Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

Up on the Roof Top Neighbors Paused….

South of france tiles

Red tiles adorn the top of homes in the south of France.
Red clay roof tiles are called, "tuiles" in French. (There is also a cookie called a tuile, it represents the roof tiles, a sweet idea isn't it? I might have to eat a pound or two to ease my frustration….)

Roof-tiles-arles

 
The tiles lay one upon another, they are sturdy but fragile. When our neighbors climb out of their window to take a stroll on our roof top (Don't ask me why they do this… maybe it is to catch a view, or retrieve a cat, or to smoke pot, or to look into the skylights into other people's homes….) they often crack the tiles with their steps.

Our neighbor have many reasons to go look out of their window … though none of them merit walking on our roof top.

Colors-of-provence-facade

Colors-of-provence-tiles

When the clay roof tiles are cracked,
and when it rains,
and when it rains hard,
there will be a leak. If many roof tiles are cracked and cracked badly you will have a flood.

Our roof tiles are cracked badly. Water galore happened in Chelsea's bedroom that is my new office.
Since I do not have shelves (yet!) my lovely brocante finds were laced (pretty word for sprawled) over the floor…. water, brocante, and floor equals squishy mess.

Lovely. The thought of my neighbors is not creating sugar plums dancing in my head…

Our roof tiles were walked upon last year too. We had a mess last winter! The insurance paid for the damages… but this year they will not. Lovely.

Comments

59 responses to “Up on the Roof Top Neighbors Paused….”

  1. Paula

    Corey, I do sympathize with you. Neighbours eh, unfortunately we cannot choose who lives next door to us and it can make life quite unpleasant at times. My neighbour moved in about 7 years ago and has been a pain in the neck ever since. So much so that I have finally had enough. I really did love my wee house but now I have had enough of her and have decided I am looking for a new place. Please god let it be with lovely neighbours!!!!
    I do hope there was not too much damage to your lovely possessions.

    Reply
  2. jend’isère

    From blue to blushing rose to terra cotta. Sunny yellow is hopefully your next color.

    Reply
  3. Gina Johnson

    Neighbors definately increase or decrease your property value, yes? We have the sweetest neighbors and they are so much of the reason why we stay put. Our dream is to end up on the Carolina Coast one day but we might have to bring our neighbors with us. Oh, wouldn’t that be fun!
    We have had our share of “interesting” neighbors so I can appreciate the good ones.

    Reply
  4. Laura

    Tragedy! All those lovely brocante treasures!
    Sorry for your frustration and annoying neighbors! Hope today is better…

    Reply
  5. Twinkleberry

    Time to think about leaving parcels on their doorstep again…..!

    Reply
  6. The Little Red Shop

    Ugh…barbarians..I mean..neighbors…I’m so sorry that they put a damper on your beautiful world, Corey. They would probably get along quite well with some of my neighbors.
    : (
    Julie M.

    Reply
  7. Annebeth

    lovely picures!!!!!!

    Reply
  8. waftbyCarol

    That is so rude !!
    I am all about Provence these days , planning a trip to Grasse this summer
    ( July 4-10 )with Sniffapalooza , a fragrance group .
    Maybe you can come to Grasse and see us at our hotel and talk to us about living in Provence ?

    Reply
  9. Sheala

    I’m so sorry Corey! That’s too bad.

    Reply
  10. Rhonda P

    Oh I have a neighbor story that will make your hair curl. Lucky for me they moved. We in Arizona have tile roofs, as well. I know exactly what you mean about them cracking. If it were me, I would have them over so they could see what they did to your office! Inconsiderate people are so annoying.

    Reply
  11. Michelle

    Your neighbors and my neighbors would make a great pair. Maybe I should come be your neighbor and you could send them here to West Virginia to live with my nasty neighbor. Sounds like they would make perfect hillbilly rednecks.
    She works two jobs and is never home but she has a house full of big dogs that come in and out of the doggie door day and night which happens to be right next to our bedroom window. She bought the house about 4 years ago and my old neighbor had just redone everything and it was adorable. Not so much now it’s just a big dog house for big noisy dogs. I just don’t understand people. Oh and not to mention the lovely smells that come from her yard when we are outside trying to enjoy our patio.

