Anyone had experience of a house being built near them?

KiKi

Lunchbox said:

I live very close to two recent developments. Both have taken around a year, but not all of this is noisy depending on the building phase.

The demolition and pile driving stages were the most ‘disturbing’, due to the vibration as well as the noise. The only thing that ever drove us truly insane was the constant reversing beep of a vehicle traversing the site all day every day. Neighbours contacted the company and they changed it to a white noise alarm instead which is barely noticeable.

A lot will depend on how good the double glazing/sound insulation on your property is, whether the rooms you use most directly face the site,  and your willingness to keep windows closed. We’ve been working from home full time since March last year and the reversing alarm was the only noise that was intolerable.

It would be wise to check the local council’s rules on construction noise hours, as many have relaxed them due to COVID and you probably don’t want to be there if they’re doing 12 hour days/7 days a week or 5am starts.

Another thing to consider is dust. Although they’re supposed to use dust suppression, in our experience this tends to be ignored.

That's really helpful, thank you. The property is double glazed, and there are three rooms completely at the back of the house as well. Good thinking on the construction times, I'll check that out. 

KiKi

Keswick1uk said:

When we had builders opposite it wasn't awful apart from parking and access when they had deliveries or a lot of workmen on site.

This was a long time ago now and it's nice to have a lovely home there not a waste site, which it had been. It certainly improved rather than ruined the area. Look at the plans to try and gauge that impact on you and will they have plenty of parking provision when owners move in too.

Oh, and where my son lives,  there seems to be a lot of power cuts now they are building down the road.....that might just be coincidence! He says parking of the workmen is the biggest hassle for him too. 

I'm not concerned about the flats being there, they won't impact me. It's the building works I'm more concerned about. It's a car-free development, and I don't have a car anyway, so not worried about that. Thanks for sharing your experiences, really helpful. 

KiKi

Scotbot said:

So basically 1 building. Depending on how long your sale takes the worst of it could be over by the time you move in, the noisy work is at the beginning.

Good point, thank you. I'll look into the expected timings. 

KiKi

dimbo61 said:

If you don't want noise or neighbours close by Buy a big house in the country.
We have a Whole new estate of 300+ houses going up at the end of our rear garden.
Builders start at 8/8.30 and finished by 5/6pm.
How far away is the new site from the property you MIGHT be buying 

I didn't say I don't want neighbours or noise. No need for sarcasm. 

KiKi

eddddy said:

If you're interested, you can look into the planning conditions for the development. There may be conditions relating to dust, mud, noise, hours of operation, where contractors can park etc.


FWIW, it looks like Brighton and Hove are temporarily allowing construction sites to work until 9pm (with permission) until September, to deal with  backlogs/delays caused by lockdowns etc. 
See: https://www.brighton-hove.gov.uk/content/planning/update/extension-construction-site-working-hours

Thanks so much, I'll look into that. 

AdrianC

dimbo61 said:

If you don't want noise or neighbours close by Buy a big house in the country. 

You're joking, right...?

If it's not chainsaws and tractors, it's bloody Biggles twanging the TV aerial...

getmore4less

If it is the garages that were to be a 4bed house then changed to 3 flats have a good read of all related planning apps and objections.

on that one council seem to more concerned over the (re)use of some red brick pavers than the impact on the area.

KiKi

Thanks, I've read all the information in a lot of detail in the last couple of days.  I'm really not concerned about the impact on the area in terms of the flats being there - they will be much more attractive than what's currently there.  It's just the noise of a build!  But on this forum - and others I've asked on - the view seems to be largely the same: that there's few weeks of bad noise and after that it's really not as bad as I might be imagining.  The property is double glazed and there are rooms at the back I can be in.  And who knows when it will be done.  I could move anywhere and a neighbour could want to convert a loft or something, at least with this I know what it is. 

GDB2222

AdrianC said:

dimbo61 said:

If you don't want noise or neighbours close by Buy a big house in the country. 

You're joking, right...?

If it's not chainsaws and tractors, it's bloody Biggles twanging the TV aerial...

Shotgun season starts soon.

Weathergirl_76

Hi. I live in a property where 2 three-storey detached houses are being built. They are a self-build project and are being built by the families moving in. 

I have double glazing and to be honest, once I shut the window I can hardly hear anything. Even when I was working from home directly opposite in the lounge, the noise was barely noticeable with the windows closed. 

There was a lot of dust at the beginning, especially on the days they demolished the previous property, which led to a thick layer of dust over my car. They offered to have my car valeted as a gesture.  To be fair, it hasn’t been as bad as I thought. I now work from the spare bedroom at the back of house and don’t hear it. 

The advantage you have is that it probably won’t go on for too long as they will be under pressure to get it completed (time is money). Yes, there is dust and mess especially at the beginning, big vehicles delivering supplies, skips. It’s normally 8am to 4pm, or 5pm, so the evenings should be quiet. Take into account workers will be parking nearby (if on site parking isn’t available) whilst it’s being built so if you park on the road, this might be busier (my road was). Good luck