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?!

Nobody's wrong or right. It's shit having to deal with building work for everyone involved. I've lived in my house for 7 years and hand on heart, my neighbours all around me never stop. There is always a pneumatic drill going. One house gets an overhaul and before it's finished, another neighbour's getting a basement and before it's finished, another neighbour is getting a loft and extension. It is never-ending in London. Hell, there's one going right now (the neighbours behind me are building an extension). It sucks. But it stops by 5pm and they don't start until 9am. I can't really complain.
You get used to it. I really appreciate the ones we're hearing lately. They are as respectful as possible and that counts for so much. No blaring radio! There IS a god!

OP, in future, just hire someone to lay a deck. It's SO much quicker. It's a pain in the arse trying to do it all yourself and you end up doing stuff at unsociable hours. It's inevitable. If you can't do it between 9-5, don't do it at all. And if a week-long job is taking 3 months, it's time to get the pros in.
But heavens above, isn't everyone Bob the Builder during lockdown? All of my neighbours have gone DIY mad. It sucks. It'll be nice when lockdown is over and I only have the noise of actual builders rather than neighbours pretending to be!

Not read full thread but wanted to point out that as someone who works from home I'd normally be able to escape the house and go work in a library or coffee shop if a neighbour was doing work on their house. It's a bit different right now though... I'd be annoyed too if someone was making a load of noise at a time when I couldn't escape from it.

@Bananabixfloof it might be different because we are in Scotland and we don’t use TA forms (I used to work in commercial property and where in England you have a massive TA1 we have a small 1 paragraph disposition to finalise the sale).

Not so long ago we bought a doer upper. We then went to the neighbours and said it's going to take 9 months. It's all got to be ripped out. It will be noisy and dirty and messy. Is there any times you'd like us to be quiet? Any days you prefer to do/not do work? Any special events you dont want us around? Any particular times you'd like us to finish by bearing in mind the later we work the quicker we'll be? Etc etc.
It took a year and at the end we made them a hamper of naice stuff and bought them new mugs and a new outdoor seating set cos we covered it in dust that wouldn't wash off.
We are still friends.

This is how you DIY.

Just because you have a right to do something, it doesn't mean you are right to do it! We are on lockdown - people are trying to work from home, or just enjoy their own space. What you want isn't more important than what they want.
I'd restrict noisy DIY to a couple of days per week and not pick the sunniest, nicest days when people have windows open or sit in the garden.

The fact that you said they do nothing to their house makes me wonder if it's a bit of jealousy on their part.
However I've had noisy neighbours and it was awful.
Do cut your grass more than once a week? Do you play music often? Are you always out power washing your cars?
I ask because these things along with diy projects = constant noise for the people next door.

A kitchen and decking too much. I think you are all being ridiculous. What if they were getting an extension done, the ones near me have taken months. They were done by professionals and had vans coming and going all day long. I doubt anyone would has complained either. Your neighbours should think themselves lucky.

If you're finishing by 6 pm every night, I think you're being quite reasonable really. Maybe you could finish earlier if there is very nice weather that they might like to sit out in. Otherwise just get it finished as soon as you can.

What does the actual letter say? People keep asking, you are not saying.

The council do not send letters out without good reason. It has to be really unbearable with plenty of proof. Not just a phone call to say the neighbours are too loud. I suspect you are being far louder for far longer than you think you are.

At worst the Council will send someone to listen, and talk to you about what you're doing. As what you're doing is normal, they'll just close the case and do nothing.

I don’t see the issue with two big jobs that won’t need doing again for ages.

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

Have you ever been a politician? They thought you meant the noise was going to be a one-off. If you had been honest you would have said "well first it will be the kitchen for a month, then the decking, then all done"

They are in all day everyday apart from weekends.

So normally you would have done the work at weekends when they go out?

It's all very well saying "it will be done at 6" but a lot of people are stuck at home all day now.

