12 Times Folks Decided It Was Easier To Just Build Around Things

It's not unheard for people to plan a project and work it down to even the tiniest of details only to get started and realize there was something sitting right in the middle of the building site all along. This usually isn't such a big deal and it would only take a little more time and effort to move something out of the way. Of course, life isn't always quite that easy.

Sometimes an object is either too big, too delicate, or belongs to a person who refuses to sell it. In these cases, a builder has to get creative to keep up any hope of finishing the job. Fortunately, this isn't quite as impossible as it may seem, and the crew is able to simply build around their obstacles.

And when it works out, the results can be super fascinating. With these 12 examples, you'll see just how these folks were able to adapt to an immovable object.

COMMENT and tell us about the creative ways you've gotten out of a bind.

1. This school really went above and beyond to build the fence around this tree.

It's not unheard of to let trees poke through your fence, but it seems a lot easier with wood than with chain link.

2. Building around something just comes with the territory when you're putting a bank together.

The vault is already made first to ensure it isn't affected by anything that happens to the building, and the rest of the bank is always built around it.

3. Sometimes an old building can have too much sentimental value to knock down.

It's pretty cool to see so plainly how far things have come along.

4. In China, these are known as nail houses.

As in, they're like nails that can't be pounded down because their owners refuse to sell them to make way for a big development project. Since it's against the law to forcibly evict someone over there, this is sometimes the result.

While it's more well-known in China, this phenomenon can also pop up in the old U.S. of A.

5. No matter how much developers offered 84-year-old Edith Macefield to move, she wasn't going anywhere.

So they ended up building the shopping mall they had planned around her house, which still stands today. Her story is believed to have inspired the movie Up, which is why it's sometimes decorated with balloons.

6. You can't get rid of a hydrant, so this step was built just high enough to keep it usable.

Although I still wouldn't envy the firefighter who has to do the awkward job of wrenching it open.

7. This certainly looks like someone put an ATM inside an old tree stump.

However, it turns out there was never a real tree here, so I guess someone was just really disappointed to hear that money doesn't grow on trees as a kid.

8. In Arizona, there's a good chance you'll have to build around a cactus instead of a tree.

This cactus is a protected saguaro, which means you have to contact the state department of agriculture before you can take it off your property. Whoever planned out this house apparently didn't want to go through that step.

Of course, it's not just houses that sometimes need to make way for the trees.

9. This awesome-looking araucária tree still stands and cars can still go through. Everybody wins!

This road is in Pato Branco, Brazil where the araucária is the state tree. So it's no surprise that they'd be reluctant to cut it down.

10. It's a no-no for structures like this to hit the power lines, so this sign had to get funky.

A McDonald's usually doesn't make for much of a landmark, but this one might be an exception.

11. I can't say I've seen a traffic light reach around like this before.

I guess it now gets to be buddies with the tree.

12. This boulder must be stuck in there pretty good to go through all this trouble.

It's definitely cool enough that I'd want to keep it, but you wouldn't think you'd have to move it far.

Remember to COMMENT and let us know how you've managed to come out on top when something was in the way.