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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

power tools after 7.30pm

35 replies

bozemum · 03/05/2011 13:42

Am I being unreasonable to think my neightbour shouldn't be using power tools in the garden after 7.30 at night? Trying to get my toddler to go to sleep is hard enough without his room vibrating from the noise. Is 7.30 too late for power tools in most peoples opinions? Its a lot louder than a lawn mower. I think its fair enough for people to cut their grass in the evenings, especially between 6 and 7 when people are first home from work. But surely 7.30 is a bit late?

OP posts:

HalfPastWine · 03/05/2011 13:44

I would cap it at 8.30 to be honest.

HalfPastWine · 03/05/2011 13:46

I would cap it at 8.30 to be honest.

But that's because I work full time so by the time I get home etc if I started gardening then I would probably still be at it at 8ish.

Every now and again is ok however if it was disturbing a neighbours baby sleeping I would definitely make the effort to finish earlier.

scurryfunge · 03/05/2011 13:47

If it is infrequent and doesn't last too long then yabu.

DorisIsAPinkDragon · 03/05/2011 13:47

I think YABabitU yes it's no fun for you but he may have a limited amount of time to get the job done and 7.30 is relatively early, if he's doing it on a V regular basis than yes you may have a point but the odd day here and there it's just tough sorry.

ChippingIn · 03/05/2011 13:47

Sorry, no - I think anything up until 9pm is just fine.

People work, they have lives, they have to do what they have to do when they can & you can't expect their lives to revolve around your toddler. If it's often he'll get used to it and if it's not, it's not a big deal.

Not everyone is home by 6pm :)

I'm sorry it's making your life a bit harder, but that's life in a residential area isn't it.

snice · 03/05/2011 13:48

one off = reasonable
every night = unreasonable

2rebecca · 03/05/2011 13:50

I agree if you work 7.30 is very early. I'd say OK until 8.30-9. If it was something regular that you know they could do earlier I'd have a word though as they may have forgotten how early young children go to sleep. If it's 1 off DIY which power tools often are I'd let it go.

Original poster

bozemum · 03/05/2011 13:51

He's doing a house renovation, so the garden is being gutted. It wasn't just a quick mow the lawn. Its power tools to chops down shrubs etc. and lasting quite a while. It was pretty annoying, but I think I wouldn't have minded as a one off. Just feeling a bit nervous about how long its going to go one for.

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Original poster

bozemum · 03/05/2011 13:53

I can see how it maybe does sound a bit unreasonable - but it was just soooo noisy!

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2rebecca · 03/05/2011 14:13

If it is likely to go on for a while then I would have a word with him next time he is being noisy at night and ask him how long it will go on for and ask him if the noisy stuff could be done before 7.30 as that's when your son goes to bed and the noise can be easily heard in his bedroom.
If you are pleasant about it and don't go round being aggressive and unpleasant he may be accommodating.

emptyshell · 03/05/2011 14:15

I tend to think 9 for gardenny noise, and starting no earlier than 8 on a morning (although I'd quite like to ban our neighbours' new extension from starting before 10am all school holidays but that IS me being unreasonable on that one).

He's got to get the work done and you can't expect the planet to go to bed at the same time as your kid really - you could always, shockingly, talk to them about it?! I know my neighbour had a chat with us when we moved in and were doing up the house because his son works nights and we worked out a time that was good for us to start banging and clattering, and for his son to get a bit of shuteye before the banging and clattering started... but the consideration has to cut both ways - not just "I want you to stop at this time because it's what I want" - because he wants his house doing up as well!

If he's rennovating the house and he's got to the garden stage he must be near the end though - most people leave it to last as everything gets trampled over the garden (or if you're the ones in our street - you rip your kitchen out and leave the old one in the back garden for all of winter and spring... it made a novel snow feature).

LaurieFairyCake · 03/05/2011 14:17

I think up to 9pm is fine - DH isn't home from work til after seven and we still have to (and are allowed to) strim the allotment up til 9 o'clock - we do try to finish noisy work by 8.30 though.

Original poster

bozemum · 03/05/2011 14:21

Unfortuneatly the fact he's doing garden doesn't mean hes near the end of the job. Its actually the start. Its very overgrown and I think hes trying to make way for the lorrys and diggers to get in.

