Page 60 - 05_July-Aug 2024

HARBINSON ALSO ENCOURAGES HIS CREWS TO BUILD GOODWILL. IF IT SNOWS, THEY’LL OFTEN SHOVEL THE NEIGHBOURS’ DRIVEWAYS OR SIDEWALKS. AND HARBINSON CHATS WITH NEIGHBOURS, LETS THEM
USE THINGS LIKE GARBAGE BINS, OFFERS WOOD FOR FIRE PLACES, AND JUST TRIES TO BUILD TRUST AND RESPECT.
Andrew Harbinson, co-owner of Homes by Metro, is familiar with the challenges of infill. His company has focused specifically on infill builds over the last 15 years.
“We don’t set our bar too high in infill building that people will be: ‘Oh, that was an amazing experience!’ It’s more like: ‘Well, nobody chased us off the site when we were done,’” he laughs.
He says he’s joking and that many neighbours have told his crews they were very professional. But it’s clear the company spends hours on how to best interact with the neighbours surrounding a construction site.
Before the demo contractor arrives, he has a conversation with the neighbours, to “start a relationship independent of
the homeowners themselves.” He explains what’s happening and lets them know that he wants to hear if there are any issues they come across, “because we’re there
for a year, but the owners are there for potentially a long time, and we don’t want to spoil that relationship beforehand.”
Harbinson also encourages his crews to build goodwill. If it snows, they’ll often shovel the neighbours’ driveways or side-
walks. And Harbinson chats with neigh- bours, lets them use things like garbage bins, offers wood for fire places, and just tries to build trust and respect.
Some construction sites pile all their garbage on a private yard and street and have a garbage service pick it up; but Harbinson uses a specific receptacle to make sure everything is contained and not blowing onto a neighbour’s lawn.
“I’m not going to say we have not had confrontations with neighbours. Some- times it’s completely out of our control, and other times it’s poor management of a situation we did not see happening,” says Harbinson. “But instead of saying: ‘Too bad for you, Mr. Neighbour,’ we were there endlessly to do our best to ensure that they were comfortable with what was going on.”
Harbinson’s regraded homes next to some of the company’s infill projects, and once also fixed a neighbour’s fence that fell into an excavation site due to rain and poor soil conditions.
Sometimes neighbours have had bad experiences with previous infill sites from different builders, so Harbinson says they start off on a bad foot right away. And
there are times neighbours watch a site so closely the relationship becomes adversarial.
Harbinson says following bylaws is incredibly important — mud cannot be
left for long periods on the public street, for example. But he also says people need to be realistic and not expect mud to be cleared the moment it rains when there was a change in the forecast. And now, he takes photos before and after all construction not only of job sites but of neighbouring homes so that if something happens, he has a frame of reference. There have been times where neighbours mistakenly believe damages were caused by construction, when that wasn’t the case.
Working on infill is not just about the actual construction, it’s also managing the expectations and concerns of all involved.
“We have to manage our customer’s anxiety. It’s their dreams coming to life in a space they want to enjoy with their family. So, I think if the process with us doesn’t go well, then their dream home does not necessarily feel as good as it might, especially when their neighbour is mad at them,” says Harbinson. ED.
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