Noise from renovation

Unitedwestand_2

kdotdotdotdot said:

980233 said:

kdotdotdotdot said:

I guess no one in this thread has ever struggled to get a baby off to sleep?  All they asked was for you to keep the noise down during nap time (which will soon be a goner anyway, as the child's nearly old enough not to need afternoon naps).  But what do you do?  You get the drill out and drill holes.  You get the vacuum cleaner out on an uncarpeted floor and bang it about.  Exactly at the time you know your neighbours are trying to get the baby to sleep.  How many more times over the past 18 months have you disrupted them?

I'm not surprised they yelled at you.  

Learn to be a good neighbour.  If you know someone needs quiet at a certain time, then try to be quiet.  Don't get the black and decker out and start drilling!  And you know what?  If you start being a decent neighbour, they'll be better minded to be kind to you when you need it.  Like, for example, when that baby gets older and decides to throw tennis balls against the wall adjoining yours for hours on end.

This has got to be a wind up surely ? Gone fishing?

Nope, no wind up.  The OP has been renovating and doing up his house since May 2020 - that's already 16 months' of work and apparently there's more to come. All the neighbours have asked is that he keeps the noise down for two hours in the afternoon so their new-born can nap.  And they asked politely.  While he claims he tried not to, the OP mentions two occasions when he did make a lot of noise and the neighbour seems to have absolutely lost it and came round effing and jeffing at him.  No excuse for that sort of behaviour, sure, but we've only got the OP's word that he's been an absolute saint other than those two occasions.  

My experience is that neighbours don't always know how much noise they're making, how often they're doing it, or how far the sound travels.  Given that it's the OP who believes he's too important to share his phone number with the neighbours, I also wonder why we're so quick to assume it's the neighbours who are self-entitled or being difficult.  They're surely over-tired and as a result, grumpy and short-fused, maybe, but we don't know the whole story, nor how much noise the OP has really been making for over a year.

All I'm saying is that being a good neighbour is worthwhile, especially when it's not in any way difficult to drill a few holes or vacuum at a different time of day.  They aren't asking him to creep around in his own home, just to take a long lunch break.

The more to come is only decoration. And yes it's been 20 months mainly because in case you hadn't noticed there was something called a pandemic around. Materials were nigh on impossible to attain,workmen less so and the country was in lockdown. I myself caught covid and took a while to recover and have been working full time in the meanwhile. 
My phone number is my concern and I certainly will not be told when to give notice when I'm going to my own house,one for reasons of security and 2 for privacy. 
And I can assure you that I have been considerate and I make an effort to keep the noise down. The neighbours the other side have been fine by the way.

Doozergirl

I'm sure the contractors would love being paid for a 2 hour lunchbreak.  That's easily
about £50 each these days and 25% of
the entire working day lost.  

But it's the OP that thinks they're too important?  

20 years of building and our company has never fallen out with the neighbours -
most people are understanding. Yes, they'll try, but taking two hour lunch breaks for babies is never on the  agenda. That is entitled and self important when people are trying to do a day's work.

The occasional day over a 16 month period would be preferable to the same number of days over a more intense period if it's genuinely a sleep issue.  

Methinks it's the grown up that needs the nap.
 

 

Jeepers_Creepers

kdotdotdotdot said:

Nope, no wind up.  The OP has been renovating and doing up his house since May 2020 - that's already 16 months' of work and apparently there's more to come. All the neighbours have asked is that he keeps the noise down for two hours in the afternoon so their new-born can nap.  And they asked politely.  While he claims he tried not to, the OP mentions two occasions when he did make a lot of noise and the neighbour seems to have absolutely lost it and came round effing and jeffing at him.  No excuse for that sort of behaviour, sure, but we've only got the OP's word that he's been an absolute saint other than those two occasions.  

My experience is that neighbours don't always know how much noise they're making, how often they're doing it, or how far the sound travels.  Given that it's the OP who believes he's too important to share his phone number with the neighbours, I also wonder why we're so quick to assume it's the neighbours who are self-entitled or being difficult.  They're surely over-tired and as a result, grumpy and short-fused, maybe, but we don't know the whole story, nor how much noise the OP has really been making for over a year.

All I'm saying is that being a good neighbour is worthwhile, especially when it's not in any way difficult to drill a few holes or vacuum at a different time of day.  They aren't asking him to creep around in his own home, just to take a long lunch break.

16 months, and two occasions. Lawdie. One of which was hoovering.

The OP doesn't want to give their phone number because they are 'too important'? Oh the presumptuous, emotive, irony.

