Anyone get upset neighbors?

[huxta]

I may be looking into purchasing a remote piece of land. 11 acres with very good slope. I'll just have to build a bridge across a small creek. If I do buy it, I will want to keep the tubing up year round. My concern is that the neighbors will get upset about the tubing being an eyesore. I'm sure in Vermont it's all over and people are use to it, but thats not the case in indiana. Anyone ever run into upset neighbors?

[steam maker]

The problem with people these days is everyone wants to be in charge of others property. I guess u kinda wanna be nice but if the land is for sale they could also buy it and look at whatever they want. But maybe a little syrup will bring back there smile!!!!!!

[JoeJ]

I don't want to sound too callous, but it would be your land to do as you want, or rather as the town zoning allows. My experience with 19 neighbors in a subdivision along my back 2900' long boundary has been good all except one. It only takes one. Eight years ago as I was installing main line along his section of the property line, he came out and asked how long I was going to leave the pipeline up because he had just spent $30,000. on his new sun room and did not want to look at the pipes. I was going to ruin his view of my woods. He got pretty nasty about it and so I told him the pipes would stay there until I was dead.

Then as I worked to install the piping, I noticed that this jerk had gone onto my property along a 100' section and cut a bunch of brush and small trees to improve his view. To say the least, the neighbor relationship along that section of the property is still pretty cold.

The other 18 neighbors have never complained about the piping.

[RC Maple]

I don't have any tubing that I use but I do look at all the catalogs I get and I notice that it is available in different colors to make it less visible either in summer (green), or it is available in gray too. If it doesn't matter much to you, you could explain that you are going with a color specifically to make it less visible or annoying for your neighbors. That would show some good will on your part. Do you already know the neighbors? You may have some syrup lovers that may have some more trees for you. The tubing discussion would give you a chance to find out.

[GeneralStark]

When we bought our land almost two years ago, our neighbors came by to see what we were up to as there were excavators running chainsaws flinging chips etc. etc. I explained that we bought the property and were going to build a house, but first were putting up a sugarhouse. They were curious about the possibility of accessing their woodlot from our property and I said that perhaps we could work something out in exchange for a tapping lease. They were open to it.

After seeing the tubing go up on our land, they started to think twice as they weren't too excited about it. But then after seeing the operation in full swing in 2014, and getting a better understanding of sugaring, they opened up. We took a walk with them (my wife is a forester) and explained what we were thinking for accessing about 100 taps on their property and they inquired about using darker tubing. I said it was possible and so with that last winter I set up 2 black mainlines and "shadow grey" tubing from CDL. They never even noticed it and were surprised when they walked out one day while I was working and it was all set up.

So, there are certainly ways to get the tubing to better blend in. I will keep using blue on my property, even though my neighbors can see it, mainly because the grey is more $$$, but also because the sap will heat up faster in the grey.

[maple flats]

I've never had a neighbor complain about the tubing. However on one small lease I once had I was required to use buckets in their yard, but was allowed to run tubing roadside, going up past a corn field. I dropped that lease when I got 2 leases much bigger, but left on friendly terms. The only neighbor complaint I ever had (2x) was back before I had power at the sugarhouse. Twice one neighbor walked thru the woods (about 600' from their house) to say his wife could smell my diesel generator. After the 1st time, I added 10' of stack. A year later she sent him again. The confusing part was that they were not down wind of the generator and my generator was a newer one that met the EPA emissions std. back in 2011, then in 2012 I put in grid power and a large solar system, never again needed the generator, but it sets on standby in case the grid goes down.