To think some neighbours think their garden is sound-proofed

[QuizzlyBear]

Our neighbours aren't bad people and they aren't terrible neighbours. As soon as the sun pokes its head out from behind a cloud though they immediately go into Full Summer Mode - the music is hacked up to 11, they hold extended shouting conversations (presumably to be heard above the music) and have every friend they ever made over for BBQs until the early hours of the following morning.

AIBU to think that this is an unreasonable reaction to the first sniff of summer? We live in a residential street and our garden (not large) is mere feet from them. If we hold a conversation in the garden in the summer it has to be shouted to be heard and we can't put our own music as it would be a deafening mix of our taste and theirs (MOTR Rock). Unless we stake our claim by turning our music on at 8am (in the stereotypical manner of German tourists and sun beds), we have to 'enjoy' their summer...

Have you tried asking them if they can turn it down and not play it so loud?

Did that a couple of years ago - got a breezy 'but it's summer - when else do we get to enjoy the outdoor space?' in response. When I pushed it (a bit, they do love a confrontation and I don't) they laughed and I heard them doing loud and exaggerated shushing with their friends for a couple of days until the novelty of taking the piss wore off.

Right now they're all singing loudly along to Heart FM's greatest hits.

As a Winter Person I fucking hate Summer People and their enforced, outdoor, spaghetti strapped, boozy fun.
There's always one loud, obnoxious prick at every BBQ too.
Christ, roll on Autumn.

Just turn up at their door with a tray of chicken legs each time and say, "We heard you were having a BBQ!"

Invite yourselves in, nick the best garden chair and start up a karaoke.

My old next door neighbours used to talk v loudly with the odd swear word thrown in. They had a massive garden but chose to sit near the boundary fence. In the end I used to force my kids out to play in the garden when they were outside so I’d have to endure their noise and not the NDNs.

I used to dread the summer with my old,old nnn's.
Music was cranked up, like yours.
BBQ was brought out, like yours.
Shouting and some swearing, like yours.
But the clincher for making us decide to move was when they installed a blow up pool to use at their bbq parties. We were so sleep deprived because every fri,sat,Sun night,out they were from lunchtime until 3am. Squealing and shouting whilst dive bombing into the pool whilst pissed.

I don't miss those neighbours one bit.

YANBU. We are the only ones without a garden round here so are stuck indoors (and have illhealth so going out is difficult) but can hear everybody else's loud, mundane and bickery interactions from every direction. Its shit.

Same as kids playing out all around us (but not in the sacious and well equipped play park 150 metres away) so long as there is less noise in the house the parents dont care. Wish we could move but is very difficult. Ho hum.

I would bloody hate that. I’m so grateful the little girl who screamed dawn til dusk has grown up and that the boys next door have considerate parents. Some people don’t give a toss and have zero consideration, I think there should be laws against it. Wanker neighbours can ruin the summer.

I've spent the sunny afternoon driving around with my very tolerant DH looking at alternate places to move to. It's probably just a pipe dream but the prospect of peace and quiet to relax outside is very tempting!

They're not utter wankers, just EXTREME extroverts who are never happy unless they're surrounded by people and noise. Nobody else in our road makes much noise in the summer so we just pulled the short straw!

I think what I need is a non-confrontational/ PA way of getting the message across, so that they have no piss-taking recourse. Anyone succeeded with this approach?

The neighbours whose house back onto ours have the screamiest children in the whole world who never seem to go to bed and never talk to each other, they always just bloody scream and screech. Today, first sunny day with patio doors open, punctuated by squeals of what sound like absolute torment. Does my bloody head in.

I agree there’s always one house like this on every street (or more if you’re unlucky!!)

I think the best approach is to be direct but polite and civil, face to face asking is better than an arsey note but I know it completely depends on the type of personalities they have!

YANBU. Last week on the first reasonable day at a weekend I was happily pottering in the garden when music started blaring out at a totally unacceptably level for a resedential area.We heard it last year and have worked out it comes from a nearby school playing field being used by various football clubs.It used to be that we could hear the distant thump of the ball and cheers.It seems now they cant train /play without the thud thud of music.If it happens regularly I will find the relevant people to have a word.Sometimes I know why summer is my least favourite season despite loving being outdoors.

I like my music on in the garden, but keep it down low.
Last house we lived in, the neighbours were awful. The bloke, who was friendly to us, but had been in jail, loved all his food on the BBQ in summer and the barbie was flush to the wall next to our patio seating area. The worst was when I looked out of the window and saw them all cracking cans of Natch at 10am, had the BBQ on the go, and were exchanging porno DVDs and magazines.

FrancisUnderwood I totally agree! I get utterly pissed off with the stink of barbecue smoke that permeates the air the second it looks like the sun might shine for more than 5 minutes. I understand that warm weather is not the norm in this country,but really,some people go OTT. I saw a woman in one of the front gardens in my road today mowing the lawn wearing a bikini. Christ it's 16 degrees here,not that bloody warm! And I HATE with a vengeance all the exposed (usually male) flesh on display everywhere,from the supermarket to the coffee shops the second the thermometer hits 15 degrees. can't wait until Autumn

I live near a gym. It's kind of at the back of my house but with a green between us. The first class starts at 6.15am and I've been woken up loads of times by the music and shouts of the instructor.
I went round an complained once and they turned it down a bit but it's still so loud and the noise carries because there's nothing between us.

Play the type of music you think they don’t like, very loudly. Keep repeating the same 3/4 songs and when they complain just give them the same answer back.

It could always be worse - I've spent the day building a forge so my neighbours are going to have put up with the ring of hammer upon anvil as well as the smell of hot steel.

@ferretygubbins I love the 'build your own forge' solution as I think that would probably have the most impact. Sadly we don't have the room or the intelligence for that (would very likely burn down the house).

I might spend the cloudy Sunday collating a playlist of irritating songs to play loudly on repeat next time, in the hope that they realise how annoying it is. That or move my 11-year-old's drum kit into the back garden 😈

Contact the council. There is legislation for levels of noise at different times of the day and after 11pm is a no-no. I used to work for our night noise team and warm summer evenings were always busy with people sitting outside. We were contacted through the police control room but other areas can be contacted directly. There are all sorts of penalties from fines (letter also goes to landlord if rented) all the way up to ASBO and being put out of the house for a time (our council was the first to get an owner out of their house for six months for excessive noise).

Record, record, record.

Log it and report to environmental health

Get the old opera cds out and play them full blast every time they are out in the garden. Fire up your bbq and invite your mates round and have a blast.

Just get some very powerful speakers a turn on beathoveb's fifth at top volume every time they are too loud. When they complain just throw the breezy 'bit it's summer, when else do we get to enjoy our outdoor space?' back in their faces. If they persist then tell them that you are only so loud because they are too loud. If they keep their noise levels to a civilised level them you can too and you can both enjoy your gardens instead of you being forced to listen to their chavy shindigs every other day.