Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

WIBU to ask them to turn down their music despite us being noisier neighbours?

9 replies

NishiNoUsagi · 11/05/2013 21:54

I would be, wouldn't I Sad Ah well.

Next door neighbours (terrace) are a normal looking older couple. They moved in about 10 months ago and have been doing DIY work pretty much non stop since then. Banging, drilling, banging, rinse, repeat, for hours at a time.

DH works night shifts and has had to sleep through them hammering away on shared walls and has managed not to go insane. Every weekend night they play music loud - all I can hear now is the bass throbbing through the wall and it's making me a bit stabby. Kids are asleep and don't seem affected luckily, but their bass is drowning out The Voice the tv Grin

However - my kids are noisy. Wake up noisy, no underlay under carpets upstairs (thanks landlord!) so 7 or 8 every morning is greeted by the THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD of tiny feet. DS1 (3) has screamy tantrums. DS2 (1) still wakes once of twice in the night, usually with night terrors, screaming his head off. I keep them as quiet as I can but I'm sure they hear some of it or me shouting "tidyuptidyupTIDYUP why can no-one hear my voice" and the sounds of me chomping tons of medicinal chocolate

Anyway skip to the end, I really want to bang on their sodding throbby wall, but I don't have a leg to stand on do I Sad Wine

OP posts:
TigOldBitties · 11/05/2013 21:57

I'd let it go and turn the tv up.

Original poster
NishiNoUsagi · 11/05/2013 22:44

It's still going Hmm duh duh DUH duh duh duh DUH DUH DUH.. anyone familiar with that song? At least it's a change from DUH DUH duh duh DUH DUH duh duh DUUUUH, that was the last one.

Passive aggressive muttering at the wall is having no effect.

OP posts:
thenightsky · 11/05/2013 22:49

I wouldn't go bang on their door till midnight, what with it being a Saturday night.

I might get up reet sharp tomorrow and mow the lawn though Grin

maddening · 11/05/2013 23:29

Children in their own home are living noise.

Loud music is not. Even on a saturday - if it was one Saturday every now and then but weekly would be considered unreasonable by environmental health.

Diy may not be depending on times and period of time renovations are carried out over.

I would be mindful of your noise in general being that you live in a terrace

maddening · 11/05/2013 23:30

Keep a diary of their noise and speak to them nicely - ask if they disturbed by you and outline where you are disturbed then give both sides a chance to address it and then speak to them again - if there is no improvement or they are hostile consider environmental health.

Toadinthehole · 12/05/2013 08:24

You have both legs to stand on, and if you were a spider you'd have all eight. It is reasonable to put up with noise from children. They are going to make a certain amount of noise, because that is what all children do - not just the bad. It is not reasonable to expect parents to reduce the noise below this level.

DIY noise is reasonable within limits.

But loud music? I don't understand why anyone should have to endure someone else's music in their own home, especially at night.

Original poster
NishiNoUsagi · 12/05/2013 09:30

Well, they finally stopped about 11:30. From peeking through their window I think they have a really fancy stereo/speaker thingummy screwed into our shared wall, which is probably why we're getting all the bass.

What winds me up more is the constant DIY. They have a tiny 2 bed terrace, I have no idea what they can have been doing for this long! Was having a chat with one of the builders ages ago and he mentioned putting in a new bathroom and kitchen, which was fair and noisy enough. They've then had carpet/flooring vans outside every couple of months, gas heaters out and radiators put in but still - 10 months, usually 4 or 5 days a week. Personally if was them I would have popped round at some point and said, sorry for the noise, we're doing xyz and it's going to take x months, let us know if it gets too much. But not a word from them! We've bumped into them outside a few times and said hello, but they just kind of mutter then dash off. I always apologise to the neighbours on the other side (because they're lovely) for the kids' noise but they claim they can't hear anything (see? Lovely!) but so far haven't made enough eye contact with them on the other side to say anything.

I think I'm going to have to come up with some passive aggressive revenge plan to keep me sane. I usually see the neighbour lady in Waitrose (whichever till I'm at, she's always 2 people ahead of me in the queue, like a reverse stalker Grin ) I might just start slipping Tenalady into her basket Grin

OP posts:
thenightsky · 12/05/2013 11:12

I'd be curious enough about the home improvements to ask! I love seeing what my neighbours have done to their houses and get ideas for my own. Perhaps you could use that as an opening line with them?

'Oooh you are always busy with your home, bet you've got it lovely now... I'd love to see what you've done as I haven't a clue when it comes to interior design'.

Toadinthehole · 12/05/2013 11:14

I think first up you've got to ask them nicely to keep the music down.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page