Yes, we don't know the whole story - do you? No. As with all threads on here, replies are given on the basis that the OP's account is accurate. And, if you have been round here for any length of time, self-entitled posters tend to get very short shrift indeed.

Niv

The baby needs to get used to normal noise when sleeping, vacuuming is normal noise. Heck we vacuum our house while ours is napping (oh the horror) AND we have mostly solid floors.

Ok if you are drilling the party wall while the baby is sleeping then maybe I can see them getting annoyed but any continuous 'white noise' shouldn't cause an issue.

980233

kdotdotdotdot said:

980233 said:

kdotdotdotdot said:

I guess no one in this thread has ever struggled to get a baby off to sleep?  All they asked was for you to keep the noise down during nap time (which will soon be a goner anyway, as the child's nearly old enough not to need afternoon naps).  But what do you do?  You get the drill out and drill holes.  You get the vacuum cleaner out on an uncarpeted floor and bang it about.  Exactly at the time you know your neighbours are trying to get the baby to sleep.  How many more times over the past 18 months have you disrupted them?

I'm not surprised they yelled at you.  

Learn to be a good neighbour.  If you know someone needs quiet at a certain time, then try to be quiet.  Don't get the black and decker out and start drilling!  And you know what?  If you start being a decent neighbour, they'll be better minded to be kind to you when you need it.  Like, for example, when that baby gets older and decides to throw tennis balls against the wall adjoining yours for hours on end.

This has got to be a wind up surely ? Gone fishing?

Nope, no wind up.  The OP has been renovating and doing up his house since May 2020 - that's already 16 months' of work and apparently there's more to come. All the neighbours have asked is that he keeps the noise down for two hours in the afternoon so their new-born can nap.  And they asked politely.  While he claims he tried not to, the OP mentions two occasions when he did make a lot of noise and the neighbour seems to have absolutely lost it and came round effing and jeffing at him.  No excuse for that sort of behaviour, sure, but we've only got the OP's word that he's been an absolute saint other than those two occasions.  

My experience is that neighbours don't always know how much noise they're making, how often they're doing it, or how far the sound travels.  Given that it's the OP who believes he's too important to share his phone number with the neighbours, I also wonder why we're so quick to assume it's the neighbours who are self-entitled or being difficult.  They're surely over-tired and as a result, grumpy and short-fused, maybe, but we don't know the whole story, nor how much noise the OP has really been making for over a year.

All I'm saying is that being a good neighbour is worthwhile, especially when it's not in any way difficult to drill a few holes or vacuum at a different time of day.  They aren't asking him to creep around in his own home, just to take a long lunch break.

That's exactly what they are doing coupled with verbal and physical threats.

He politely agreed to that 2 hour window which he was not obliged to. He could have referred them to Arkell v.Pressdram.

After the visit that's exactly what he should be doing and carrying on the work in normal business hours and sod the 2 hour lunchtime window.

kdotdotdotdot

Jeepers_Creepers said:

kdotdotdotdot said:

Nope, no wind up.  The OP has been renovating and doing up his house since May 2020 - that's already 16 months' of work and apparently there's more to come. All the neighbours have asked is that he keeps the noise down for two hours in the afternoon so their new-born can nap.  And they asked politely.  While he claims he tried not to, the OP mentions two occasions when he did make a lot of noise and the neighbour seems to have absolutely lost it and came round effing and jeffing at him.  No excuse for that sort of behaviour, sure, but we've only got the OP's word that he's been an absolute saint other than those two occasions.  

My experience is that neighbours don't always know how much noise they're making, how often they're doing it, or how far the sound travels.  Given that it's the OP who believes he's too important to share his phone number with the neighbours, I also wonder why we're so quick to assume it's the neighbours who are self-entitled or being difficult.  They're surely over-tired and as a result, grumpy and short-fused, maybe, but we don't know the whole story, nor how much noise the OP has really been making for over a year.

All I'm saying is that being a good neighbour is worthwhile, especially when it's not in any way difficult to drill a few holes or vacuum at a different time of day.  They aren't asking him to creep around in his own home, just to take a long lunch break.

16 months, and two occasions. Lawdie. One of which was hoovering.

The OP doesn't want to give their phone number because they are 'too important'? Oh the presumptuous, emotive, irony.

Yes, we don't know the whole story - do you? No. As with all threads on here, replies are given on the basis that the OP's account is accurate. And, if you have been round here for any length of time, self-entitled posters tend to get very short shrift indeed.

As you say, we don't know the whole story, which is why in this forum posters often are questioned when what they write doesn't seem to make sense.

