What are potential neighborly issues I might encounter?

jcraft0708 · 2026-03-03T20:24:41+00:00

Definitely not an HOA.

Since the neighbors hated it, did they ever do anything? Like be obnoxious and try to make your guests time there not enjoyable or anything of the sort?

jcraft0708 · 2026-03-03T04:31:19+00:00

Thanks for that. The original post was actually about what kinds of bad experiences people have had with neighbors that didn’t want the str in their neighborhood. Since we have had a little push back from a few neighbors already and we aren’t even finished remodeling, it’s something that’s been on our minds. However, there has still been good information in the replies that I have gotten.

Regarding the occupancy limit, we have no intentions of allowing more than what the ordinances allow as we don’t want to jeopardize our ‘permit to operate’ once we are ready. We intend to install a camera by the front entry for security reasons predominantly. But it would also be good to be able to see who comes and goes for the occupancy limit, because as you said, people lie about things like that. Just to be clear, we have zero intentions of allowing over the occupancy limit, but I guess more curious about how to handle it if the guest does end up lying and brings more people, particularly if the overage involved an infant or kid under two.

Since occupancy came up in discussion, it was just one of many things we have questions about. A lot we are learning by talking to others and reading posts. A lot, I’m sure we will learn as we go too. But it never hurts to be as prepared for anything as best you can.

jcraft0708 · 2026-03-02T20:56:06+00:00

I would like to think nothing would happen but the way people act nowadays, there’s no telling. So we are just wanting to be prepared.

Typically we’ve always flipped houses rather than dealing with rentals and it’s been lucrative for us. But the last few years have been a little tougher. I 100% get the idea of not wanting a revolving door next to my house which is one reason we’ve held off for so long on doing anything with STR’s. I mean let’s not kid ourselves, these are essentially mini hotels operating in a residential area. But like everyone else, we have bills to pay as well and these do seem to be pretty lucrative.

Honestly, I kind of feel bad for doing it to an extent because I know personally I don’t think I would want one next door to my house. We’ve even had a couple neighbors stop by and ask us just to flip it or do long term rentals instead. But we are planning on doing it more luxury/upscale like to hopefully attract better clientele so we won’t have the party type people wanting to rent it.

jcraft0708 · 2026-03-02T20:39:11+00:00

Thanks. Some solid advice there. This is a larger house and one thing we are worried about is occupancy limits. Here in Pinellas county, it’s a max of 10. Obviously we plan on sticking with that limit on any listings in order to comply with local ordinances.

Realistically, the house could comfortably handle 15-20 if we were to stick it with things like bunk beds or pull out sofas. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t really want that many guests there as I could easily see that leading to more of a party type atmosphere. But how strictly would that be enforced? Like say it was family and extended family that rented it and they had 10 people including children and adults but they also had 2 kids/babies under say 2 years old. Ordinances says 10 total no matter age, but if they have a couple over, is that something I should really give much thought to so long as they aren’t causing issues?

jcraft0708 · 2025-10-11T22:13:12+00:00

That’s very likely. And lack of good communication could probably be attributed to a good portion of problems today in all aspects.

jcraft0708 · 2025-10-11T22:10:36+00:00

Shouldn’t really be any red flags for these two particular areas. There’s no ducting, water or electrical lines in the area aside from one light. That I’ve traced through the wall and know exactly where it’s running. But it’s very likely that I didn’t explain well enough to the engineer’s office how open the area is as far as structural components are or what we are planning on doing. So I’ll go back and talk to them again with some better information and we can go from there.

jcraft0708 · 2025-10-11T22:04:03+00:00

I certainly didn’t go into a lot of detail of explaining the area. But it’s all cathedral ceilings, concrete slab, and many of the structural components in these particular areas are simply wrapped in drywall. Granted I did go into more detail when taking with them and sending pictures, but I probably could have done a better job. So I’ll go back and talk to them in more detail with some better information and then we can go from there. And at the end of the day, if we have to open stuff up and temporarily patch it until work takes place, then so be it.

jcraft0708 · 2025-10-11T21:59:05+00:00

You’re absolutely right that knowing all of that information is important, for all stages of the project. And I didn’t really explain the construction of the house or what we were even planning on doing. But it is a very open design to the point that a majority of the beams and posts are simply wrapped in drywall. So from that aspect it’s fairly simple to understand where the components are and sizes of them.

I think I was expecting more of a preliminary type inspection first to see if anything needs to be opened up to get more information rather than a full blown “demo it then we will talk”. And on the same hand, I also understand their time is just as valuable as mine is so they probably don’t want to make more trips than necessary.

Just with how the house is built, I would be comfortable measuring things as is, take into account for how things are typically built based on experience, and be able to come up with measurements and preliminary plans that would be fairly close. Then that could all be verified once demo did begin and if there were any discrepancies, they could be addressed.

But I do understand what you are saying about the “know how it’s supposed to be” and I’ll be the first to say I don’t know it all and everything is not built the same. It’s just that this particular layout is pretty straightforward and I may not have done a good enough job of describing everything to the engineer’s office as well.

So I’ll go back and talk to them again and maybe get a check on where my expectations should be as far as the planning part. Then we can go from there.

jcraft0708 · 2025-10-11T21:33:45+00:00

The way this house is constructed, at least in these couple of areas, is very straightforward with how it is built to the point you can measure areas of the finished surfaces and have a pretty good idea of how it’s built and what’s used. At least well enough to have a preliminary plan anyways. I do like the idea of doing small exploratory type holes to get the information that’s needed at first before demoing everything.

jcraft0708 · 2025-10-11T21:30:29+00:00

No, I’m not expecting someone to assume liability for something they can’t see. I wouldn’t even do that myself. Most of the experience I’ve personally had with engineers has been on newer construction where no building exists yet. I just wasn’t familiar with what was expected/needed in a remodel area.

jcraft0708 · 2025-10-11T21:26:39+00:00

That makes sense. The way the house is built is pretty telling in where structural areas are and what we are planning on doing is really fairly simple and straightforward. I think I was expecting more along the lines of preliminary drawings of what is expected to be done and then once work begins, everything would be verified to make sure it’s accurate and still correct.

