Noise complaint from neighbour

seilduksgata

Hi all,

I bought my first property last November (a small end of terrace house) and have started renovating it over the past couple of months while living elsewhere. I'm doing everything I can myself but it tends to be a few hours a couple of weekdays days a week around my work. I've been removing a plasterboard wall in the bedroom, it's attached to the side neighbour's party wall so I planned it for when he'd be at work.

I'm using a circular saw to cut through the plasterboard (possibly not the safest method!) and hammer and chisel for the dot and dab plaster underneath. I'm aiming to fill gaps in the breeze block party wall and then install a soundproof wall as I'm quite sensitive to noise and my neighbour can hear his neighbour eat, talk etc so I suspect the existing soundproofing is poor. 

I'd been working from 3 until 4ish today when his neighbour came and yelled up at me asking when I'd be done, complaining he heard the work (probably the circular saw) reverberating in his house really loudly. I apologised and said it'd be when I lost daylight (so 5ish) but it was a renovation so kind of needed to happen. He started asking if I was sanding the floor, etc I said no. He complained again and went off in a huff.

I first met this guy when I got the keys and he'd parked in my drive, I left a note on his windscreen asking for it not to be parked there and he came out and said he had been a good friend of the previous owner and she'd let him park there, but he would move it (he has his own space). Thankfully he hasn't done that again but it made me think he was a bit odd.

Not sure what to make of the noise complaint - my instinct is he is a bit of a bully as he hasn't tried to park in the neighbour's drive or accosted him and he is male whereas I'm a young woman. He is retired and seems to be at home most of the time - had he been nicer I'd ask when would be convenient for me to do the party wall work but I'm already accomodating the next door neighbour on that and given the parking thing, I feel he might take a mile if given an inch. Any advise?

ashe

Ignore it, it's not an unreasonable time 

Bendy_House

Yes, he's being completely unreasonable. Especially so as "it tends to be a few hours a couple of weekdays days a week around my work."

If you were living there and DIYing from 9 'til 6 each day, it would still be reasonable (well, permitted at least...).

Sadly, this neighb does sound unreasonable, and a typical bully.

Carry on as you are, and the next time he comes around 'yelling', ask him "Do you realise you are shouting at me?" Stare him out and come back round to that if he evades answering - "Do you realise you are shouting at me?"

Try and address anything he says with a question aimed back at his unreasonable claims and/or behaviour, "Are you saying that I am not allowed to do this work?" He'll prevaricate, so ask again, "Are you saying I am not allowed to do this work?"

If he mutters about noise, ask him something like, "So, what hours each day am I allowed to work on my own home?" If he gives a BS answer, tell him 'You are simply wrong, and you might want to contact the council for clarification'.

Firmly, but politely.

By all means you can then show how reasonable you are by saying things like "I know it can be noisy at times, but pretty much everybody has to accept this going on next door at some point. And, the sooner I get it done, the sooner it'll be over. But I am not doing anything unreasonable..."

Bullies are used to just saying what they want, and they expect either to get what they want, or else receive a belligerent response - which gets them off the hook of being a bully in the first place. If, instead, you turn the tables and just ask them to justify or acknowledge their behaviour, they are often wrong-footed. Especially with something like shouting - relatively easy to challenge.

To any impertinent question like, "Are you sanding your floor?", just reply, "How is it any business of yours what I'm doing in my own home?" Firmly but politely. And you wait for him to answer that question. Re-ask ad nauseam.

Mind you, I wouldn't use a circular saw for cutting plasterboard... :-)

If he doesn't show some contrition and continues to be shouty or intimidating, do consider calling up your local bobby - they'll have a firm word about his behaviour and put him straight. If it comes to this, and he moans about you calling the police, it's a simple "What... did... you... expect?"

Bullies need to know a line has been put down. Ask Putin.

PeaIn2Pods

Take no notice. You are doing nothing wrong! If your neighbour wants peace and harmony then tell him to move to a barn in the middle of nowhere.

Norman_Castle

seilduksgata said:

I first met this guy when I got the keys and he'd parked in my drive, I left a note on his windscreen asking for it not to be parked there and he came out and said he had been a good friend of the previous owner and she'd let him park there, but he would move it (he has his own space). Thankfully he hasn't done that again but it made me think he was a bit odd.

