Neighbours who work from home

[Confusednewmum1]

So we have moved to a house that requires total renovation, it has not been touched for over 50 years. We have spoken to the NDN about plans ie rip house apart and start again/extension ect. However every time we do work they complain about the noise as they work from home.

I get that this can be frustrating but at the moment we can’t give a schedule of work just due to the nature of old house. Example last week new front door on Friday to be fitted told 1 hour job no real noise ect. It then turned into needing a lintel, brickwork repair....... but this all spiralled in the moment.

My neighbours seem to think my builders should work around their calls ect. But I have really just advised there will be building work most days Mon-Friday 8:30-5 until at least the end of the year, it’s the only honest timeline. Council are happy as they have said noise not excessive ie generators or nematic drilling. But my neighbours have said this is not acceptable and there 2 1/2 year old naps during the day???

I also have a young child who happened to still be asleep this morning when they complained at 10am as door frame was going in and they where on a call.

AIBU to think that if they work from home then noise is their issue to mitigate not mine?

A whole year? That is well beyond taking the piss, that's f'ing ridiculous. 6 months maybe, no more than 9. Building an entire house from scratch takes less time. As things seem to need more work than budgeted due to the state of the house, it sounds like the house is well beyond saving. Why not bulldoze the house (it sounds like it's long overdue; houses imo should have use by dates and it is cheaper and quicker to knock down than continue to make patch up repairs) and build a new house? It will be quicker and there won't be all the nasty surprises of things not working/needing longer than planned?

FFS tell them to get a commercial property to work in.
Yes, it's that easy
I'm freelance and work at home. I can't possibly afford to rent an office/desk space.

if you end up working at 11pm it only inconveniences you.
I avoid late-night working and stick to pretty much 'office' hours because I think working late is unhealthy; and I want to spend evenings with my DP and friends. I don't think that's unreasonable.

Having said all that, if I were the neighbour I wouldn't keep complaining. It's not reasonable to expect you to fit the work around their wants. There's often work going on in the nearby houses and gardens when I'm at home trying to concentrate, but that's just life. I don't have to do calls but if I did I'd get good headphones, as my lodger does when he works from the house.

I'm also a bit at reading They have a home office in their garage buts it’s too cold at the moment. Having a home office installed presumably cost money; it's a bit of a waste not to make sure it's adequately heated. I don't have much sympathy for them really.

So are you letting the contract room by room, if there will be weeks between them? If so, you can at least tell the neighbours as each parcel of work is scheduled so that they have that information. If it’s a single contract, you must have an idea of what’s going to happen when so that you can check the work is on track, so do share that with them, too. Imagine how frustrating it would be never knowing when a really disruptive noise was going to end - three hours, three days, three weeks? It’s much easier to tolerate if you know that there’s an end in sight.

A year is taking the piss. building an extension is selfish and a bit stupid. You should have bought a bigger house.

I had 2 years constant building work as first one immediate neighbour and then the other did a full gut and refurb (terrace so literally on the other side of the wall). It was horrendous, but it is life.

It sounds like you are keeping work within the hours permitted by the council, so you do not need to change anything.

I live in a flat in Germany. Last year the balconies were all replaced. Just the balconies. It took more than 3 months of noise, on and off (and I don't even have a balcony). Sounds like the UK has some excellent builders if a whole house can be done so quickly.

Might be legal but it's very inconsiderate.

My NDNs built a huge extension using very messy, noisy builders. They used my drive to dump stuff and also my outdoor tap (sloshing cement or whatever all the way up the drive) It was to take 3 months but was almost a year.

NDNs apologised profusely over that time, handing in bottles of wine and flowers. When it was all finished I got a lovely, thoughtful present from them.

Yep, it was a pain. DH and I both work from home. But they did their very best to mitigate the annoyance. If they had been like posters on here with a "It's legal, suck it up" attitude relations might be very strained!

My husband works from home and we have new neighbours that are planning to extend. We cannot stop them, it's their right. My hubby will just apologise if any noise whilst on a call or say they will call back when quieter. It's only temporary after all.

