This happened on Sunday and I’m still kind of hoping they didn’t notice, even though I know they definitely did.
I recently bought a power washer something I’ve been meaning to do for a while. I finally pulled the trigger after saving a bit of money earlier this year, and figured I’d knock out a bunch of outdoor cleanup projects around the house. Our driveway had years of grime built up, and I’d been watching those oddly satisfying cleaning videos online, so I was excited.
I started with the front walkway and then moved to the driveway. About halfway through, I noticed that the grime line on our side basically met the neighbor’s side in the middle. Their driveway is connected to ours (townhouse-style setup) and was in even worse shape. I figured I’d just do a few extra passes to even things out.
Except it looked so good. The blackish layer was coming off and underneath it was this bright, clean concrete I don’t think I’d ever seen before. Next thing I know, I’m fully over the property line, power washing their whole half. I didn’t even mean to, it just felt too satisfying to stop.
By the time I was done, both sides looked amazing… and I realized I had no idea how they’d feel about it. I didn’t ask, and they weren’t home, so now I’m waiting for an awkward conversation if they noticed. No one’s said anything yet, but I’m half-expecting a thank-you… or a passive-aggressive comment about boundaries.
TL;DR: Got too into power washing, ended up cleaning my neighbor’s driveway too without asking. Felt great, now feel weird.
Comments
Why would they not appreciate you powerwashing their driveway for free? This is not a FU it’s being a good neighbor.
They probably won’t mind, just don’t ask they for any payment and it’s likely not that weird 😉
This is such a wholesome FU.
Better to contact them proactively, it will make things less weird
If this is your biggest fuck up, you’re truly blessed
Just tell them you did your half and didn’t wanna leave them hanging and had a new toy, so did it.
If this is the first/only boundary you’ve broken, I think you should be okay, and I think you should own up to it. Knock, explain it the same way as you did here, apologize for going on their property/doing maintenance on their property. And the biggest reason for that last part is that maintaining someone else’s property is an insurance liability. Imagine if you’d accidentally powerwashed your foot while on their driveway–suddenly it’s not just your medical insurance involved, it’s their house insurance. Anyway, your motivation was good, even if your behavior was misplaced.
Its all fun and games until someone accidentally power washes someone else’s driveway.
“I mowed my neighbor’s lawn for him. Should I apologize?”
Found the Canadian 😆