    Reply
  12. Penny

    Oh, how dreadful. I am so sorry to hear of your flood and the mess and hope there is nothing within that cannot be cleaned or repaired and that your office will be back as good as new shortly. As for without and your bothersome the neighbors . . .

    Reply
  13. kelleyn

    What a tragedy! Sorry this happened to you!

    Reply
  14. Jeanette M.

    I had no idea so many people had bad neighbors. We have a dog next door that barks all the time and wakes us almost every day but that’s it. Oh, there was the time our neighbor called us to tell us he thought we were being robbed (we were!) and he watched the people load up their truck and drive away. It didn’t occur to him to write down the license plate!! I’m not quite over that one yet. I’m so sorry you’ve lost some of your treasures – were you able to salvage anything?

    Reply
  15. Jeanne

    Big hugs
    I love you

    Reply
  16. Star

    I think we all have issues with neighbors at times. I hope you’re able to find a rainbow after the rain (and flood!). Wishing you sunny skies until you can get the tiles replaced.

    Reply
  17. marlis

    wouldn’t it just be nice if we could “audition” a house and it’s neighbors before we made the purchase or better yet, audition new neighbors and have the final say if they can purchase a home or not….
    hope much can be salvaged. It’s so aggravating!

    Reply
  18. Julie Ann

    Bad neighbours must truly be the worst thing. Sorry you have the stress. I would be very tempted to walk on their roof but it is not the answer is it ? Not sure what the answer is but keep your dignity & definitely do not give them tuiles for Christmas ! Jx

    Reply
  19. Susana Stevens

    How disappointing for you! That really stinks.
    Years ago, living in an apartment, we had upstairs neighbors that were rather loud and adventurous, romantically-speaking. We were thrilled when they moved, until the rap-loving, party-people moved in. That, unlike the other, went on all night, every night.
    Hope you didn’t have to much damage, and that you had lots of help cleaning up.

    Reply
  20. Susana Stevens

    I meant to type “too” – I do know how to spell, honest. (Usually)

    Reply
  21. liz

    Can’t you legally get compensation for damages? In the US this would be trespassing. How irritating it must be to have neighbors lacking the nost basic sensibilities.

    Reply
  22. Erin

    grrrr..how infuriating! You must come up with a plan to get them to move out. I am sure there are many (non-roof walking) people who would love to take their place!!

    Reply
  23. bramble

    Corey you have my sympathies! We have some moronic neigbors too and sometimes their lack of intellect is staggering. Let alone the guy that mows the grass in his ill fitting underwear and gets drunk afterward only to lie on top of his picnic table the rest of the day! Now there’s a mental picture for you!!! Have you tried telling (or showing) your “rocket scientests” what the result of their cat burgular antics has caused? I would try, but I have gotten bold @50!!!Have a rain free week while you tidy up!

    Reply
  24. Jenny N

    Ack! You, have bad neighbors. THen it can surely happen to anybody. Oh, my what they are missing out on by not being friendly with you Yann, Chelsea and Sascha. Truly, I feel sorry for them. Little do they know the gem that resides next door. Yes, I am biased but with good reason.

    Reply
  25. Debra

    Neighbors from Hell. We had them at one time so we moved and now have none. Don’t they know how much you are loved. We will be right over to set them straight!!!:)
    ~Debra
    Blog: Capers of the vintage vixens

    Reply
  26. Natalie Thiele

    That would be called trespassing and/or vandalism here. Good luck repairing the damage.
    Makes the years of around-the-clock barking from our neighbors’ dogs seem trivial.