To me, this story simply doesn't add up. I simply find it hard to believe that a year and a half of renovations has been completely quiet all the time.  I note that the OP now says that "The more to come is only decoration", which suggests to me that there's been a lot more than just painting going on this whole time.   

And if it's really been so quiet, I wonder how the neighbours even knew when to complain about the noise?  

What I read from the post is that the neighbours politely raised the issue of the noise and then followed up with a written note.  They asked him simply to let them know when noisy work was planned, but he refused to do so because his 'phone number is private'.  I find that an odd excuse - he could always pop a note through the door if he was that terrified of his neighbours finding out his phone number and using it.  

I agree that asking workmen to take a two-hour break is unfeasible.  My understanding was that the OP was doing much of the work.  If it's been workmen all the time, then I agree that they're not going to stop for two hours a day, but equally, I think it's more likely that the neighbours are right in their assessment that the work has been noisy because what work can the trades be doing all this time that's so quiet?  

All in all, my thoughts were that the OP underestimated the annoyance of living next to a year-and-a-half of ongoing renovations when you have a new baby; misjudged the noise of the works; refused to communicate or build a good relationship with the neighbours, and therefore came to the conclusion that the neighbours are overreacting to what the OP considers imaginary noise.

What's more likely?  That 18+ months of renovation work has been entirely silent and the neighbours are monsters who are hell-bent on bullying a man inside his own home, or that the work really has been noisy and eventually the neighbour lost his rag and seriously overstepped the boundary when complaining?

TELLIT01

kdotdotdotdot said:

As you say, we don't know the whole story, which is why in this forum posters often are questioned when what they write doesn't seem to make sense.

To me, this story simply doesn't add up. I simply find it hard to believe that a year and a half of renovations has been completely quiet all the time.  I note that the OP now says that "The more to come is only decoration", which suggests to me that there's been a lot more than just painting going on this whole time.   

And if it's really been so quiet, I wonder how the neighbours even knew when to complain about the noise?  

What I read from the post is that the neighbours politely raised the issue of the noise and then followed up with a written note.  They asked him simply to let them know when noisy work was planned, but he refused to do so because his 'phone number is private'.  I find that an odd excuse - he could always pop a note through the door if he was that terrified of his neighbours finding out his phone number and using it.  

I agree that asking workmen to take a two-hour break is unfeasible.  My understanding was that the OP was doing much of the work.  If it's been workmen all the time, then I agree that they're not going to stop for two hours a day, but equally, I think it's more likely that the neighbours are right in their assessment that the work has been noisy because what work can the trades be doing all this time that's so quiet?  

All in all, my thoughts were that the OP underestimated the annoyance of living next to a year-and-a-half of ongoing renovations when you have a new baby; misjudged the noise of the works; refused to communicate or build a good relationship with the neighbours, and therefore came to the conclusion that the neighbours are overreacting to what the OP considers imaginary noise.

What's more likely?  That 18+ months of renovation work has been entirely silent and the neighbours are monsters who are hell-bent on bullying a man inside his own home, or that the work really has been noisy and eventually the neighbour lost his rag and seriously overstepped the boundary when complaining?

If you bothered to read everything the OP posted you would have seen the reference to 'a new baby', which may explain why any noise before that date wasn't an issue, or perceived issue, with the neighbour.

kdotdotdotdot

My understanding from the first post is that the baby was newly born when the the work began, and the complaints about the noise started from the beginning.  It was only recently that the neighbour turned aggro on the OP.

To be clear: I don't condone the neighbour's behaviour.  I simply think from what I've read that there's more to the story than one neighbour being outlandishly unreasonable with no cause.   But in any case, as the OP says, the work is now down to the genuinely quiet stuff.  

980233

kdotdotdotdot said:

My understanding from the first post is that the baby was newly born when the the work began, and the complaints about the noise started from the beginning.  It was only recently that the neighbour turned aggro on the OP.

To be clear: I don't condone the neighbour's behaviour.  I simply think from what I've read that there's more to the story than one neighbour being outlandishly unreasonable with no cause.   But in any case, as the OP says, the work is now down to the genuinely quiet stuff.  

Seems pretty clear to everyone else.

Work started in March 2020........then something that started in China spread to the rest of the world that increased the finish time of said project.

Posted dilemma stating " neighbours recently had a baby" on Septmber 3rd 2021.

The baby would not be baby 18 months later, although maybe the parents have regressed in maturity.

I didn't read anything in the OP version of events to indicated more to the story and they were painting themselves in a better light than the actual reality.

Kicking a door over this is not a rational response no matter what the stress levels are. Are we animals?

Jeepers_Creepers

Yup, we shoooor are.