To hate my neighbours and their million pound basement??

[Amimissingsomethinghere]

Okay so yes IABU but lord help me guys I don't know what to do.

Background - we live in central London on a quiet street in the ground floor flat of a converted terrace house. Next door they are returning the whole house (basically ripping everything out top to toe) and then adding in a very elaborate huge cinema basement room. There currently is no basement so there will be a LOT of drilling.

Basement works haven't even started. They are currently only ripping out the existing kitchen but this is ALREADY causing my walls to vibrate and the banging noise is unbearable. It's so loud in my sons nursery. His bedroom wall is on their side (we are in a small flat) and there's no way he will be able to nap in there.

I am already feeling extremely anxious and every band makes me jump. I am a SAHM and so will be around the flat a lot with my little boy. (1.5)

What do I do? There's nothing I can do is there? It's awful. I feel like sobbing.

The party wall surveyor said the basement would probably take a YEAR to build.

I feel trapped.

We could move out and rent but renting round here you barely get anything for your money!

But you would have the rental income from your flat to use to pay your own rent...

Could you get a mouse survey fine on your house during the day?

There may well be a code of practise that they must follow

Eg

https://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/472/codeoffpracticeforrsmall-scalebuildingg_sites.pdf

States that the noisiest work should be scheduled in conjunction with you. Since the builder said he would not, you can then start talking to the council

There are additional rules about noise levels from a health and safety perspective also, it's all very well the builders having ear defenders if you are close to the noise,

Have you contacted your council ?

X post galore!

We had our neighbours doing around 9 months of work when DS was a similar age. I was distraught. In reality he was able to sleep through it with a white noise machine.

I'd try and find out exactly when the loudest works were going to be. We ended going to Centre Parcs for two Monday - Fridays as they were cheap during the week.

I just think it all seems to unfair. If I was to do a basement I would be more than happy to pay some compensation to the neighbours so that they were able to go away if desperate for a few nights here and there. But no nothing. Not even a bloody note through the door. Just makes you feel like a piece of shit really.

Sounds like a nightmare. If it's long term, and you can, move out for the duration.

Look on the bright side though, next door are having a new kitchen and their builders came through my wall last week.

I did a super cursory google and this piece (link below) refers you to your council as PPs have suggested (from the website of lawyers that specialise in these kind of disputes). Team Brian May!

wards.uk.com/news/neighbours-building-work-ruining-life/

I would definitely do that, your child needs to nap! I hope you can get a reasonable solution

Tbh no, white noise didn’t cover it up at all. The only consolation is that the truly terrible drilling - which you just have to leave the house for - lasted maybe a few weeks. After that it was normal but still awful building noise.

Could you get a mouse survey fine on your house during the day?

Obvs I meant noise survey !!

@Binterested that's good to know it didn't last forever. I can deal with other noise just if it's insane loud drilling there is no way he will sleep through that. I wish there was another solution. Every day I'm nervous about the works :(

You're not unreasonable to be annoyed by it but assuming the neighbours got the relevant planning and party wall agreements then there isn't a whole lot you can do.
I say this as someone who has done a full basement, three times now. I felt bad for the neighbours, especially as we have also moved out to another house while they were being done. But in SW London, you have to accept that basements are part and parcel of adding value/square footage to skinny Victorian terraces and as long as councils permit them, there isn't much you can do, aside from make your objections known, albeit in your case at this stage it's too late.

Do feel for you though. My neighbours' just did theirs and the constant hammering was a bit annoying, albeit I knew that it wouldn't go on indefinitely.