To dread neighbours' extension

[partyskirt]

Neighbours are just starting an extension on their house and moving out for 6 months -- how intrusive/bad will it be, do you think? What hours do builders tend to work? I don't want them messing about with baby wake-up/bedtime. Ugh.

Talla thanks for this, all I know is that the neighbours have moved out for 6 months. Hopefully it will take less time and they'll spend the last few months doing soundless decorating and picking up all the voodoo dolls I've made of them out of their garden

Neighbours took around 6 months but they were skint and did a lot of the internal work themselves. Cue many, many conversations about how it wasn't acceptable for them to start attaching the kitchen units to the party wall with ds bedroom when thy got home from work at 7pm!

My eon extension was 12 weeks start to finish, we stayed in the house and I work from home! It wasn't the funnest time but it was ok. Some days are noisy jobs (we had a thick concrete apron that needed dug out), some days are quiet (insulating and felt roofing).

Oh my life Lonny - you must hate their guts. May you be free of building work for the foreseeable future!

They were awful! We lived in a courtyard at the time, they managed to upset every single person there. Actually my top tip would be to make sure you have a phone number for them and to not let things fester. There was nearly a punch-up between extending neighbour and another neighbour over dug-up cobbles, access and fish tanks! But they were both massively PA and it all kicked off over long email chains. Just call and deal with stuff on the spot, it makes life easier in the long run.

My own builders were lovely, incredibly polite and respectful. I heard their apprentice swear once (they didn't know I was within earshot) and the dressing down he got from his supervisor was something else.

Wow well I have my fingers crossed these builders will be well-behaved. I hope the fish tank didn't get smashed! I already hate our neighbours so will have no qualms about complaining. I have actually emailed the contact person whose name is in the online planning archive to ask about how long it will take, which side of the house they will work on first (front or back), and what working hours the builders will have. Both me and DH hate things like this and it can majorly spiral us into despair, so I'm determined to be the calm and optimistic one. Just trying to work out what the damage will be myself. DH is more of a wade in and complain type.

Our single story extension plus some conversion work to old kitchen (digging up old tiled floor, damp proofing & turning into downstairs bathroom) took 7 weeks start to finish. Builders worked from 8am to about 4-5pm (winter so didn't do much external stuff when sun was going down). The boss was a proper old school slave driver though and often they would only have half an hour for lunch.

There were about 3 days when no work at all took place as they were waiting for the windows to be delivered. The plasterer came for about 3 days and turned up at 7am (with our consent).

First floor extension should be fine, unless they need to reinforce foundations under the existing building.

Basement could potentially be a nightmare. Think breakers, mini-diggers etc. It depends on how much they have to excavate. It can be pretty noisy.

The good thing is that once e she'll is up it will be less invasive noise (hammering, light drilling etc) so shouldn't be too bad.

I'd ask them not to start using breakers until 9am if they could, but they don't have to comply.

You do get used to the noise as long as it's not too loud. Things like cement mixers just blend into the background after a week or two.

Glad you are renting, that should mitigate the emotional side a lot.

It is quite a small area they need to excavate -- I reckon maybe 4 x 5 meters. (x 6 foot depth)

Basement conversions are incredibly anti-social.
Noise, vibrations, mud and dust everywhere.
And for what?

A damp little dark boxy room.

Totally agree coffee NDN spent 6 months converting one really lovely flat into one small flat plus two hideous bedroom in the basement flats, which he's as yet been unable to sell. Greedy, inconsiderate fecker got his...

Omg, actually just googled my old street and both basement conversions are up for sale still. We left the street 3 years ago . Oh karma, you are a bitch aren't you?

I would ask for a rent rebate. The ll should have told you.