Inconsiderate Neighbours

[Gorillaandme]

AIBU to think it would be polite if having loud building work done to prior warn next door neighbour (semi detached) of it taking place when they know I have a toddler? (As do they)

I have new neighbours who are completely renovating next door. I have already had issues with them drilling and hammering late at night. Once until 1am. My husband has already had a polite chat about this and they agreed to stop at 8pm. I'm aware most of the renovations are happening after work so that's why we agreed 8pm.

They are having windows fitted this week which we knew nothing about. My daughter (18 months) will only sleep in her pram and I have to push her around for an hour before she falls asleep. This week she has also been teething so getting minimal sleep. Yesterday I took her out and walked around until she fell asleep. I returned to the house shaking and the noise was horrific she woke up instantly and was really distressed. My dog who had been at home well I poped out had shit on kitchen floor because he was so scared and today isn't eating and got upset stomach from stress.

I ended up having to go out in car to let daughter sleep. I got no rest and I didn't have anywhere to take dog.

I'm just angry because if I had known in advance I could have arranged with my sister to go round there with daughter and dog. I'm not sure how long this will be going on either.

Do you think this is inconsiderate on there part or am I the unreasonable one? I don't know whether to say something because I don't want to fall out with them.

They aren’t legally permitted to make noise till 1am. I’d have called the police by now.

@SilverChime they stopped making noise past 8pm after our first chat. The noise yesterday was in daytime. Im just annoyed I hadn't been Lee warned so I could prevent my dog and daughter getting so stressed.

Whilst building work is annoying and of course 1am was unacceptable it does sound like they are now adhering to the correct timings for carrying out work.

Are the windows being fitted was during the day? If so I don't think they need to inform you of every bit of work they are having done, if it really is a total overhaul then unfortunately it is going to be noisy at times.

Check permitted building work times on your council website - from memory it’s 8am - 6pm Mon - Fri & 8am - 1pm Sat. No works allowed on a Sun or bank holiday.

As long as they work within these hours they are permitted to do so and don’t need to inform you or ask your permission.

It wouldn't kill them to put a note through your door

You are v generous, I wouldn’t allow them to make noise as late as 8pm.

They sound inconsiderate at best. Explain your situation and that you’d like advance notice on works.

Thank you for your replies. I'm not asking legally if they need my permission because I'm well aware they don't I just mean from a polite neighbour point of view as the noise has caused my family such distress and I had no prior warning to make arrangements.

The ironic thing is we moved to this house because we lived on a new build site before and the noise was making my dog sick as he's very anxious and my baby couldn't sleep. And now it's worse.

I can definitely understand your frustration, building works going on next door will always be a pain, but having a restless child will amplify things to meltdown levels.

That said however, it does sound like you have considerate neighbours. Working til 1am was obviously a piss take but honestly, people just don't think it is affecting the neighbours. As soon as you mentioned it they did the right thing by you and believe me that isn't as common as you'd imagine.

The works during the day I'm sure they just didn't think about mentioning, I doubt they realised at all that the noise & disruption would be significantly greater than at other times, after all they aren't window fitters.

Yes, they could have told you it was happening but I think it's just the situation that's made you extra frustrated. If you take a step back I think you'll accept that while they haven't been perfect, they've been good neighbours.

It would have been a good idea for them to tell you how long the works will take but you cant moan about them making noise during the day as they're permitted and entitled to do that. Theyve stopped at night, which is what you asked.

Knock again and ask them how much longer the noisy works will be going on for so if you need to be out the house you can arrange this, inconvenient but renovations of houses do take place and dont last forever.

Perhaps talk to them about your concerns - they are trying to make their house nice and normal working hours isn't unfair - 1am is ridiculous though
Tell them that you'd rather know times when it's going to be very disruptive so you can make alternative arrangements .. job done

In my area its not before 7am and not after 11pm. Just grin and bare it. Looking from another side the longer hours its taking the quicker it will be over.

@SellmeyourMLMcrap maybe your right. I am extremely exhausted at the moment as 19 weeks pregnant and with a toddler and hip pain I'm really struggling to cope. I need my hour rest I get when she's napping during the day and I'm not getting it. My husband works 12 hour days and I'm burnt out. This is just another thing on top.

