South Carolina Resident Renovating Home Leaves Hilarious Sign for Neighbors

A South Carolina resident renovating their home has sparked debate with a sign inviting neighbors to vote on what color it should be painted.

Chaz McGreedly, from Greenville, told Newsweek his neighbor from up the street has been remodeling their house for the past few months.

"They've had a lot of construction in and out of their house and a dumpster in the front yard," he said. "So this is probably just a good way to acknowledge the fact that the neighbors likely have noticed and that we're all part of a community."

There's a huge amount of demand for home improvements in the U.S. today. Figures compiled by Statista show that in 2021, home improvement sales amounted to $538 billion. That number is projected to climb to over $620 billion by 2025.

But these tasks can sometimes come at an expense that goes beyond the financial. Tensions have been known to rise among neighbors as a result of the noise and inconvenience created by work of this kind.

Noise was cited as the number one cause of arguments between neighbors in the U.S., in a survey of 2,000 Americans conducted by OnePoll on behalf of homes.com

That's what makes this particular homeowner's efforts so unique. According to the picture taken by McGreedly, his neighbors were well aware of the disruption caused, so came up with a fun way to get the community involved.

"Hey neighbors," the sign outside their property reads. "Thanks for your patience! What color do you like?" Alongside the sign, the homeowner has set up a board featuring three distinct color shades and a pen, with passersby invited to vote for which of the three options they like most.

"When I saw it I thought it was a pretty fun idea," McGreedly said. "My wife and kids had already walked by and voted on it and pointed it out to me."

Impressed at the sign, McGreedly decided to share his picture to Reddit. It proved popular, amassing over 111,000 upvotes and sparking plenty of debate.

"I figured it would be the sort of thing that was unique and fun and that the folks on Reddit might enjoy it," McGreedly said. "About half the people thought it was a cute idea and half the people complained about the paint colors, roof shingles, or about homeowners associations."

Indeed, one Reddit user joked: "This is how you pick a color, cheat on the poll to make sure your choice wins, and then blame the neighborhood if people think your house is a bad color."

Another, meanwhile, said: "They really should go with the darker green. With house paint, you have to account for the fact that it's going to fade over time." A third pondered: "Is this a Housing Association where the choices are limited to a certain palette? Or just a fun way for the owners to decide?"

While the debate rages on, in an unusual turn of events, McGreedly said the whole experience of posting the picture to Reddit has actually brought him closer to some of his neighbors.

"It actually allowed me to connect with a couple people that are local to me that recognized the house from the area," he said.

Do you have a dispute with your neighbor? Let us know via life@newsweek.com. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.