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?!

Check with the council what's reasonable, stay within that and carry on. You dint sound like you're doing anything unreasonable to me. Some people have major building works that go on for a year or more and as long as work is within reasonable hours there's not a lot that can be done. The decking will take a certain number of hours to be finished, whether spread out or concentrated, and after that it will be over. I think your neighbours are being unreasonable expecting you to not update or maintain your home. Everyone needs to do it sometimes.

Your neighbours sound horrible and petty and maybe jealous.

Most reasonable people don't go to the lengths of recording noise so unless there's a massive backstory where they're a complete nightmare, you really need to look at the level of noise you are making.

Councils just don't act without some evidence of noise, even when we ended up complaining about a cockerel waking us at 4am we had to keep two weeks of records and have the night noise team out several times and that was after we and our neighbours had spoken to the cockerel owner.

I think crack on, they sound ridiculous. Is there a different part of your property where you could do the noisy sawing? Like would it be quieter if the cutting was done in a front garden if they're enjoying their back garden?

Most people wouldn't be in the house during the day as they'd be at work. Now everyone's working from home and noise like this is incredibly distracting. I've got it going on on both sides and it's bloody annoying. It carried on over Easter weekend too which was fucking infuriating. When you're in lockdown you can't get away from someone's construction noise.

Maybe do the noisy stuff in one block over a couple of hours over lunchtime and wait till after lockdown to do the major noisy stuff?

How horrible for your neighbours. Poor sods.

If the work is truly at reasonable hours then I'm extremely surprised the council are doing anything. I think it's likely that either you're lying about the hours, your neighbours are lying to the council, or someone else is making noise and your neighbours are assuming it's you.

Our council have issued a statement asking people to refrain from noisy DIY during lockdown, so perhaps yours are taking the same view and warning people more readily than at normal times. It is pretty inconsiderate when your neighbours can't go out and are probably trying to work from home, especially so soon after the kitchen.

Haven't your neighbours put up with enough for one year? At the very least it would be charitable to wait until lockdown is over and they have the option of going out for the day.

I had a letter from the council about my dog constantly barking.
I didn’t have a dog.
Hurry up and finish the decking!

I agree it's probably annoying, but like I say - they do bigger all to their home so we can't possibly agree what's right or wrong.

The retired woman threatened to punch my DH in the face when he was doing the kitchen.

We can't afford to pay someone to do these jobs.
We save up to do the jobs that need doing.

The best thing to do would have been to contact them in advance to say “we’re planning to do X. Sorry it will be a bit noisy. Here’s a box of chocolates. Is there any time of day which you’d particularly like us to avoid?” Too late now.

Unless you tell them what time the noise will start and stop they will be expecting it all the time. Very bad for mental health.

You’re doing nothing wrong. A couple of hours a day for a few weeks back in February and then another project now in mid April is not excessive, especially when you’re considerate enough to stop at 6.00.

I agree it might help for you to tell your neighbours your plans so they know when the work is going to finish, but they can’t reasonably expect anything other than that. I don’t understand how people can choose to live somewhere next to other houses and then complain about normality that comes with other houses.

I haven't lied a bout the hours!

We have a baby so even if we wanted to we wouldn't make noise after certain hours!

WE DID TELL THEM IN ADVANCE

A whole month to do a kitchen?

They must be wondering how long the decking will take!

And now is the time of year that people want to be out & have doors & windows open as it is-let alone lockdown!

I don’t really understand the stopping at 6pm. I would be in from the garden at that point. It would be trying to sit outside with a book in the afternoon listening to hammering and drilling that would bother me.

How awful this has been for the neighbours. May be offering them £3000 would start to make up for the damage that has been done to their right to quiet enjoyment of their garden.

they do bigger all to their home so we can't possibly agree what's right or wrong

That’s irrelevant what they do or don’t do to their home.

Were you doing this stuff over the Easter weekend when we had the nice warm weather? Everyone who has a garden would have been out in them trying to enjoy the sun and the Easter holiday as a small bright spot suring this lockdown.

My neighbours have been building a large wooden shed for months (started in December) and despite being at home 24/7 since the lockdown, they decided only on Easter weekend to break out the power tools again and make a racket all day, both days. We weren't alone in our annoyance either, I heard many deliberately loud comments coming from several different back gardens...

Given the unusual circumstanaces, being able to peacfully enjoy the warmest days of the year and eat our Easter meals outside was important and ruined by the selfish arseholes. They haven't stepped outside all week since last weekend to continue working on the shed. Just that one lovely weekend felt like a good time to them.

I completely understand that it's a fact of life that home improvements need to be done and I never mind the noise usually, but on Easter weekend last week during an unprecedented situation where we are all cooped up and trying to get through this, it was the most anti-social selfish thing our neighbours could have done and it spoiled many other peoples' weekend.

I have 2 sets of neighbours doing DIY right now the noise is horrendous all day long. If we weren't on lockdown I'd just go out for the day but I can't and it's doing my head in.
In saying that I won't be complaining about it because they have every right to do it and probably gives them something to do while at home. My kids don't mind the noise outside so it's just me

You’ve obviously made up your mind that what you’re doing is acceptable even though the clear consensus is that it isn’t. I don’t know why you’re posting if you’re just going to disagree with everyone. You sound like a nightmare neighbour to be honest

The Council will have to follow up on a formal noise complaint - hence the letter - but it's a very long way from a first letter to taking any formal action. 99% of cases go nowhere!

Doing DIY projects, even frequently, is not likely to be considered unreasonable provided you don't start too early, or finish too late. Unfortunately, you seem to have neighbours with a low tolerance for noise nuisance or a hair trigger for complaining. (Council Department's are well used to hearing from the latter group!)

My advice, as someone who used to manage a Local Authority's Environment Health Department, would be to respond to the Council's letter as you have described above and carry on with the project while doing all you can to continue to mitigate the noise (and dust/smoke/fumes...) you make. Also, if you feel you can speak to your neighbours (I wouldn't email them, they only live next door ) and explain what's going on and how long it will go on for, I would try and re-build that particular bridge.

Good luck!

They do sound difficult but I think lockdown is exacerbating it. Usually when my neighbours are doing work, I try to leave the house but now no one can escape neighbour noise.

I don’t think the council will do anything but I would wait till after the lockdown.