Please can anyone tell me ......

Innys

docmatt wrote: »

Go to your council website and find out the maximum Db allowed before it becomes too loud.

Buy one of these http://www.maplin.co.uk/digital-sound-level-meter-46362

and write down the readings at the loud times and if they are higher than what is acceptable then get the council in with all their high tech stuff and take it from there...

This won't work.

You'll find the Council require the maximum levels to be breached for sustained periods at what they deem to be unacceptable times of the day. You'll also be required to keep a diary of when this happens for a couple of weeks and for how long.

Even then, they'll have to come in and verify your findings themselves. The chances of the noise levels being breached when they happen to visit are pretty much zero.

I don't know about you, but I have better things to do with my time than spend it doing the Council's job for them. Plus, I don't see why I should have to.

gas4you

Noise from neighbours or anything that troubles someone, is judged against ambient background noise. So in the still of night, less decibels would be classed as more annoying etc.

This method of judgement works for anytime of the day or night.

mrs_baggins

most councils now have extremely sensitive noise recording equipment which is left in your property for a period of time and you press a swich to record when the noise occurs and they play back and can get all kinds of levels of noise and some record audio too so they can tell exactly what was said/heard at the time

SuzieSue

Perhaps it's just me, but I don't think it is unreasonable to be as quiet as possible after 11pm especially during the week (weekends are different unless you know that a neighbour has to work at the weekend).

Yes, the neighbour mowing his lawn at 6.30am is unreasonable, but I also think that the OP's son shouldn't make a noise after 11pm especially as he knows that it disturbs their neighbour.

Noise problems are obviously one of the disadvantages of living in a terraced house. All I can remember in my childhood is my father telling us to keep the noise down so as not to disturb the neighbours so I made sure I bought a detached house as I didn't want the worry of being distubed or disturbing other people.

Dippypud

It's possible that your neighbour has a medical problem called 'tinnitus'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinnitus

my Mum had this and they really do think the sounds are happening.

Speak to your local Council as you have been harrassed by this chap saying that your making too much noise.

Get them to check the noise levels, keep a diary of any 'episodes' with the neighbour. Just in case it all goes pear-shaped.

maytaurus

SuzieSue wrote: »

Perhaps it's just me, but I don't think it is unreasonable to be as quiet as possible after 11pm especially during the week (weekends are different unless you know that a neighbour has to work at the weekend).

Yes, the neighbour mowing his lawn at 6.30am is unreasonable, but I also think that the OP's son shouldn't make a noise after 11pm especially as he knows that it disturbs their neighbour.

Noise problems are obviously one of the disadvantages of living in a terraced house. All I can remember in my childhood is my father telling us to keep the noise down so as not to disturb the neighbours so I made sure I bought a detached house as I didn't want the worry of being distubed or disturbing other people.

Thanks again for your replies and info
Re; making a noise after 11pm
You see, this is the whole thing to me
Is being able to hear any sound, in a very quiet place, like people talking in a normal voice ... 'noise'?
The other thing is that many of us work shifts and don't have a 9-5 lifestyle ........ so theres no such thing as being in bed/getting up at the same time every day at a set time
If you come in after a late shift and want to watch the news on the tv/have a conversation etc whilst your having a meal, can this actually be noise nuisance just because where you live is so quiet?
By the way, we don't live in a terrace it's a semi
As I said, it is annoying when people are mowing lawns at 6.30 am etc, but I wouldn't dream of complaining about it, as I think you just have to accept that everybody doesn't conduct their lives on the same schedule

SuzieSue

maytaurus wrote: »

Thanks again for your replies and info
Re; making a noise after 11pm
You see, this is the whole thing to me
Is being able to hear any sound, in a very quiet place, like people talking in a normal voice ... 'noise'?
The other thing is that many of us work shifts and don't have a 9-5 lifestyle ........ so theres no such thing as being in bed/getting up at the same time every day at a set time
If you come in after a late shift and want to watch the news on the tv/have a conversation etc whilst your having a meal, can this actually be noise nuisance just because where you live is so quiet?
By the way, we don't live in a terrace it's a semi
As I said, it is annoying when people are mowing lawns at 6.30 am etc, but I wouldn't dream of complaining about it, as I think you just have to accept that everybody doesn't conduct their lives on the same schedule

It's a difficult one. Perhaps your neigbour is hypersensitive or has a medical condition as someone suggested below. My reply below assumed that he was being reasonable and that your son (like most teenagers) was speaking loudly on Skype or on the telephone after 11pm, which I think is unreasonable if it happens every or most nights. Surely if he was just having a normal conversation, the neighbour wouldn't be able to hear him?

I see your point about shift work, but at the moment the vast majority of people still work during the day and sleep at night. If someone does shift work, then it is not reasonable for them to ask people to be quiet during the day, it is up to them to use earplugs etc.

Again, mowing your lawn at 6.30am is unreasonable unless the person does shift work and it is the only time they can do it. I just think it is all about being considerate to your neighbours.

I remember years ago, my mother who was hard of hearing, used to have the radio on quite loud in the kitchen. She didn't realise it was distubing anyone, until one day our neighbour shouted "Turn the bl!!!! radio down". We were quite upset that he didn't have the decency to just come round and ask us politely, but after that she was careful not to have it too loud.

keystone

maytaurus wrote: »

He said ‘can you tell your son to shut the f*** up?’ I said ‘I beg your pardon, that’s lovely language isn’t it?’
He then came out with a mass of swear words, all of which I can’t even remember but included ‘go and f*** yourself and ended with ‘you f****** s**** tw**’

Park your inhibitions somewhere temporarily and reply in similar vein. Bullies tend to react submissively and back off when you give them a dose of their own medicine. BTW shining a light in your face so that you can't see properly and using such language might be considered by the police to be threatening behaviour.

Cheers

Dippypud

keystone wrote: »

Park your inhibitions somewhere temporarily and reply in similar vein. Bullies tend to react submissively and back off when you give them a dose of their own medicine. BTW shining a light in your face so that you can't see properly and using such language might be considered by the police to be threatening behaviour.

Cheers

Thats lowering yourself to his level, get the police involved for his harrassment, keep a diary of the responses to anything.

Check with your local Enviromental Health office about the noise levels in your home...

keystone

Dippypud wrote: »

Thats lowering yourself to his level,

Of course it is and that's the whole point.

get the police involved for his harrassment,

didn't I intimate that?

Cheers