    Reply
  27. meppyBN

    Corey, you are grace personified! If that were me, I would have jumped right in with my frustrations, but once again you lead with beauty, graciousness and humour…..I remember some of your brocante treasures are of the paper kind, which are now unredeemable if wet…. – hopefully, the outcome will be transformed by your wonderful attitude 🙂

    Reply
  28. Linda

    Corey, I am so sorry you have to deal with these people…we have only had one crazy set of neighbors we could not deal with and thankfully they moved away last year! They made me seriously consider MOVING!

    Reply
  29. Leslie Garcia

    Dear Corey,
    You could send the bill for the roof to your neighbors…it may stop any future walking on your roof… Hope it works out. Thinking of you!
    Leslie

    Reply
  30. Carey

    Oh dear, I so feel for you. Eight years ago we sold a beloved 1947 cottage that had belonged to my grandparents and moved, largely due to increasingly awful neighbors. We found out, and were surprised by, just how many disruptive things neighbors ARE allowed to do by law. But trespassing was not one of them. Surely there is a legal way for your family to put this roof tile vandalism to a stop since the cost to you is so great? Oh, it just seems so obviously wrong! What are people thinking????

    Reply
  31. Kathleen in Oregon

    Maybe you could convince Yann to buy the neighbors home as a “Business Property”, you could turn it into a B&B. teehee.
    When we lived in Calif. there was one house in town on a corner lot that had a wonderful stone wall in front. People loved to sit on it. Then the owner glued broken glass pieces on it. All very artistic with different colors of glass but it sure discouraged people from sitting on it!
    Of course I’m not suggesting you would do something so mean, just reminiscing.

    Reply
  32. Kathie B.

    Is barbed wire available in France? If so, you could have Yann erect a few courses of the prickly stuff along the divide between your and your neighbors’ roofs. Uh, can you tell I’m a native westerner, too?
    Corey, I know you’ve visited our respective families’ ancestral Azores Islands, where you’ve seen all their red tile roofs as well. The Portuguese word for tile is “telha” and roof (since they’re almost always made of the same red tiles as you have) is “telhado,” obviously sharing the same Romance language root as “tuile.”
    While I already knew those Portuguese words/meanings, checking my dictionary just now I discovered that “telha” can also be a colloquialism for “cabeça” (head), which is logical.
    Most deliciously, however, I learned that there’s a Portuguese expression “ter uma telha de menos,” which I’d translate as “to have one tile short of a roof” (in the sense of, “having a screw loose” — LOL!).

    Reply
  33. Lieselotte

    The only reason I can think of why someone would climb around on his neighbour´s rooftop is that he must be MAD / FOUX ! Foux sur les tuiles !

    Reply
  34. Kathie B.

    Kathleen in Oregon, one of my uncles in California did the same thing with the front wall of his house, in order to keep neighborhood teens from sitting on it. If his house hadn’t been one up from the corner (instead of right on the corner), I’d wonder if you’d been his neighbor!

    Reply
  35. cynthia Wolff @Beatenheart

    Oh Corey!! If you would have read my post yesterday, you’d be laughing now because I was having a moan about how perfect Tongue and Cheek was and how I don’t stand a chance against someone that has such a perfect life as you and then this post comes along the very next day showing me that even your life isn’t perfect… tres cosmic…..Boy but I relate…your work your guts out to create a perfect, peaceful home full of serenity and the neighbors kid plays notstop vile, filthy rap music while their untended,unloved tied up dog barks non-stop…All that serenity goes out the window and you end up a tense ball of nerves…just not right..are they renters?? hopefully..luv ya Corey…

    Reply
  36. Dottie

    Hi Cory,
    My name is Dottie .I live in Texas and I almost got to meet you last year in Round Top. It was raining so much we could not go to the show. I love your blog and read it every day.
    Dottie

    Reply
  37. nicky

    so beautiful.

    Reply
  38. Victoria Ramos

    seems rude neighbors are universal – be it California or France! But, oh, save the brocante at all cost!

    Reply
  39. Marilyn

    Maybe the neighbors that walk on your roof should pay for the repairs. Oh dear! How frustrating!

