Neighbor complaining about noise, right and wrong circumstances

Lord_Kokain · 6 Oct 2007 at 12:30

We are currently undertaking an extension at the back of our house and, needless to say, the place is like a small construction yard with all the materials in the garden etc.

The problem is, there is a person on one of our sides that keeps complaining to us about noise.Initially,he was saying to us how we shouldnt do that on Saturdays, then during Sat+Sun and now he occassionally complains during the weekdays as well. I'm sure he over-reacts at the very least because there are has not been any other neighbor near us to complain(in fact, some did extensions recently themselves) but it got me wondering. Are there certain specified times at which we are not supposed to perform such work?

Gilly · 6 Oct 2007 at 12:31

The middle of the night would be a no-no

Velocity · 6 Oct 2007 at 12:33

At the weekend id say anytime from

9am on Saturday until say 7pm
10am Sunday until say 6pm maybe

Thats just myself personally and during the week 7am until 7pm id probably work until.

He sounds like a turnip.

V4NT0M · 6 Oct 2007 at 12:33

As long as you're not doing it at daft o clock in the night, or dliberatley making noise then there's no problem, you can't blame someone for developing their property, and inherently it's noisy, fact of life.

Richdog · 6 Oct 2007 at 12:35

Monday-Friday 8am-5pm, Saturday 9am-5pm would be reasonable imo.

Gilly · 6 Oct 2007 at 12:37

Sod that. Why should he take a lot longer to do the work just because he finishes at 5 for some arbitrary reason.

Until it gets dark is fine.

Richdog · 6 Oct 2007 at 12:40

What time do workmen usually work till on weekday? Was just a ball-park figure, we haven't had work done to our gaffe.

azzerz · 6 Oct 2007 at 12:40

Velocity said:
At the weekend id say anytime from

9am on Saturday until say 7pm
10am Sunday until say 6pm maybe

Thats just myself personally and during the week 7am until 7pm id probably work until.

He sounds like a turnip.

9am? f that

somone woke me up this morning at 8 am digging or somthing... this is 5/6 houses down... so annoying

plus it cant be much fun if the people around you work nights

i'd say 11am +

edit: 11am weekends! 8-5 weekdays wouldnt bother me..

alexakasloth · 6 Oct 2007 at 12:41

Your local council will have guidelines for hours of construction. Sundays is usually a no-no, saturdays here are 9-1 and weekdays are 7-7pm. Tell him that your not braking the law and you would appreciate it if he would stop harrasing you.

Lord_Kokain · 6 Oct 2007 at 12:51

Thanks guys!

I've tried to look for such times on the council site but it's a total labyrinth there.

In regards to working at night, this would not only be inconvenient but hard itself to do. Here we are talking about daytimes with very rarely going past 7pm(unless during the summer when the day was longer). For Saturdays, he complained once when we started at 10am so we decided to start next week from 11am but he complained again.I just wanna know when we would be legally save to tell him "not our problem,buddy"(or just "**** off")

Nullvoid · 6 Oct 2007 at 12:59

If you say who your local council are we could pin down the exact limits used.

gumbald · 6 Oct 2007 at 13:00

You're not allowed to make unreasonable noise between 11pm and 7am isn't it? My friend's got problems with a neighbour, who'll call council if they make a sound outside after 11pm. So they antagonise by having parties that finish at precisely 11

jdderbys · 6 Oct 2007 at 13:01

personally i would just do the long hours and get it finished. He is going to complain no matter what so at least work longer and finish faster to give him a break

V4NT0M · 6 Oct 2007 at 13:04

Lord_Kokain said:
Thanks guys!

I've tried to look for such times on the council site but it's a total labyrinth there.

In regards to working at night, this would not only be inconvenient but hard itself to do. Here we are talking about daytimes with very rarely going past 7pm(unless during the summer when the day was longer). For Saturdays, he complained once when we started at 10am so we decided to start next week from 11am but he complained again.I just wanna know when we would be legally save to tell him "not our problem,buddy"(or just "**** off")

I'd just tell him to chillax, again... You can't expect to live in a house where your neighbours are never going to do any home improvement... And home improvement is noisy. Obviously he has nothing better to do with his time, I mean what is he doing that makes the sound so annoying? Trying to listen to bach on volume level one as far away from his speakers as possible?

Morba · 6 Oct 2007 at 13:05

azzerz said:
plus it cant be much fun if the people around you work nights

tough **** tbh. you work nights knowing that most of the population work during the day, so you have to factor in that you might be disturbed by day to day noise.

lsg1r · 6 Oct 2007 at 13:11

Skyfall said:
And home improvement is noisy. Obviously he has nothing better to do with his time, I mean what is he doing that makes the sound so annoying? Trying to listen to bach on volume level one as far away from his speakers as possible?

well a hammer drill is quite noisy especially if its going into the partition wall as it reverberates through a house.

Personally wouldn't say much else except specialist demolition/construction tools are that noisy on a building site, although the drone from a cement mixer might get irritating.

singist · 6 Oct 2007 at 13:23

It's now October and you were doing this during the long summer days? I'd be complaining too if someone was making noise for that long.
Plan a day/time that you can do most of the noisy stuff and warn your neighbour, get on with it efficiently and then do some other jobs that are not noisy. Basically, get a move on ffs!

Having some respect for ones neighbours is important; try not to be selfish, thinking only of your needs. I really feel that you are being unreasonable in being a noisy **** for months at a time.

sunama · 6 Oct 2007 at 13:23

From what I understand, loud noise can be made Mon-Fri, 8am - 11pm. Even if he made an official complaint to the authorities, as long as you stick to that, I doubt you would be in any trouble. Ultimately common sense must dictate. For example if you decide to use a jack hammer to break up brick/concrete at 10pm on a Monday night, thats a bit off. The best way is to get the really noisy jobs out of the way by around 8pm and then do the quieter jobs as you head towards 11pm. At 11:05pm, for sure, he could make an official complaint.

Im not sure about Sat or Sun.

I would tell him, that the faster you get the work done, the quicker it will be over. If the hours you work on the extension are cut short, then it will drag things out. Apologise, but tell him its only for a few more weeks. Its always best to keep your neighbours sweet, as you never know when you will need their assistance.

iBot · 6 Oct 2007 at 13:26

I blast music, Lay foundations, Rev my engine. 7am-11pm Monday to sunday. **** My neighbours. If they dont like it they can move.

If the guy comes and says "Ive just got in i'm working shifts, calm it down m8" Then I will.

I'd tell your neighbor to get stuffed or ring a Community support officer.

MikeHunt79 · 6 Oct 2007 at 13:27

gumbald said:
You're not allowed to make unreasonable noise between 11pm and 7am isn't it? My friend's got problems with a neighbour, who'll call council if they make a sound outside after 11pm. So they antagonise by having parties that finish at precisely 11

Pedantic yet hilarious.