I'm wishing he was just using contractors using office hours. Rather than trying to do the jobs himself in the evenings. I'm hoping once the building work starts it will be during 'office hours'

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moomaa · 03/05/2011 14:24

By the time DH has come home from work and we have put the kids to bed it's about 7.30/8 and then we would use power tools in the garden if we had stuff to do. Would stop when it got darkish/9pm ish I guess. We have a baby, 2yo and 4yo and they aren't bothered, wouldn't occur to me that it would stop people sleeping TBH. I am guessing you mean hedge trimmer type noise rather than pneumatic drill?

If someone came and asked us to stop as a one off then we would I guess or try and reach a compromise.

moomaa · 03/05/2011 14:25

I wish we could do our house up with contractors during office hours too but unfortunately funds won't permit

ChippingIn · 03/05/2011 14:29

Boze - I think it's going to be a case of 'you can wish all you like, but it wont make it so!'. Lots of people take on projects like this to do themselves to make money, live in themselves or because they enjoy it. That's life I'm afraid. He's not doing anything illegal and he's entitled to make a reasonable amount of noise until 11 pm. You could always go and talk to him so that you know what to be prepared for, but it's really not reasonable to expect them to renovate 'in business hours' because it would suit you.

Your toddler will soon get used to it all going on around him and will probably miss the noise when it stops!

Original poster

bozemum · 03/05/2011 14:30

Yes i guess hedge trimmer I think. But its industrial sized one. Not just your average B&Q one, which would probably create quite a nice white noise in his room.

Once he's asleep its probably ok. I think he might sleep through the noise. Buts its a distraction for him so he can't go to sleep. And it stops and starts, so just as you think he might have finished and everyone relaxes, its starts up again.

I did think about taking him out in the car to get him to go to sleep, then putting him cot and hoping for the best. Buts its not something I want to have to start doing often.

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nijinsky · 03/05/2011 14:35

Same thoughts as most people here. Its just life, not everyone has the same priorities and for some people its getting their garden done. I would say pm would be a reasonable time to expect him to stop. Although often my neighbours' lawnmowers go on til 10 in summer and it doesn't bother me.

I once lived in a semi that I was doing up and my tile cutting machine annoyed the people next door who had 3 children. They wanted me to stop by 7pm, which we respected since it was only a doer-upper, but tbh it was really picky of them. Particularly since we had to listen to the thumping and shrieking of their incredibly loud DCs going up and down the stairs every morning at 7.30 and again at 7pm.

They also moaned about the other neighbour's cats coming into their garden to poo. But were oblivious as to how loud they were themselves. I actually found them very unpleasant to live next to, but never told them, so no doubt they remain blissfully unaware.

lesley33 · 03/05/2011 14:47

I agree with comments that not everyone gets home before 6pm. I wouldn't like people making noise in the evening, but I think it is not unreasonable of them to do so.

shefliesthrutheair · 03/05/2011 14:54

I could have written this post myself after this weekend!!!

Annoying isn't it? But personally I would wait until 9pm to complain, I think...

Groovee · 03/05/2011 15:38

I had 2 years of the neighbours building their own extension. Every night at 7,45pm he'd start banging despite the fact he'd been in all day. He stopped it after I deliberately worked out his night shifts and arranged for joiners to be there then. Think he realised just how hard it had been for us.

Original poster

bozemum · 03/05/2011 15:48

He's a new neighbour, but does seem like a nice man. So I think he'll try to be reasonable if I talk to him. I just wanted to gauge what was reasonable to expect. Thanks for all your replys.

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whackamole · 03/05/2011 15:55

I almost posted last night - our next door neighbour started drilling at 21:15.

We live in a terrace, and it was one of the shared walls.

They had been in all day (normally are as they don't work) yet started at that time of the night! luckily only went on for about 20 mins, but they do this all the time!

Nancy66 · 03/05/2011 15:59

7.30 isn't late and you can't expect your neighbours to carry out their chores to fit in with your kid's bedtimes.

9.30 would be my cut off for doing anything noisy

lubberlich · 03/05/2011 16:06

7.30 is too early for people to have to tiptoe round because of other people's sprogs - especially in the summer months.

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