    Reply
  40. momof5

    I loved your post yesterday…of Cafe Flore. You have such a wonderful way with words. As for the tiles…I’d try to photograph them and send them the photo and the bill. I agree at the least this is trespassing. How infuriating.
    I also loved loved loved the blue blog.

    Reply
  41. Shelley at decoragain.blogspot.com

    I have to say, if my neighbours walked on my roof, I’d be tempted to booby trap it with broken glass….seriously! My roof, my glass…get over it…and off it!

    Reply
  42. Shelley Noble

    In America, we would sue their out-of-bounds asses so fast they’d have to move. We’d also install tons of razor wire on the perimeter of our roof and maybe a fearsome pitbull guard dog up there at night too.
    No way, uh, uh, no way are they going to damage our property without paying.

    Reply
  43. Ana Maria

    Dear Corey,
    As so many others have told you before, your blog is the very best thing to have with a morning cup of coffee! Since I am a fairly new fan, I didn’t know about your neighbors so I clicked on the link to your previous post about them – WOW! I laughed so hard I literally spit out my coffee! My daughter and I have always had the same idea about God being a funny God!
    I live in Miami and down here we have clay tiles too. However I am very blessed to have lived in the same house for the past 34 years and to have had the same next-door neighbor since day one! We built our homes next to each other because our husbands had know each other since school. Alas, my husband is long gone – but I cannot tell you how many times I’ve turned to them for help, friendship, and most importantly, solace when crying my eyes out. In all these years we’ve had our ups and downs, but mostly it’s been wonderful. Our children grew up together, and now our grandkids are too.
    About the tiles: Sorry Charlie! There had to be SOMETHING bad about your idyllic life, n’est pas? Otherwise many of us were beginning to think you’re not really living in Provence but more like the Garden of Eden! (Throw thumb tacks on your roof!)

    Reply
  44. Ana Maria

    …by the way, although I’m a relatively new follower of your blog, I’ve purchased three things from you so far: tiny keys (about which I already wrote you), the sunburst barometer (WOW!!) and the little glass inside the wicker basket (also WOW!!)
    I want you to know that everything arrived in perfect condition. Thanks for the careful wrapping and the lovely note. Please keep it up! ………… Ana Maria

    Reply
  45. annieelf

    Seems like if insurance works the same all around the world, you should file a claim against the neighbor’s insurance. That is, of course, after legal consultation. Also, your insurance company may be able to bring some weight to this problem.
    It is remarkable to me, Corey, that you and your family (such do-no-harm-to-others people) are so afflicted by such miserable neighbors.

    Reply
  46. Joann Burnham

    If you can’t control your neighbors, or penalize them….see if you can get fiberglass replica tiles…that’s what is being used in rehabs in Midwest USA .. of course you may have historic requirements which just may bite the neighbors in the arse.

    Reply
  47. Solange

    Clay roof tiles are very common here in Brazil. And they are called “telhas francesas” – french roof tiles 😀 (even ‘telhas’ sounds like ‘tuiles’!)

    Reply
  48. Mindi

    I was looking out the window of this neighborhood cafe today at a cute little dog. All of a sudden this girl yelled “what are you staring at” I wasn’t even looking her way. What’s wrong with people?

    Reply
  49. Elaine L.

    Your post makes me feel very lucky. We’ve lived, here, for 25 years and have never had bad neighbors.
    We live in an area where everyone lives on 1/14 acres, so maybe that’s why.
    Aren’t there laws in France regarding someone damaging personal property?
    ~elaine~

    Reply
  50. sandy

    1. Next time you hear them up there go outside and take pictures.
    2. Invite them to dinner. Once you have a few drinks in them, tell them of your dilemma. Hand them a bill and Ask them kindly to repair their damage and not to do it again, please.
    3. If they become belligerent show them copies of the photos 😉 and that in the morning you will be bringing said photos to your attorney. …and oh by the way there must be some pain and suffering and damage to irreplaceable antiques can become quite expensive. I think they my become a bit softened by the facts.
    then if that doesn’t work….go with the broken glass!

