What evening noise is acceptable when neighbours are building?

Lazarus_Blackstar

When our 'neighbours' got their house, they were off the scale with the times they were supposedly doing the house up. They originally told us they were going to be doing some home improvements during the day.
It was anything but. Most nights from 11pm right up until 4.00am there was banging, sawing, scraping walls. You could say I was rather cheesed off through lack of sleep & having to get up for work at 7.30 each morning.
I tried to be reasonable and asked them to do it during sociable hours, like they said they were going to do.
It's fair to say I got a load of verbal & basically told to fcuk off as it was none of my business and they could do DIY or any other work at whatever time they wanted as it was 'their house'. Definitely dodgy & not your average DIYers.
It got to the point where I recorded the noise with my phone & also kept a written diary of events. I nearly had a breakdown through it.
Oddly enough a year later he got raided & arrested for drugs.
Makes me wonder if all the noise was him converting the loft to store/grow said drugs.
Thankfully it's mostly been all quiet on the western front since then, apart from him slamming doors & shouting abusive language at his wife, but I keep myself to myself rather than speak to him again.
Heck, I dare not even hoover after 9pm, or even have the tv loud, and certainly never have the washer on after that time out of respect for others.
Granted it wasn't actual building work going on like yours OP, but nonetheless, it still bothered me.

seven-day-weekend

I always put both my washing machine and dishwasher on at night because a) that's when they are full and b) the electricity is cheaper.

I don't think my neighbour can hear me; although the bungalows are semi detached, the kitchen bits are detached. The bungalows are only joined at the bedrooms.

However if it did disturb them I would put them on earlier.

I don't actually think up to 10 pm on a summer's night is beyond the pale.

unforeseen

Hard_Up_Hester wrote: »

When we did building work on our house the council rules were that we could only work between 8am and 8pm, outside of those hours work had to be silent, painting or something similar.

The only rules on our council site are for businesses carrying out building work etc. Nothing there specifically limiting when residents can can do building type work apart from general guidance on domestic noise.

swingaloo

Well, its got better! He has now got himself a floodlight so he can carry on work when it goes dark. At least 5 of the houses in the close have complained to him.

He is in the corner of the T at the bottom of the cul de sac and now he has that much building material in front of his house taking up his car parking spaces that he is constantly blocking other cars in because he has nowhere to park his own 2 cars.

To make matters worse because the kids are off school and because he has so much in front of his house and of course he is building at the side and back there is nowhere for his 3 children to play. So now they are running riot over everyones gardens (they are open plan). Friday afternoon a neighbour got in her car, looked back to check it was clear so she could reverse out of the space at the front of her house and as she moved back she reversed over one of the kids bikes which they had just left there. So now there is world war 3 because he wants to charge her for the bike.

Ive given up as its a lost cause, he told the last person to complain that he was 'looking forward to continuing the work and getting everyones backs up for at least the next 18 months as he has no interest in anyone who does not live in his house'. Delightful.

baby_lemonade

Find out if he's breaking any laws. If he's not you'll have to put up with him. If he is, he can answer to the Police/council. It doesn't sound like the children are being very well supervised.

Gavin83

Detroit wrote: »

I completely agree with your comments in blue and actually think you come across as reasonable.

While I think it's helpful you've taken advice from the council, I don't think I'd want to pursue through official channels until I'd spoken to him.

I would go round and politely explain the impact on you and ask him if he'd mind finishing earlier in the evening.
You could express your understanding of the unavoidable dust, and of his need to work in the evenings, but say how helpful it would be for you to have the work stop at 9:30 when you go to bed.

Be as pleasant and as reasonable as you can. Don't be accusatory or get angry. Make it a request not a complaint, and you might be surprised.

If this fails you always have the official route, but, in my experience, taking it frequently leads to escalating bad relations between neighbours, with retaliatory complaints and disputes that can go on for years.

You may need to consider if it would be worth it for a time limited nuisance.

The thing is the OP has already been informed they aren't the only neighbour to have raised it with the council. If they speak to the neighbour and don't take it any further if the other neighbour does they'll get the blame anyway. How much of an issue this is depends on how nasty the neighbourly dispute will get.