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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

...to think if you're having a day of noisy building work and you KNOW your NDN works from home...

84 replies

Saltysea2001 · 16/05/2019 09:45

...and that their DS is in the middle of their A-levels, you let your neighbours know, as a matter of courtesy, so they can make alternative arrangements.

So.
Fucking.
Annoying.

OP posts:
JacquesHammer · 16/05/2019 11:37

I WFH. Wouldn’t occur to me to expect my neighbours to inform me of any building work.

The likelihood of neighbour-noise is surely one of the potential pitfalls of working from home.

WeepingWillowWeepingWino · 16/05/2019 11:43

Jacques I think people are going to have to start being more considerate - WFH is on the rise and, as is always the case, I'm never quite sure I understand why the person causing disruption is always the one that gets their way.

DelphicOracle · 16/05/2019 11:45

Annnnnnnnddddd, judging by at least half of the posts on this thread alone, who dont think communication with others is relevant / kind / a common courtesy - I think we now all know why there are SO many neighbour threads on AIBU Grin...

JacquesHammer · 16/05/2019 11:46

I think people are going to have to start being more considerate - WFH is on the rise and, as is always the case, I'm never quite sure I understand why the person causing disruption is always the one that gets their way

The thing is, I’m not sure my neighbours even know I work from home.

In any event, I still think building work is a totally normal, everyday noise.

How do you mean “get their way”. What’s the alternative? Not have the work done? Do it at weekends and then everyone complains it’s noisy at a weekend?

Sure it’s annoying but there’s so many options when WFH to drown it out!

groundcontroltomontydon · 16/05/2019 11:47

I've just been reading about someone licking the mayonnaise off a boiled egg and putting it back in a help-yourself salad so while yanbu, it's not surprising. People are weird. And rude. But mostly weird.

Original poster
Saltysea2001 · 16/05/2019 11:47

So interesting how views fall into one of two camps.

You know there are something like a dozen questions the answers to which reveal if two people are romantically compatable?! I wonder if this question indicates political inclination, for example?

OP posts:
Original poster
Saltysea2001 · 16/05/2019 11:48

@DelphicOracle - my thoughts exactly!

OP posts:
outvoid · 16/05/2019 11:49

It is common courtesy but obviously under no obligation. Ear plugs or earphones on full whack should work.

PlinkPlink · 16/05/2019 11:51

Not necessarily.

It is courteous yes. But...

We had some work done on our chimney. I genuinely didnt think he noisy it would be or how far the noise would reverberate to our neighbours.

A day or two later, I knocked on the NDN's door and apologised for the noise. We had a good natter.

In future, I will be letting them know of the noise. It was just an oversight on our part that we didn't think it'd be that noisy.

So yes, it is courteous to let NDN's know but it's not always going to happen.

Do you have a good relationship with your neighbours? That can quite often play a role.

WeepingWillowWeepingWino · 16/05/2019 11:59

Jacques well, IME 95% of work done is choice not necessity. You're never going to persuade me that a house needs to be gutted less than 5 years after it's been gutted the first time.

(That's another thing - IME people cause massive disruption for months on end (whilst not being resident) and then sell up just a few years later. It's a fucking hobby - a phenomenally inconsiderate hobby.)

'Get their way' - on MN if someone who isn't disturbing anyone gets upset about someone who is causing disturbance, most of the time the one minding their own business not bothering anyone is told to suck it up and stop thinking the world revolves around them.

JacquesHammer · 16/05/2019 12:02

'Get their way' - on MN if someone who isn't disturbing anyone gets upset about someone who is causing disturbance, most of the time the one minding their own business not bothering anyone is told to suck it up and stop thinking the world revolves around them

It’s kind of true though! I mean there are so many options available to those who work from home on the main. I think people whip themselves up into unnecessary stress over stuff that could have far less impact if they let it Smile

(And before anyone asks, no I’ve never had any noisy work done on the house and yes, I mow my lawn and use hedge trimmers after 10am on a weekend Wink)

Smolo · 16/05/2019 12:06

How bad can it be? I am currently living on a building site. We're one of the first people to move into a new housing development and live with constant noise six days a week. My house quite literally shakes as excavators go by and today they have dug up the road outside to lay pipes. Both DH and I work from home and have not found it a problem. A lot of my work is phone based too.

