Neighbor copying my home improvements
People copy neighborhood upgrades directly by talking to the contractors before the work is even finished or installing the exact same features soon after completion. This drives homeowners crazy and makes them feel annoyed, even when others tell them to take it as a compliment.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Taking it as a complimentDid this help you?
- 2Ignoring itDid this help you?
- 3Finding inspiration from neighbors insteadDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“A guy jogging by once asked me to stop improving my house because it was costing HIM a fortune!”source ↗
“On a serious note people say to take it as a compliment… i dont it drives me crazy lol.”source ↗
“Very recently I put in a new vinyl fence, and as my fence guy was finishing I saw my neighbors talking to him. Two days later, my neighbor also had a new vinyl fence.”source ↗
“I got a beautiful mahogany front door to replace the ancient one then my neighbor across the street did the same.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 10How to stop renovating and just enjoy a new house
- 2Rental home improvements that are actually worth making
- 2How to find upcoming property remodels before they start
- 5How to get attached neighbors to agree on roof repairs
- 2How to stop neighbors from interrupting yardwork
- 32Neighbor is encroaching on my property line to sell their house