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?!

I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t think you’re being unreasonable. When my husband and I moved into our house it needed a shit tonne of work doing to it , full bathroom rip out and new one put in, garden needed serious work, then general decorating . We wrote a card for our new neighbours beforehand and explained that a lot of work needed doing, more than we thought, and if it got too loud please let us know. Then a thank you note for their patience when it was all done. When we got our Christmas card off them they said thanks for being decent neighbours and that we haven’t been any bother. I think your neighbours are being very unreasonable it’s not like they’re having to get up early for work ? What other time are you expected to do it?! Wait for them to go away on holiday? Just carry on, call the council explain your side and maybe even go to the neighbour and just say sorry but it needs doing ! X

Yes, you're being unreasonable. We're all stuck at home 24/7 and you've decided to do a noisy, DIY project in your garden when your neighbours can't escape. Last month you were hammering, banging and drilling indoors and now you're doing it outside. I'm bloody glad you aren't my neighbours - you sound utterly self-absorbed.

Our neighbour has been drilling sawing hammering or mowing the lawn every bastard day of this nice weather during lockdown. Selfish, pure and simple. Yes we get you want to get stuff done whilst you're stuck at home but choose something quiet (lm catching up on tax returns, dh has been painting our guttering - scaffolding was up before lockdown). Your neighbours can't go out to get away from your racket and can't enjoy their garden in the sunshine either. Leave the noisy stuff till after lockdown ffs. You are taking away one of the few things we can still enjoy, do you not see that? I would be raging too and luckily there's a six foot fence between me and neighbour keeping me from becoming the hammer drill killer

It's not that I didn't like them before - they were fine, we were neighbours who rubbed along ok. I don't like them now. I think they are petty & malicious.

Did you do this all Easter?

oh your poor neighbour

In a flat here - when our neighbour replaced his kitchen he wrote to us to ask what the better times were for noisy work and fitted around us.

That's how to have decent neighbourly relations.

for the council to send a letter, you must have been absolutely HELLISH. I'm glad the council have done it though, it sets a precedent and makes me feel they are paying attention to these problems.

working during lockdown is particularly awful.

Are you sure it's not some other neighbours who have complained. Lots of people trying to work from home right now and also doing school work with children so I can see how they'd be pissed off to be fair.

Are you absolutely sure it’s genuinely from the council? There’s usually quite a process before they send a letter. Domestic construction noise isn’t unreasonable, even with fitting a kitchen it’s not a constant noise.

You think they are petty and malicious, they think you are selfish and unreasonable.

To be honest you are both a bit right 😊

It wasn't a month of constant work to fit the kitchen! I was a month of around 2 hours a day work, finishing by 6pm.

Please just give them a break, pay someone to do your next 'one off' job to get it done in a few days rather than a bloody month.

Oh because it's so cheap to get a kitchen fitted! If they can fit it themselves why wouldn't they. We saved thousands by DH fitting ours.

I do think it’s the lockdown that has made this all ten times worse. There’s no escape.

Escaping the neighbour’s incessant banging and hammering does not constitute an essential journey.

Some of these comments are just rude & personal.
Calling me self absorbed for having a kitchen now some decking. It's a bit weird.

I came on here for advice regarding a letter we've had not to be personally attacked.

We are all struggling with lockdown. Some of us are trying to keep ourselves busy.

Some of us are trying to keep ourselves busy.

Take up embroidery or something.

What does the letter say?
Does it tell you to stop? Does it say to reduce noise?
Does it not make any requests at all?
If it sets out terms and you breach those terms, you may get in trouble.
If the neighbours are filling out a noise diary, you can do the same to present as evidence ie time you were working, recording of the noise etc.

"Some of us are trying to keep ourselves busy."

you could have done that quietly and considerately. But you chose the worst possible time to do the decking.

I hope you weren't like our neighbours, using really noisy power tools throughout the bank holiday, including lunchtime Easter Sunday when we were trying to eat outside.
It's thoughtless at the best of times, and during lockdown we can't even go elsewhere to escape it.

Some of us are trying to keep ourselves busy.

The vast majority can do that without being a pain in the arse to their neighbours by taking soooooo loooong over pretty quick jobs!

I am varnishing the patio furniture and weeding the borders. In silence. Busy doesn’t have to be loud.

Why are you hammering? Decking doesn't need to involve any hammering. Are you putting it together with nails rather than screws? Use a hand saw rather than a power tool.

• You aren't reading all my messages so I feel I'm just repeating myself*

We are, you just don’t like the answers
I feel sorry for your neighbours.

@Talia99 I’ve always looked for it on the forms but it’s never appeared. I feel quite cheated lol

Some of us are trying to keep ourselves busy

Why does busy have to equal noisy?

Your neighbours are being unreasonable and so are the council. I say that as someone who's very intolerant of noise.

2 doors down from me are converting from one sort of shop to another - building work has been going on since before xmas. They had a mini digger breaking up concrete yesterday - the noise was terrible. Neighbour the other side of me is about to start an extension so I'm preparing for months of noise from that.

And I hate it, totally hate it especially atm because there's no escape. But I wouldn't be complaining to the council. Work needs doing, it won't be forever.

Can you pop a note round to them explaining how long you think it'll take you to finish the decking? I guess if you were being really nice could you halt the decking until after the lock down? If they can't leave the house to get away from it it might be worse? But I think they're being unfair to you.

a month of banging and hammering every day even just for 2 hours is soul destroying. Then just as soon as they got used to some peace and quiet again.. there you go again.

Finish your decking, give them a box of chocolates and some wine and then leave your house alone for at least 6 months.

Why not only do it for half the day? Ask them if theyd rather you work in 10-2 or 2-6, that way they can at least sit out in the morning/afternoons without listening to crashing noise all day.