can also do larger jobs, like bath remodeling.”

Kind of an aside but I’d be really careful about using someone like that who claims they can do the work of all the trades. Often these folks can make stuff work and look nice, but what’s actually going on behind the scenes is a mess. The homeowner doesn’t know better, is thrilled with how it all looks, and the guy gets the next job by word of mouth. I’ve fallen victim to it, and I’ve (quietly) observed it in far too many houses.

" If you can afford...."

I can.

One of the fixtures that needed a bulb has a bell shaped housing that slips over the 3 screws holding on a closed glass thing that looks like a flying saucer. It's about 8 feet off the ground over a bathroom vanity. That makes it a three handed job to me, on a ladder I don't have and don't want to have. It could have been a handyman and not an electrician but that's who was coming so I paid a bit more. It's done.

The ceiling fixture that needed bulbs is about 16 feet off the ground.

I seem to have really good luck finding trade contractors of all kinds. Even of a kind known to be overpopulated by scoundrels, like HVAC.

At my main house, one source is a very busy realtor friend whose experiences with clients separates good from bad on a real time basis. She knows everyone, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Food, you make some good points. We live in a somewhat rural area and its not always easy to find someone to do the job, to do a GOOD job. Its not about saving money, it’s more about being satisfied with the job. We have the time to care for our home and my husband knows what he is doing. Its the same with cleaning our home, i prefer to do it rather than hire it out. The mr is pretty good at helping. 😊

“…one source is a very busy realtor friend…”

Same for us; she’s a great source.

food -- I understand about Jacks of All Trades and un-permitted work. Your plumbing repair was DIY -- and neither permitted nor inspected. Buyers can also be stung where the seller has been a busy DIY-er.

There's no end to 'surprises' in homes. DS paid a tile guy one day and found all the tile on the floor the next morning. He'd put just a dab of adhesive on the center of each tile before grouting. I've had bad luck with a tile guy. Is it the adhesive fumes?

Ha, good point, chisue, sometimes there’s nothing worse than someone who fancies themselves handy!

Good neighbors are worth their weight in gold. I prefer to be friendly and on good terms with everyone. It's amazing how simple acts of kindness can make someone's day brighter. But even just a smile and hello is good too.

Anyone who has ever had truly bad neighbors knows how disrupting that can be. Every time I move I pray the people around me are decent, or at least indifferent. 😄 Where I am now has a neighborhood wacko, but fortunately she's 6 houses away from me and I rarely see/hear her. Her feral children are...delightful, but again, I am just far enough away to be insulated from most of it. The people on either side are at their wit's end. I am grateful that it isn't me.

You can start out on a good footing. I inherited my DM's 'Good Neighbor Basket' -- the one you take to welcome a new neighbor and to console an old one.