Not sure what to make of the noise complaint - my instinct is he is a bit of a bully as he hasn't tried to park in the neighbour's drive or accosted him and he is male whereas I'm a young woman.

He might have had a reason why he preferred your drive, he's explained why he parked there and moved the car without complaint. Its possible he didn't realise the house had sold.

Regular excessive noise can be extremely annoying especially spread out over months. He will also be used to the previous neighbours noises and is possibly concerned you will continue to be noisy when living there. If you've removed the carpets simply moving around the property will be noisier than normal.

Not sure what you're doing with the circular saw, presumably cutting the boards into smaller sections. If so I'd expect you could do the whole wall in 10 minutes. Personally I'd just use a pry bar which would be quieter, cleaner and safer.

lesalanos

If he doesn't show some contrition and continues to be shouty or intimidating, do consider calling up your local bobby 

Which then causes potential issues when selling your house and you have to declare the neighbour dispute 

TELLIT01

If still on speaking terms, it might help if you invited the neighbour in to see what is happening and maybe give them some idea when the noisy work will end.  Although I never said anything to my neighbour, I used get extremely p'd off with him doing DIY at 8 or 9 in the evening.  He probably didn't realise how much it echoed through the walls.  Thankfully he no longer does that.

BikingBud

Ask him if he has any spare time and if he'd like to come and assist? He then has direct control over the noise levels 

twopenny

As someone who experienced renovation in a semi detached the noise was horrendous.

For me the worst thing was that I didn't know when it was going to happen so I could have planned to do something and it was totally disrupted. If I'd known a) what was being done b)when - even a little note through the door I could have worked my plans around that.

Frankly a circular saw against a party wall when you didn't know it would happen and it went on would probably send me round in a fury.

However there is an upset now so that probably isn't viable.

But if they know it's going to sound proof the wall long term that should surely help. Especially if they have a time scale.

Probably best to get that done first to reduce agro, his and yours

The car parking thing is probably genuine, he either didn't know or was trying his luck. As you aren't living there he probably thought he could use it. It's very common here for neighbours to allow someone to park on their drive if they don't have a car themselves so I wouldn't take that too personally. He just lacks people skills lol.

I'm not so sure he's a bully. I think he's annoyed by the noise, annoyed he's lost his parking space and he's rubbish at communicating. I'd go for the passive agressive option/olive branch and put a note in a pretty card introducing myself and saying you are sorry for the disturbance, that I was first installing sound proofing between the properties and the job should be done by xxx.

See what happens, it may work. If he continues and is unreasonable then you know. If it settles down you may have a neighbour.

When I moved I had a neighbour who'd replaced my fence, one who didn't want me to feed the birds because it would bring rats, very anxious about what I was doing incase I invaded boundaries etc. All sorts of trivia.

Now they are used to me they love what I've done, so far no rats lol. I have nice neighbours now who are keeping an eye out for me and my property.

So enjoy your first house. Remember to sit back and enjoy it sometimes and don't just keep working.

Brie

I used to have to complain regularly to a the neighbour on the other side of our shared wall about his renovations.  But he was generally very good about stopping when asked. There is a big difference if you say "what the £$£"$ are you doing?" with or without a smile and a laugh.

He worked full time for a company that rented building equipment so supposedly was being allowed to bring home items that weren't rented otherwise out for a couple of days.  And we got used to the fact that he'd get home at 4:30 and be banging about for a couple of hours most evenings. 

The only time it was a major issue was when he started up at 9 pm on a Saturday and had something running so loud it drowned out our tv.  

Oh and the time I discovered our 2 cats on the stairs staring at the shared wall and looking like they were watching a tennis match.  I couldn't hear anything so wasn't really bothered but turned out he was sanding the wall. Cats must have thought there were some juicy mice lurking....

Rosa_Damascena

Norman_Castle said:

seilduksgata said:

I first met this guy when I got the keys and he'd parked in my drive, I left a note on his windscreen asking for it not to be parked there and he came out and said he had been a good friend of the previous owner and she'd let him park there, but he would move it (he has his own space). Thankfully he hasn't done that again but it made me think he was a bit odd.

Not sure what to make of the noise complaint - my instinct is he is a bit of a bully as he hasn't tried to park in the neighbour's drive or accosted him and he is male whereas I'm a young woman.

He might have had a reason why he preferred your drive, he's explained why he parked there and moved the car without complaint. Its possible he didn't realise the house had sold.

Or he might just have been TTP?