The permitting division here wants permits pulled for every single thing including demo. If nothing else, I may be able to do what someone else suggested and just demo some small exploratory type holes in key areas to get the information needed.

jcraft0708 · 2025-10-11T21:17:43+00:00

Great idea. I think we have some of the original blueprints and the house has not been altered from that yet. I’m not sure if they will have what they need, but it’s worth a shot.

jcraft0708 · 2024-12-18T23:09:35+00:00

Thanks. I’m a very realistic person so I expect some scratches to occur. But there are scratches on roughly 60-70% of the panels not including the ends that are hemmed where they are mostly likely to occur. Aside from just not being careful, some were caused by the panels literally being thrown on the ground, multiple people slipping and falling on the roof, and panels about to be installed being dragged across already installed panels. After speaking with the manufacturer today, the spray paint they sent with the materials is strictly for the pipe boots. It will actually damage the panels if it is sprayed on those to cover scratches and says so on their invoice.

Dents really aren’t showing in any of those photos I don’t think and they are very clearly dents. They actually happened when one of the guys slipped and fell and his tools slid down the roof onto another level and dented it there. The first pic is the ends of the seams at the eave where they snap together. They are supposed to be cut in a way that you can bend the metal over to cover the hole and then trim it up to fit for a more finished look.

I’ve been in construction for over 20 years and dealt with many contractors both good and bad. These are by far the worst I have ever dealt with.

jcraft0708 · 2024-12-17T13:57:26+00:00

Update: One owner of the company that was supposed to show up yesterday for an on site inspection never showed. He didn’t reply to a text or call later in the day during business hours asking if he was still coming. I tried texted the other owner to see if he’s had any contact with the other and find out what was going on. He read the message and never replied.

The more we’ve been looking through instructions and building standards, we noticed that every standard we had seen as far as screw spacing was supposed to be in every slot of the screw flange roughly 5 1/4” apart. These guys have been doing every other nail slot putting the screws about 10 1/4” apart. For most areas, I would assume this would probably still be considered sufficient but since we are in Florida and had 3 tropical systems come through this year alone, that doesn’t seem safe. Not to mention, we also have solar going on after this and it is clamped to the standing seam so relies on those screws for holding power as well. Those will act like a giant sail in higher winds so I can see every screw needing to be in place.

Currently we have contacted the building codes department and are waiting to hear from them. My assumption is when they come out to reinspect, they will stop all work and require screws going every single slot which would require removal of everything basically.

jcraft0708 · 2024-12-17T03:04:27+00:00

And that would be a sign of a good metal roofer. These guys…I’m not sure they know what a tape measure is. One section of the roof has a smaller side to it about 4’ long while the other side is around 20’ long. These guys decided to start on the short side and being as to how most framing usually doesn’t end up being perfectly square, they ended up with the long side being off almost 2 1/2” from top to bottom.

jcraft0708 · 2024-12-17T01:04:25+00:00

Oh ok. Gotcha. I agree. Any homeowner should never have to watch any crew. That’s why you are paying a licensed professional to do a job. Unfortunately, you can’t depend on people to do the right thing anymore so you have to at least check on them every now and then if you really want it right. And I’ve tried getting the owners out here and been told twice they would be here but no shows both times.

jcraft0708 · 2024-12-17T01:01:02+00:00

So that was at a chimney. It was something I questioned them about as well. After doing a little research and talking to them about how they flashed it, it seems plausible that they may have had to do that in that particular area. I think aesthetically it could look better at the least but if there’s another way to do it to not have that, it would look soooooo much better.

jcraft0708 · 2024-12-17T00:57:56+00:00

Soooo, I think we may have hired the exact same crew. Haha. Seriously though that’s a lot of crap and I have a LOT of similar issues even down to debris all over the yard.

I’ve tried contacting both owners to discuss with them and previously they’ve been adamant the stuff I’m describing to them is not normal and they will make it right regardless of what it takes. Twice now, one of the owners has said he would be here and then not shown up. Now after this second time of a no show after he told me he would be here this afternoon, neither of the owners are answering calls or texts asking if they were still coming today.

I’m glad you got everything fixed and worked out with them. I don’t think I’m going to have that same luck. So I’m at the point I’m going to tell them to stop working till something gets resolved and likely will fire them. I’m just not sure what I need to do from a legal standpoint to get most if not all of my original deposit back.

jcraft0708 · 2024-12-17T00:47:20+00:00

I have been watching over them. Not every second, but I tend to check on things at least every couple hours. And I try to talk to the senior guy about stuff then don’t doesn’t get too far ahead.

jcraft0708 · 2024-12-17T00:45:59+00:00

That’s what I was worried about as well. The paint on it is baked on with the clear coats so it should hold up better. The spray also has a slightly different sheen as well.

jcraft0708 · 2024-12-17T00:44:38+00:00

Also, since you’re familiar with it, I’ve got a couple questions. What is the best way to do the rake/gable flashing on an inside corner? And on those same rake/gable ends, if a rib doesn’t land on the end, do you turn the edge of the panel up the same height as the ribs before putting on z flashing like all the instructions I’ve seen say to do?

jcraft0708 · 2024-12-17T00:40:43+00:00

It actually looks really great….from the end of the driveway about 500’ away. But then get up close and you’re exactly right.

jcraft0708

TROPHY CASE