CherryBlossom23 · 16/05/2019 12:12

I work from home and live on the middle floor of a block of flats, so arguably noise travels more than it would from the neighbours semi detached/detached house. None of my neighbours have ever given me notice of when there will be noisy home improvement work being carried out, I only realise when the drilling starts. I think you are being precious OP.

BlueCornishPixie · 16/05/2019 12:24

I think that while it is courtesy to let a neighbour know, I do think that building work happens, and as long as it's in the the day you can't really complain. It's just part of living next to people.

For one day I don't think I would be too annoyed, but I probably would have given you a heads up.

Dottierichardson · 16/05/2019 12:41

YANBU we always tell neighbours on either side if we’re having building work done, and they tell us, it’s common courtesy. It’s less annoying if you know when it’s going to happen and if you know how long it’s going to go on for – plus as you said there’s the option of going out while it’s happening. As a result, we have no problems with our neighbours and vice versa. We all have each others’ mobile contact details, all it takes is a quick text.

BlueSkiesLies · 16/05/2019 13:36

If you work from home you accept it isn’t a sanitised office environment.

Wear headphones. Go to a cafe/library. Whatever. People are perfectly entitled to do noisy building work on their houses.

Needallthesleep · 16/05/2019 14:01

I get that it’s annoying, but I have no idea what building work will be noisy and what won’t be. We did some minor renovations last year that I thought would be quiet and unobtrusive, but turned out to be pretty impactful. And this year we are doing major work which so far is very quiet and dust free.

Veryangryvicuna · 16/05/2019 14:09

I don’t think you’re being unreasonable. When we got noisy building work done, we went round to our immediate neighbours and let them know well in advance. I didn’t know them all that well - didn’t realise that one of them worked nights so slept during the day, but in going round to tell them about the work, we found out...

There wasn’t a lot we could do to make the work quieter, but they at least had warning of the work. Really the least we could do.

TheFlis12345 · 16/05/2019 14:11

If it is just one day then they may not have had a lot of notice. For smaller jobs our builder often used to just fit us in when he had time (usually when materials for a major job were delayed). A couple of times he called us late in the evening to ask if he could come over the next day so we couldn’t have given neighbours notice.

UnicornDust9 · 16/05/2019 14:14

Wouldn’t even cross my mind to let a neighbor know I had building work planned

Tawdrylocalbrouhaha · 16/05/2019 14:15

If you work from home you accept it isn’t a sanitised office environment.

I really agree with this. With more and more people choosing to use their home as a workplace, I think they need to understand that nobody else needs to plan around this.

A note through the door apologising for the noise would be polite, but not particularly because someone works from home.

shrill · 16/05/2019 14:18

Does anyone ever think about those who work nights and therefore need a good day's sleep? It's part of life. Do those who work from home ever show consideration for those who do not when they have visitors and deliveries etc or are working as a child minder and have little ones play in their garden? It's all part of life.

WeepingWillowWeepingWino · 16/05/2019 14:31

Do those who work from home ever show consideration for those who do not when they have visitors and deliveries etc

errr - what? If I'm working from home I don't have visitors! And I end up taking in loads of deliveries for neighbours who are working out of the home!

What am I meant to be showing consideration for here, if I work from home?

JustTwoMoreSecs · 16/05/2019 14:35

@WeepingWillowWeepingWino you seem annoyed that people that do major work move out until the work is done. What would it change for you if they didn’t?? You do realize you can’t really live in a house hlf built for obvious safety reasons?

catsmother · 16/05/2019 14:37

I'm still agog at the number of posters who blithely declare they'd not prewarn neighbours about building noise. As someone who's worked entirely from home for over a decade I fully accept my neighbours might want to improve or repair their homes every so often but there's a big psychological difference when you know - roughly - how long it's going to take because there's a light at the end of the tunnel and you might be able to make alternative arrangements for some of that time. Being unable to open your windows in the height of summer because you're trying to minimise noise and not having a clue when it's going to be finished is another thing entirely.