Boundary Issues

Our land has some boundary issues. There is an old stone wall across the front, which we love. There is also an old stone wall between what we hope will be our lot and the other one that our builder is selling. Sort of. The wall matches the property line in the middle, but not in the front or the back. In the back, we don’t really care much. We’ll mark the corner and keep an eye out for anyone trying to clear it. The front corner, though, is another matter.

To be honest, this corner is more important to Carl than to me. I actually think it unlikely that the owners of the next lot will ever try to clear or develop that triangle land. But I have a vague understanding that the wall’s placement could cause problems in the future. Vaguely.

However, I trust my professional worrier husband. If it matters to him and I’m only vaguely getting it, I follow his lead. He does the same with me. It’s how our decision-making works when one of us cares more about an issue than the other.

Carl’s first solution: Have the builder change the property line to coincide with the wall. No can do. Apparently they need that frontage to make the other lot buildable.

Carl’s second solution: Move that section of stone wall to the property line. Our realtor was saying that she didn’t think that was possible because the wall may be historic, and the builder said he’d have clear most of the triangle at hand to do it. Carl still wanted to consider it, and he decided that he needed to see it to finish his thinking.

However, when it comes to visualization and handiwork, Carl has two key limitations: 1) he can’t visualize well without actually physically being there and often moving things around, and 2) he…um…doesn’t measure well. Really. We can tell you the plywood story sometime if you’re interested.

Given these limitations, we had to go to the lot. Notice the “we.” Aside from the fact that measuring over 100 feet is not really a job for one person, I had to go because I can successfully work a tape measure.

So we go. Us. Our dog. A 100’ tape measure. A ball of purple twine. And temps in the upper 80s. A recipe for fun – of a kind. Also a recipe for bug bites, prickers, and the discovery that someone has used the land for an aquarium’s final resting place. (No fish that we could see, but if they had gone a few hundred feet back, they could have messed with the ecosystem even more by introducing non-native fish.)

We strung purple twine roughly along the property line. I am not a surveyor, and to be honest, I didn’t really want to be there. Heat, humidity, bugs, and pricker bushes are not my idea of a fun outing. But we did it.

Looking at the line we created, Carl initially thought that clearing the corner triangle would be ok, but I pointed out that one part lined up nicely with what was (I think) some existing clearing for either the well or the septic. Clearing that corner would give someone a straight-shot view into our yard. I didn’t want it cleared. He agreed. But he still wants a wall.

So we compromised. We are talking to the builder about marking the line to create a new wall and tossing the rocks he finds on the property as he clears that direction. Carl will work with him on being more specific than that.

We left the purple twine there. I think the land could use a colorful reminder of where its boundaries are.