I just mean from a polite neighbour point of view as the noise has caused my family such distress and I had no prior warning to make arrangements.

Whilst I would do this for a one off job e.g. when we had our bathroom refurbed for a week in the summer if I was completely overhauling the whole house I probably wouldn't let a neighbour know what was happening as its unlikely you could make alternative arrangements for such an extended amount of time.

If they have lots of jobs to do the work is going to be continuous and therefore even with prior warning short of moving out so neither the baby or dog were distressed there wouldn't be much you could do.

I feel your pain; whole house renovations going in next door, the family has moved out and I work from home!

However, it's been made tolerable by both the neighbours and the builders acknowledging it's horrible to live next door to, the neighbours check in on a regular basis to see if everything is ok, and the builders (after a few tricky situations like jackhammering non stop for 13 hours on the hottest day of the year) will now knock and say that they've got to do something really noisy today.

In your shoes I would go round and say please can we talk. I appreciate that you need to do the renovations and thank you for no longer working after 8pm. However, it's hard to live next to with a toddler and therefore please can you give me some advance warning if you're going to do something noisy and/or dirty, so I can plan my day accordingly, as I do have to live with it! Hopefully they will be reasonable and ask their builders to warn you going forward.

Agree grin and bear it. It's short term, but your relationship with them will be ongoing.

I don't think you can reasonably expect notice of all daytime building work without asking specifically for it. However, if you ask and explain that you have an option to go elsewhere and would like notice then I imagine they will be happy to help.

They were most certainly not being inconsiderate about not informing you though.

You have my greatest sympathy. I moved very rurally to get away from city non stop noise. It's a tiny hamlet and deadly quiet. A year later a man moved in next door and spent a whole summer pratting around with scaffolding and dirt noise and mess. It ruined the whole summer for me but there was nothing I could do. So I smiled and gritted my teeth. It went on for six months with very little to show at the end ( I know as he then rented it out and I've since been inside)
It won't last forever

Call your local council - although there are set hours when building works can be carried out I was told that it doesn't mean they can do what they like noise wise during these hours if it's causing a nuisance. You don't have to report them but hopefully having a chat with someone will help.

Good luck and brace yourself, if they are already so inconsiderate, they will be an absolute nightmare.

The fact that you have a child is pretty irrelevant, no one in their right mind makes noise in a semi until 1am. That is just nasty.

I think they are very inconsiderate and selfish, and would be very worried about them moving in once the work is finished.

To be fair they don't know your circumstances. Most people would probably assume that you are out at work or somewhere all day in the day time. They probably don't realise you have an anxious dog, grumpy toddler and are struggling with being pregnant.

I think they are very inconsiderate and selfish, and would be very worried about them moving in once the work is finished

Why should the Op be worried about them moving in? Other than one occasion where the work went on until an unreasonable hour they are only doing what any new neighbour would have to do. No matter who brought the house I presume the work would need to be completed and once finished they may end up to be lovely neighbours.

AuntieMaggie That's ridiculous! You cant call the council about them when they're actually being very reasonable with their noise. It's normal renovations noise (from what the OP has said) and it is more than likely they're actually doing the work for less hours than theyre permitted to. As a poster above suggested, work can usually start earlier and go on longer than it is and I think getting the council involved will surely get the neighbours back up or alert them to the fact they can carry out noisy work for longer hours than they are.

Why should the Op be worried about them moving in? Other than one occasion where the work went on until an unreasonable hour

if you read the OP, it's not ONE occasion, and even if it was, that's too many already! WHO in their right mind does building work in the middle of the night? Do they assumed that their neighbours were deaf, or did they just don't care?

They ARE rude and entitled, what more do you want them to do to see it?

If they chose to buy a semi-detached, with neighbours, then they should respect said neighbours and work at acceptable hours. Not bothering to show any respect or manners mean they are CF.

I don’t think they need to update you of every new bit of information. You know there’s building work going on and you have agreed it will be finished by 8 each night. If they’re sticking to that then they’ve done their bit. Do you really want a note every day like ‘Today we will be drilling’, ‘Today you will hear hammering’, ‘Today there will be digging’ or whatever. You know there’s probably going to be noise until 8, that’s enough.

YANBU next door are wank faced tossers.