Extension work making other houses on the street dusty

[feelokaboutit]

Hi

My h is working on the extension of the house of friends of ours, with a team of about two other men.

Today, someone from across the street complained saying the work they are doing is making the other houses on the street dusty.

Is this a reasonable complaint just taken factually? I don't know how friendly or unfriendly this person was but the conversation with my h did not go well....

What do you think?

I think it's perfectly plausible that building works could make nearby properties dusty. And I think it's perfectly reasonable for a neighbour to talk to the builders about it. Obviously the complainant isn't likely to get the building works stopped for a bit of dust, but if they discussed it rationally, they might come to an agreement such as putting a note through doors the day before they're doing works which will create a lot of dust, so people know not to put out washing, wash cars etc. it's just neighbourly.

Building work is going to be dusty so the neighbour has to expect some dust. However, your DH could suggest to the friend that they take some steps to minimise the dust, ie spray water on whatever it is that is causing the dust. It is very easy to do and may make a big difference.

It is particularly hot at the moment and I can see how someone would find the dust irritating.

When we had building work done to our house I paid for both our immediate nieghbours windows to be cleaned. They are lovely nieghbours though.

I think it is a reasonable complaint to make, though what mitigating action can be taken, I'm not sure.

When we had our extension built it was horribly dusty, and that was a winter job, so the site was wetter and people were less likely to have windows and doors open nearby. When extra dusty work (cutting into the main house, plastering etc) was being done, it was contained as far as possible.

Even with plastic sheeting between the house and the extension, it took a good week of twice daily dusting to get rid of the layer of dust/plaster in the main house once the extension was finished. Was rotten, particularly as ds1 is moderately asthmatic and so I was extra concerned about the impact on him.

From your op I'm guessing your dh wasn't especially conciliatory.

Wonders if your DH is working in my street... my neighbours having an extension built, the road is covered in dry mud/sand/cement - all perfectly normal considering the work being done & the builders have been sweeping but everywhere is dusty - the cars are all filthy as well as our windows. The dust is being tracked in to our houses.... its a nuiscence.

BUT.. I don't know what our neighbours or their builders can do about it - it's just one of those things and I hope that us being considerate to them regarding the issue means they will be considerate to us if/when we have work done.

No, he wasn't , which is his nature if he feels attacked as he is very defensive. However, I don't know how unfriendly the neighbour may have been from the offset because generally h is fine if people are friendly (I think ). However he is very susceptible to anything he perceives as a slight so it is going to be impossible to know exactly how the conversation went.

It's a shame this has happened as the house belongs to friends of ours. If h and / or the neighbour had been more conciliatory (am guessing in h's case) and friendly (am guessing in the neighbour's case), then solutions (as you have all detailed above) could be found. Maybe it is not too late for our friends to think of a way of placating the neighbour etc....

It's true that the heat is exacerbating the dust.....

Don't know why I am getting so involved, but there are several families from school on that street - luckily the neighbour in question doesn't appear to be one of them but there will now be talk......

I guess I know that h is quick to anger if feeling attacked. I also feel the neighbour may have been rude so I suppose it's a case of half a dozen of one and six of the other. Ultimately though, it would have been better if there hadn't been an argument as our friends will have to deal with the fallout. Things like window washing etc.... are a good idea and I may suggest it to our friend (who is staying with us as it happens- his wife is abroad at the moment) this evening, if the subject comes up.

Yes, daisychicken - I too think it's a case of accepting it for a while...... Too scared to tell you where the extension is in case it IS your road

Lol! It's not me complaining if it is my road! I'm being a good neighbour [wwink]

Your question isn't really 'is it reasonable to complain about building work making neighbours' houses dusty?' though is it? Your question is 'my dh has just gone off on one at one of our friend's neighbours about some building work, what do I do next?'.

Because building work is dusty, it is OK to complain about it, it's also OK that there's very little that can be done (apart from paying for a window clean or similar afterwards). What's not OK is a full-on row in the street.

I can remember donkeys years ago when my exh and I were building our extension my ex cleaned our neighbours cars (on both sides) and paid for their windows to be cleaned throughout the build. He also took the opportunity to clean out our neighbour's guttering on the side where the extension was as he was up there brick laying anyway.

I'm positive that the neighbours still didn't exactly enjoy the extension going up or the dust and dirt that went with it, but a bit of good will often goes a long way, especially if you are planning on living there for a while after the build is finished.

I would suggest your dh learned to tone down his behaviour as friend or not I would be mighty pissed off if someone Working on my house had a row with my neighbours. It's not something dh wants attached to his reputation ( I would never recommend the builders who shouted at my neighbours - it doesn't matter if neighbours started it, it isn't builders' role to upset them).

The dust is unavoidable but I don't think it's unreasonable at very least to let neighbours know how long it is going on for. Window cleaning is a nice bonus. U