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Original poster

If you had scaffolding going up at 8:30 on a Saturday morning, would you tell your neighbours?

107 replies

ThedaBara · 14/10/2023 10:24

I would, apologetically, beforehand. Saturday is a day a lot of people might be having a lie in, I would imagine, after a long week with lots of late nights. And I would also tell them how long the works were supposed to take.

OP posts:
Hedjwitch · 14/10/2023 10:45

Yes. 8.30 is early for some people and its only polite to let people know

YireosDodeAver · 14/10/2023 10:45

8:30 is a perfectly reasonable time for noise. I'd raise an eyebrow at 7:30 at the weekend but no I wouldn't go around warning neighbours. It's not like either the neighbours or the scaffolding-havers would change their plans on the basis of information exchanged and it doesn't benefit anyone to just start a potential argument in order to avoid a potential argument

AnnaMagnani · 14/10/2023 10:46

Yes if I knew the scaffolders were coming.

I told my neighbours scaffolding was coming soon but was still surprised when they turned up at 7am on a Bank Holiday.

Original poster
ThedaBara · 14/10/2023 10:47

Lest I be accused of drip feeding. I know the scaffolding companies are a law unto themselves, but I did expect my next door neighbours to tell me as 1. I thought we were on good terms, 2. The road's been blocked all morning 3. I woke up to blokes outside my bedroom window.

OP posts:
Spudlet · 14/10/2023 10:49

Good grief, yes. But we get along very well with our neighbours and always try to keep one another in the loop about noisy jobs and the like.

ValerieDoonican · 14/10/2023 10:49

OhmygodDont · 14/10/2023 10:38

Most of the time they wouldn’t even no. Scaffolding companies are a law upon themselves they come and go when they please with 9/10 times zero notice.

Yup, that's my experience too. They like to take scaffolding from one job straight to the next so whenever it comes down from the last place, straight to the next job. Ive been surprised by scaffolders just pitching up and getting started on my own house more than once. Likewise you don't easily get ittaken down when your job has finished, till they have another job to take it to.

kitsuneghost · 14/10/2023 10:51

I would tell them
Doesn't take any effort to give a heads up.

CurlyhairedAssassin · 14/10/2023 10:52

No. Monday-Friday 8-6 and Saturdays 8-1 are the usual times for noisy works to be deemed acceptable by councils. No noisy work at all on a Sunday unless it's an emergency.

So 8.30 is fine and really not that early. I WOULD be pissed off if I had a knock on the door from them or the neighbours asking me to move a car or something cos on a Saturday these days I'd most likely be lieing in bed on my phone.

But yeah, I love my sleep and don't get up early if I can help it but even I wouldn't have an issue with 8.30 on a Saturday.

I was extremely pissed off when we got a knock on the door just after 8am one Saturday morning 20 years ago and it was the delivery of a whole houseful worth of windows. The company who were fitting them didn't bother telling us they were being delivered then, and the fitters didn't work Saturdays so where did they expect us to put all those heavy large items till Monday morning?! AND there was only one delivery driver so no-one to help shift them other than DH who wasn't very happy cos I was pregnant (and not very strong as it is). He often worked away then so it was just lucky he was home. It's a good job we had a garage to store them in but even then we had to store some in the house. In hindsight we should have just refused delivery under those circumstances but we were young so just accepted it in a very pissed off kind of way!

AlwaysTheBabysitter · 14/10/2023 10:52

We would have done and, in fact, we did. Except then the scaffolders turned up on a totally different date and time to what we'd been told. 🤷

2chocolateoranges · 14/10/2023 10:52

Definitely, if we have any noisy work going on at the house I would always let the neighbours know, we get on ok with our neighbours and do it out of respect.

DustyLee123 · 14/10/2023 10:53

Common courtesy to inform neighbours of anything that will disturb them.

Youarenotseriouspeople · 14/10/2023 10:54

Ours turned up on a Sunday morning - î wasn't informed beforehand of the date/time. As a one off 8.30am is not unreasonable tbh

Pixiedust1234 · 14/10/2023 10:55

Yes. I've always told my immediate neighbours of any work I've had doing. It's not just noise but possibly dust getting on their washing/through open window or a blocked road.

