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AIBU?

Is our neighbour being unreasonable?

82 replies

busyboysmum · 01/04/2016 14:57

Dh is a landscape gardener and yesterday came home with a load of trees for our log burner.

He needs to chainsaw them up. He did some yesterday between 4pm - 6pm and came home early today to try to get the rest done so started around 2pm.

Our neighbour has just been round to tell him to stop as the noise is driving her and her son who is 17 mad. So he said no problem and stopped.

But now we are unsure how to chop them up so there's a massive pile of trees on our front drive.

I think she's being unreasonable. If there was any time she was out he could do it then but she doesn't seem to work and only leaves the house to take their dog out for a wee in the back garden.

Thing is the noise didn't bother me and dh was sawing it right next to the kitchen down the side of our house. She is on the other side so I can't see how she's got so wound up about it.

Is she being unreasonable or are we? And how can we chop up the rest of the wood? Are electric saws quieter as we could buy one of those if so?

OP posts:

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Wherediditland · 01/04/2016 14:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BaronessBomburst · 01/04/2016 14:59

Just saw them up. She is being unreasonable.

ScOffasDyke · 01/04/2016 15:01

Use an axe

OddBoots · 01/04/2016 15:02

I agree with Wherediditland - just knock and explain that obviously they need to be chopped at some time, it will take about 'x' hours, when would suit them best for you to do it.

fiverabbits · 01/04/2016 15:04

We have a log burner and sometimes use a chainsaw but lucky we have neighbours who go and out/don't complain about the noise. Have you thought to ask the local council about it ?
We also have a electric saw as we saw up a lot of pallets but it would only cope with logs of about 4 inch diameter and still makes a bit of noise. Even using a log bomb when the logs are dry is noisy.

Collaborate · 01/04/2016 15:05

Use an axe

You can't use an axe. It doesn't work. You need a chainsaw.

YANBU. Just do it.She can't object to reasonable work carried out during a reasonable time of day.

lanbro · 01/04/2016 15:07

Chainsawing all day every day would be annoying, occasional chainsawing is just part of life much like lawn mowing. She IBU

StillStayingClassySanDiego · 01/04/2016 15:07

I'd cut them up anyway, tell her what needs doing and do it anyway.

If it was 6.00 in the morning or late at night [unlikely] she'd have a point but it's not unsociable or unreasonable during the day.

busyboysmum · 01/04/2016 15:12

Thanks for all the replies. I thought she was being unreasonable. She seems to do nothing but watch telly all day so has obviously got nothing better to think about.

I don't know what we're going to do though as dh is a softie and doesn't want to escalate things with them.

Oh well off to Portugal on Sunday so they'll just have to look at our logs for the next 2 weeks 😉

OP posts:

Gatehouse77 · 01/04/2016 15:13

Why not pop round and say that it needs to be done so can she suggest a time that would be acceptable? And, for how long?

ScOffasDyke · 01/04/2016 15:17

You can't use an axe. It doesn't work. You need a chainsaw.

Of course an axe works! Chainsaws are just quicker (and noisier)

www.treehugger.com/renewable-energy/vipukirves-axe-uses-leverage-to-make-woodcutting-easy.html

www.fiskars.co.uk/products/gardening/axes

frenchfancy · 01/04/2016 15:19

I would saw them, but do an hour a day. Nobody could consider that unreasonable. They will need stacking for a while before you burn them though.

StillStayingClassySanDiego · 01/04/2016 15:19

Get them done before you go on holiday, don't let her dictate when you do your gardening work.

bungmean · 01/04/2016 15:24

Of course an axe works!

An axe works to cut sawn circles of log up. You can't cut a long log into shorter bits with an axe. You need a chainsaw.

Collaborate · 01/04/2016 15:25

Of course an axe works! Chainsaws are just quicker (and noisier)

No. If you look at the links you provided you'll see that the axes are mainly to split a log that's already been trimmed to size. This isn't the cartoons you know, where someone can take a couple of swings with an axe and a tree trunk splits in two.

I have a chainsaw for cutting the logs to 12 inch sections, then use a log splitter (looks like an axe) for splitting it in to manageable sections. It can't be done any other way.

Anyway, what next? She'll be getting you to cut your lawn with scissors.

busyboysmum · 01/04/2016 15:27

They're all for next year so no rush really. They have to season for a year before we can burn them.

I think everything we do accidentally annoys them. They hate our caravan being parked on our drive but it's a massive driveway so doesn't impact on them in any way.

They are very pristine and we aren't as much. We are very easy going and they seem very uptight.

OP posts:

YakTriangle · 01/04/2016 15:27

Put a note through her door saying 'we will be sawing up the trees between 4-6 again today. They have to be finished by the weekend. Apologies for the noise.'

Then it's tough shit if she doesn't like it, she's been warned its happening.

ExitPursuedByABear · 01/04/2016 15:28

2pm in the afternoon is a perfectly reasonable time to be cutting up wood. Tell him to get on with it and if she has the brass neck to come round again to complain, then ask her what time would be acceptable.

Andrewofgg · 01/04/2016 15:28

Do it during working hours and if she complains it's JTB. Tell her you know of a desert island for sale.

AnotherTimeMaybe · 01/04/2016 15:29

She's probably annoyed cause when he first did it , it may have taken ages. The chainsaw noise can be annoying if it goes on and on
When she goes out, try again

MyLocal · 01/04/2016 15:32

With regard to the logs, YANBU I would just saw them up, however I lived next door to a caravan which didn't impact on me really other than it was a damn eyesore, so with regard to the caravan YABU

busyboysmum · 01/04/2016 15:34

It's a gorgeous caravan how can you be so deluded 😉

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acasualobserver · 01/04/2016 15:35

Ask her if she would prefer you to just to set fire to them where they are now

mollie123 · 01/04/2016 15:38

it would have been courteous to get them 'on side' before you lifted the chain saw.
Why do people find it so hard to have a word with neighbours BEFORE you started chain-sawing and apologise for any inconvenience and say you will restrict it to a couple of hours a day to get the job finished.
(sore point with me at the moment as my neighbours (who are not the best) decided to put in for planning permission for a large 2 storey extension without a word to me beforehand (which would have been the courteous thing to do) )

peggyundercrackers · 01/04/2016 15:39

I would give her two options - you do them all at once over the weekend or you do them an hour at a time per day but she will need to listen to the noise for 10 days.

She is BU.

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