In tears!

coolcait

azzabazza wrote: »

I only hoovered between 7.30-8.00 pm and then stopped. Yes, I was tired, yes I was grumpy and yes I didn't want to face too much mess tomorrow morning. Sorry.

And all of that is understandable.

As is your neighbour's reaction, in my view, given that you were hoovering bare floorboards. It really is the most extraordinary noise - and not in a good way!

I'm not criticising you for hoovering in the slightest. I know the psychological 'need' to tidy up after a day's renovations - so that you can switch off and truly relax.

But, I think that if you can get an idea of just how horrible the noise of hoovering floorboards can be - and how very different it is from the sound of hoovering carpets - you might understand your neighbour's reaction a bit better.

P.S. I see you edited your post after I had started to reply. It does tend to reinforce the point that jojo and I have been trying to put across about the 'quality' of the noise. If you're imagining that your neighbour was hearing the same gentle, droning, almost soothing sound that comes from hoovering carpets, then you've got the wrong picture.

It would have sounded more like you were taking a sledgehammer to the walls and floors in your house. Seriously. It probably made more noise than the rest of your renovation work put together.

SqueekyMouse

azzabazza wrote: »

I am not doing a lot of rennovation. They are aware that the work is only taking a few days. I have always gone out of my way to be a good neighbour. Half their garden is populated with my cast-offs/cuttings. Maybe I should complain when he plays his heavy rock cds with loud base from time to time. No, I appreciate that being in a mid-terrace there is a certain give and take regarding noise. My threshold time is 10.00 pm.

My apologies, you sound like a lovely, considerate neighbour! Have a good nights sleep and hopefully you and the neighbors can put it behind you with a bottle of plonk and some nibbles as you say

grannybroon

coolcait wrote: »

And all of that is understandable.

As is your neighbour's reaction, in my view, given that you were hoovering bare floorboards. It really is the most extraordinary noise - and not in a good way!

I'm not criticising you for hoovering in the slightest. I know the psychological 'need' to tidy up after a day's renovations - so that you can switch off and truly relax.

But, I think that if you can get an idea of just how horrible the noise of hoovering floorboards can be - and how very different it is from the sound of hoovering carpets - you might understand your neighbour's reaction a bit better.

P.S. I see you edited your post after I had started to reply. It does tend to reinforce the point that jojo and I have been trying to put across about the 'quality' of the noise. If you're imagining that your neighbour was hearing the same gentle, droning, almost soothing sound that comes from hoovering carpets, then you've got the wrong picture.

It would have sounded more like you were taking a sledgehammer to the walls and floors in your house. Seriously. It probably made more noise than the rest of your renovation work put together.

Given some posts I have read regarding anti-social neighbours, I think the OP is justifiable at feeling upset. She told her neighbours work taking place, they are out at work all day, she hoovers for half an hour, they say noise, Would they rather she hoovers at 2.00 am in the morning? I think she is feeling a bit fragile given the upheaval at home and trying to clear things up but don't vilify her. Hoovering between 7.30-8.00 does not mean creating a nuisance.

coolcait

grannybroon wrote: »

Given some posts I have read regarding anti-social neighbours, I think the OP is justifiable at feeling upset. She told her neighbours work taking place, they are out at work all day, she hoovers for half an hour, they say noise, Would they rather she hoovers at 2.00 am in the morning? I think she is feeling a bit fragile given the upheaval at home and trying to clear things up but don't vilify her. Hoovering between 7.30-8.00 does not mean creating a nuisance.

I don't think the OP is being vilified, and I think that we've all recognised that she's feeling tired and fragile.

Until I heard neighbours hoovering wooden or laminate floors, I wouldn't have had a clue that it sounds completely different to 'normal' hoovering.

For that reason, I don't think that there's any call to vilify the neighbours either - whether that's by making disparaging remarks about their TV viewing habits, suggesting that they're over-reacting, listing all the different ways in which they make noise, or coming up with things which could have been 'so much worse'.

The best suggestions on the thread, IMO, have been the ones which focus on moving on from this event - having the neighbours round for drinks, showing them the outcome of the renovations and so on.

That kind of occasion can go much better if both sides have an insight into why the others felt the way they did.

Having been on the neighbour's side of listening to floorboards being hoovered, I can completely understand their reaction - hence my posts trying to explain that point.

I can also understand the OP's point of view - I think we've all been there in one way or another at some point.

And, in the situation I mentioned earlier, I was simultaneously the neighbour who was disturbed by next door hoovering the floorboards and the partner of one of the people doing the hoovering! :rotfl:

I just have a vision of the OP being in tears because of this upset with her neighbour - and her neighbour on the other side of the wall in exactly the same state, for the same reason.

Very sad, IMO. And not a situation which will be helped by saying that it's 'vilification' of the OP to give another viewpoint. Or by ignoring 'vilification' of the neighbour.

FatVonD

I lived underneath somebody that would hoover their stripped pine floors at 6am in the morning and it makes one hell of a racket, the cluncking of metal on wood actually sounds far louder from next door because it isn't softened by the hum of the machine.

Callie22

I've lived in flats and currently live in a terrace, and I've always tried to live by the rule of no noisy stuff (using a washing machine, vacuuming etc) either before seven am, or after seven pm. I'm hoping that if I behave that way it might spread lol ...

tesuhoha

Your neighbours are lucky they don't live next door to us. We have long term renovation going on. It only takes place at the weekend but its all day Saturday and Sunday. Our neighbours are very sweet and patient about it and there isn't much drilling but sometimes I wonder if they get fed up with it. We have usually stopped by 5pm and I don't use the vacuum cleaner much but tend to sweep up. My son plays the guitar and sings too so I think we must be a nightmare.

However, when we see our neighbour's son he laughs and jokes with us and it doesn't seem to bother him at all. We live in a semi so the people on the other side are not affected apart from they probably don't like the building site garden much.

baconandcabbage

It's your house tell them to f off

azzabazza

baconandcabbage wrote: »

It's your house tell them to f off

That certainly solves nothing. It would escalate the situation.

azzabazza

I have apologised, handed over a garden pot with some begonias in it and hopefully no lasting hostilities. I think as I said before I was tired and frazzled and slightly taken aback. However, I have taken on board what some of you have said about the noise of hoovered floorboards! Dustpan and brush will be ready for Monday's clear up operation.