    Reply
  51. Catherine Moore

    Unfortunately, patience is truly your only option short of a move. It’s difficult to fathom how some people are completely lacking in self awareness. For those of us who live among them, it is a daily trial.
    We finally ran out of patience and moved our family 800 miles north to the suburbs of Atlanta to escape the tiny Florida lots. Being in such close proximity seems to magnify the differences in the way we each live our daily lives. A little extra distance between houses can make a big difference.

    Reply
  52. Tammy at The Butterfly Mind

    When we lived in Aix, there were always neighbors on the roof. I glared at them to keep them off of our roof and we were renting, so at least we could call our “reluctant landlord” (as I called him). He was acting on behalf of his friends who owned the house and lived out of the country. It was like pulling teeth to get him to respond and act upon any problems we had in the house. But I digress. The two main reasons for people being on the roof were ones you hit upon – 1: to smoke pot, and 2: to retrieve cats. We had one neighbor who couldn’t get their juvenile cat one night. I told my husband that the crying kitty needed us, but he just brushed me off. It had wandered to our section of the roof and they finally rang our doorbell about 11pm that night. The went up to our 3rd floor bathroom and the guy squeezed out a tiny window to get to the cat. He managed to snag her and all ended well. My husband listens now when I tell him an animal needs me! 🙂

    Reply
  53. Gwen

    Corey…so sorry for this mess. Maybe a little spritz of cooking oil (biodegradable) on your tiles will make your neighbors slip away! I read your previous “our neighbors” and feel your pain. We had neighbors in NH that never shovel snowy walkways and would park their car right in front of our freshly shoveld walk to get to their house, blocking access to our half of the duplex driveway. We now live on a 1 acre property and sometimes it’s not big enough!!! Could it be worse…probably not. But my grandfather used to say…”Better the devil you know than the one you don’t know.”

    Reply
  54. Sharon

    I think I would ask them to walk elsewhere, or pay for the damage. Will the police help with this matter, since they are trespassing and causing injury to your property?
    If there is a nuisance from the neighbors, usually the city will write them a letter and request they stop.
    So sorry for your intrusion.

    Reply
  55. Danna Wolf

    Perhaps you might look at it as an opportunity of some kind? I’ve often found the most exasperating people/events can be a doorway….to something unexpected and beautiful. If you open your heart and mind to the possibility.
    Of course, for me that usually doesn’t happen until AFTER I’ve vented and ranted for a few days!!! 🙂
    BTW…want to tell you how much I enjoy your blog. We lived in Menerbes in 2007 and 2998 and reading you post every day connects me just a little with that place where I left my heart when we moved back to Texas. Thank you for your openness. I feel as though I’ve found a soul sister,
    Perhaps I’ll spot you this June or September. Dont’ be alarmed if some 50 year old woman with wild, curly, greying hair cpmes up to you at the brocante or a vide grenier!!! You will know it’s me because my friend, Marie-France, says of my french accent…. “c’est horrible!”

    Reply
  56. bee

    It’s your property you take care of, why do they think they can trespass like that?
    Maybe some kind of sensor that makes a lot of noise would help, or just tell’em to get the heck off.
    Betsy

    Reply
  57. Blondi Blathers

    Oh Corey, I am so sorry to hear that. Life is messy enough without someone carelessly and inconsiderately creating more of it for us to clean up! Wish I could be there to lend you a hand. I hope there weren’t too many treasures ruined.

    Reply
  58. Alison Whittington

    Corey, you have such patience. My inner rage would boil up and I would be up there right now stomping around on my neighbors’ tiles. ARGH. I am rather fond of Gwen’s idea of cooking oil on the tiles. Or perhaps a little wrought-iron fence around the roof?

    Reply
  59. Country French Judi

    Send them a letter explaining your frustration with them and the expense it has cost you. Ask them to cease and desist from walking on your roof. notify the local police with a copy of the letter and if this all fails rip your neighbor a new asshole!

    Reply

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