We've had a noise pollution letter from the council!!!

[Stillmonday]

We aren't big DIYers but February my husband fitted us a new kitchen, it took a whole month inbetween work and he always stopped any noise at 6pm.
Now we are doing some decking in the garden whilst on lockdown. Some sawing, sanding & banging again stops at 6pm.
A letter has just arrived warning us of noise pollution and excessive hammering, banging & use of power tools.

Our neighbour was really annoyed when we had our kitchen, they even recorded the noise it made one day but I tried to explain it was a one off and that's what happens when a new kitchen is being fitted.

Now we are quite shocked to receive the letter but don't know where we stand. Are we allowed to finish the decking or shall we not bother?!

Can you call the council and see what they say?

I'd carry on, if the council end up coming out to record the noise, the decking will be finished and there will be no noise. I imagine it is jealousy.

Urgh. You sound like my neighbours, always got a project on the go. It’s not a one off kitchen is it, you’ve moved on to decking now?

Calm the council and explain your 'side'. Then discuss with your neighbours and just agree times during which you can work on the project. Then maybe give the DIY a rest for a bit :)

Our neighbour doesn't do anything to their house, fence panels falling off etc and clearly damp in the house which can be seen from
The porch so I think they are dead against anyone doing anything to better their home.

That said I can imagine it being horrible listening to the noise but it's not constant and only every now and then 🤷🏻‍♀️

Glad you're not my neighbours 🤨

Who is the letter from?

How long will the decking take? If it's only a few more days, just speak to your neighbour and apologise, get it done, and then stop with the noisy DIY. It's hard enough being stuck in the house all the time without having to listen to constant noise like this.

It's only a kitchen then some decking. Don't get what the issue is? Should we just not bother making our home nice??

That letter means your neighbour has been sent a 2 week diary to complete ofthe noise.

Sorry, x post

Even if not constant, it must be quite annoying if theyve complained to the council

Yeah definitely no more home improvements for a while, we are spent up anyway!

You told them it was 'a one off'... and then started on your decking.

The issue is noise. Clearly.

Your neighbours sound like wankers. Not unreasonable of you to do home improvements during the day. Call the council and ask them to clarify what is and is not permitted and then stick to the rules so they don't have a leg to stand on.

Give your neighbours a break?
Technically you aren't breaking laws but you can and could delay the decking if they've just endured a kitchen fit.
Re.ember they can't fuck off out for the day now so be a bit charitable.

The kitchen is a one off! Obviously. That shouldn't mean we can't do the garden 🤦🏻‍♀️

It’s even more annoying if they want some sunshine and a bit of afternoon peace.

Can you compromise? Does it have to be all day?

When we did the kitchen it was worked on for 2 hours a day, from 4-6pm apart from weekends whe they go away anyway. Hardly excessive.

Of course the kitchen was a one off, but that’s not their issue. It’s the noise you are making and that clearly isn’t a one off.

Check your local council website to see if there is a policy on times for construction noise. Ours is 8am-6pm on weekdays, not after 1pm on Satudays and nothing on Sundays. Make sure you stick to the times set out in the policy.

Well.... It wasnt a one off was it? It took you a month to put a kitchen in, and now you are on to decking just a few weeks later.

The council don't usually send out letters without some sort of evidence.

Living with noisy neighbours is absolutely soul-destroyingly miserable.

Any chance you are minimising the amount of disruption your neighbours have had to live with?

Every Sunday our neighbours do DIY. All day. It’s a pain and means we can’t relax indoors or out in the garden.

I appreciate you clearly dont like ypur neighbours but if tour kitchen took a month then you've literally only just finished one big project and now you're moving straight on to another. In their eyes you are likely to keep doing this and once this projects finished you will start another.

Plus I do think it's pretty unreasonable to be understanding work involving power tools and going on until 6pm every evening when the neighbours have no option to go out and avoid the noise.