I even tell the joined neighbour if I'm having my gutters cleaned in case they want to grab the cleaner for their half as it usually works out cheaper for them.

ColleenDonaghy · 14/10/2023 10:55

I would if it was the start of a big job. If it was just for a day or two for something like painting that wouldn't be disruptive I wouldn't.

I don't think 8:30 on a Saturday is so crazy for any building work, I think YABU about that.

Sandalholidays12 · 14/10/2023 10:55

@CurlyhairedAssassin not everyone works a 9 till 5 job. Some people will be on there way from a night shift at that time. Perhaps someone is ill or has a small baby that's been up all night. Abouve all else it's just friendly and basic manner to inform your neighbours.

JMAngel1 · 14/10/2023 10:57

Just to play devil’s advocate, we had scaffolding for a loft conversion a few months ago. We were given a date for the scaffolding to go up so I was going to pop round to neighbours and pre warn them. It wasn’t a weekend though.
However 2 weeks before they were due to do it, the builder put the scaffolding up as it suited his schedule (think it had been removed that day from another house so he just brought it over to ours). We were away on holiday, knew nothing about it and arrived home to see it up.
I was mortified that I hadn’t warned the neighbours. I don’t even know what day/time it went up.

Wiccan · 14/10/2023 10:57

Nope , because our neighbours didn't inform us when they were going to have a 5 hour domestic with police included .

And what if your neighbours say they aren't happy that you're having work done? You are hardly going to cancel it just because it doesn't suit them .

bombastix · 14/10/2023 10:57

I would expect prior notice and be properly peed off if this happened on Saturday morning.

SlipSlidinAway · 14/10/2023 10:58

LlynTegid · 14/10/2023 10:27

No, not on a Saturday, but I would if it were a Sunday.

Why differentiate?

TheFormidableMrsC · 14/10/2023 10:58

I would, regardless of the day of the week. It's a courtesy. I text my neighbour the other night as I needed to hoover something up at gone 9. We're in a terrace. She works long hours. It's just good manners if you're making noise that impacts on others.

MrsJellybee · 14/10/2023 11:00

I would tell my neighbours attached to us anyway as scaffolding is quite intrusive and noisy to erect. I wouldn’t tell the other side at any point. If you’re detached, I wouldn’t tell anyone.

AmandaHoldensLips · 14/10/2023 11:01

Scaffolders are a law unto themselves. We had a load of scaf went up 2 nights ago onto a nearby neighbours house. I'm talking 10.30 at night with them all yelling and slinging metal bars around.

Sandalholidays12 · 14/10/2023 11:01

@Wiccan you are informing not asking. There's a difference.

PTSDBarbiegirl · 14/10/2023 11:02

NuffSaidSam · 14/10/2023 10:31

We have a street WhatsApp so I'd post in there, warning of noise/parking disruption etc.

If you're on good terms with your neighbours it would be weird not to. Maybe different if you don't get on.

Ha street WhatsApp, bloody hell. I didn't know such things existed! Is the entire street included? This fills me with utter dread.

Splitscreened · 14/10/2023 11:02

Blackbyrd · 14/10/2023 10:33

Absolutely yes, would take minutes to inform the neighbours. But sadly people are absolute arseholes nowadays. Make sure nothing goes up on your property

In our case, it’s the neighbours who are the arseholes. We started off by inviting them in when we’d fairly newly moved in to talk through our plans, but it quickly emerged that they weaponised every piece of information we were naive enough to give them, demanded to see the full plans (which didn’t require planning as was well within the allowed square footage and at the back) and, when we didn’t share them, used the information they did have to make malicious, repeated complaints to planning. Which were baseless, but still meant we had site inspections from building control. When that didn’t work, they then complained that the (invisible, not only from the street, but from virtually anywhere other than behind our house, as we’re in a hollow, built into a slope) contravened the ‘aesthetic’ of the neighbourhood, leading to visits from the city conservation officer.

So no, I will act strictly within building noise timing regulations, but not go one step beyond.