One of the only nice things about lockdown - and I really can;t think of others! - is how quiet and peaceful it's been. In my area people don't even seem to be using power tools in their gardens. So I'm with your neighbours. You are being a nuisance.

Our neighbours chose the lovely weekend weather to do power tool stuff in their garden ( I think they had a circular saw going).
I was really upset. I was planning to try to relax in my garden, and I wasn't able to go anywhere to escape it. And that was only for a couple of days.

You seem to have no idea of how dreadful noise can be when you have no control over it. It's one thing when it's noise in your own house, and entirely different when it's someone else's. And what they do or don't do to their own house has absolutely no bearing on the issue. I've no idea why you think it does.

It was the sneering at her having decking, almost like people thought she's less of a person. I've got decking, mum's got decking, numerous friends have decking, nothing wrong with and we've never had rats. Fine to not like it, no need to sneer at people who do eh?

I've got decking, mum's got decking, numerous friends have decking,

it was pretty clear you had

It was the sneering at her having decking, almost like people thought she's less of a person.

She kind of set herself up for it though by sneering at her neighbours for how they keep their house. She was trying to divert attention from the noise she was making to the condition of their house, though that has nothing to do with it. She seemed to be trying to say she was only trying to keep her house in acceptable condition. Well decking isn't exactly essential to the upkeep of the house is it?

Op I don't think you've been unreasonable. Two hours a day on your kitchen is nothing and how loud can the decking noise actually be outside? Some of the comments are ridiculous. How do people get on when their neighbours are having extensions and the like done for weeks and weeks? I take it none of you ever have home improvements done? I get that we are in lockdown but as the op has said it would take longer if they were to do it when they are back at work and the neighbours are retired and at home a lot anyway. Contact the council to see where you stand and if you can, get your decking finished quickly.

skimmed this so sorry if i am repeating but just to say it is unlikely to just be one set of neighbours with a problem.

A couple of years back we were asked to fill in a diary on one of our neighbours as council wouldn't do anything if it was just one person complaining

You can't win on here OP.
Do it in the day and you're disturbing people WFH
Do it in the evening and you're antisocial
Do it at the weekend, ditto
Try to get it done a couple of hours a day: unrelenting
Do it all day to get it done quick: no peace at all.

You're not doing it in antisocial hours, and lots of people are using this opportunity to get jobs done. I certainly would be if it wasn't for the kids!

It sounds like these neighbours are difficult anyway, if they complained when you had your bathroom done and have threatened to be physically abusive.

Can not believe the answers on here . You've been taken against OP. simple as.

These comments actually made me laugh they are so

Fitting decking is so unbelievably selfish that this must be a wind up. 😂Lol , do you even know how decking gets fitted? Not even that noisy! Perhaps they're doing the Haka as every board goes down.

It was really horrid of you to do your kitchen for an entire month! What only from 4-6pm. Give over.

it took your husband a month of diy noises compared to less than a week for professionals to fit it. Well excuse the OP for daring to do it themselves. they didn't have the cash I imagine.

Out in the real world people do up houses, build extensions, fit kitchens and yes even decking!

As long as OP does it at reasonable times of the day don't think it's unreasonable at all. Perhaps don't do any at the weekend and keep to short working days. 9-4

Posters need to get real that people are not going to sit on their hands for 3 or more months of lockdown. DIY is UNDERSTANDABLY getting done at the moment, all over the country.

Your neighbours sound like 'that type'. Keep it polite, give them notice and get on with it.
What council would take ANY action against people putting down decking??!!!

well, if the council took the diary seriously enough, bet it wasn't just "from 4 to 6pm"....

Carry on and finish the job OP. By the time the council call, if they do, you will be well finished. Ignore the comments on here about doing home improvements. Everyone has to do them at some point and tolerate someone else doing them also.

The diary is just supposition.

What they do or don't do is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS.

Put yourself in their shoes, it's constant noise most days. I'd hate to be the neighbour of someone so self centered.

The diary is just supposition.
ok then, if the council took the complaint seriously enough...