It’s a renovation project not a building project and these things can take years. It may take years....... once the extension and living areas are done I will then save for things like bathrooms, loft conversion ect.
But I can pretty much guarantee that there will be disruption at some point every week for a year.

Planning is tough as things change so quickly and in the moment. Ie
Door no doesn’t fit because of lintel being added..... Do you want me to cut step or wait on new door?
Cut step
Queue grinder coming out of van. I could have literally given 1 minute notice, if they had their doorbell switched on. They switch it off all day so not disturbed but order from amazon constantly and I take in their packages like a good neighbour with no fuss.

It's a residential area.

This is a risk they took when they chose to WFH. There are other places people can work, even if self-employed.

By all means warn them of when the noisiest work is likely to take place. Be clear about what level of confidence can be applied to your schedule, it may be a bit approximate.

You risk pissing off your builders, if you keep asking them to adjust their schedule. It's hard enough for them to make a plan and try to stick to it, given that many tasks cannot be predicted accurately; where unexpected things are uncovered, things aren't straight, or just take longer than expected. Other things are quicker, allowing them to move to the next task. They're not going to sacrifice that advantage if the next task is noisy, as to do so would make the whole job take longer and lose them money.

Generally, neighbours apply a 'give and take' attitude to this stuff, as next time it will be them wanting to put scaffolding on your path, have delivery vans park outside and have noisy work done.

I work from home full time and I actually don’t think YABU at all!

They will have to find a quiet place to go during the day. Also, are they really working from home if their 2 year old is there?

I wouldn’t worry about this OP

Stop taking in their parcels, it's up to them if they turn the bell off and miss a delivery

It's unreasonable to ask the builders to work to some insane schedule around naps, calls etc. I'm afraid your relations are toast and I'd just crack on as fast as possible. Just tell them you're sorry it's disrupting them but it will be noisy until it's done and in a house of hay age whoever bought it would be doing the same.

A year of building work.
Christ a new house can be built in 2months.

It’s just the rotten attitude that their job comes before everything

Well, yes, for them it does. Presumably because they need to work to pay their mortgage and bills!

I could have literally given 1 minute notice, if they had their doorbell switched on. They switch it off all day so not disturbed but order from amazon constantly and I take in their packages like a good neighbour with no fuss.
Say to them that if they switch their doorbell on you'll be able to give them notice of noise. They'll have to choose between being given notice and having a parcel-taker.

Sounds like the UK has some excellent builders if a whole house can be done so quickly.
Whole housing estates go up near me in 3 months.

OP
I'm supportive of renovations and given no major work has started yet and the neighbors are complaining I think you're in for a long run with them. It reminds me of threads where people have neighbors complaining about the sound of their children because the previous owners were retired or worked away a lot so now the neighbors think any family noise is outrageous.

However, if you're running the renovation room by room then that is quite inconsiderate.
I'd have imagined you'd be better off doing major structural work first, get it done and then work internally. It seems an awful lot of disruption to do plastering and electrics in bedrooms then move room to room when an alternative is get the extension done and any structural work for a couple of months (brief the neighbors) and then have one contractor in to do a full house rewire, have the plumbing done as a house, plastering as a house.
Are you doing room by room so you can live in the house? Just from what you're saying this is a total overhaul and I'd be inclined to say it's probably not the sort of project that works well with people living on site.

inform them when noisy works are scheduled.
maybe offer cake/wine occasionally.
other than that. tough. that's life.

I have a good headset for when I am in conference calls. other participants are not able to hear the washer spinning or dc doing band practice with friends...

YANBU but it is shit for them. I've have to put up with three renovations in 2019 / 2020 (house opposite, next door and next door but one) all back to back. Some builders very inconsiderate with noise and parking. It has been absolute rubbish, especially when I worked from home. My kids were at school so not as much of a pain as for your neighbours who have a little one still napping.

The building work in itself is not unreasonable but I would be anxious at the idea of having it every working day until the end of the year.

However, if you're running the renovation room by room then that is quite inconsiderate. I'd have imagined you'd be better off doing major structural work first, get it done and then work internally. It seems an awful lot of disruption to do plastering and electrics in bedrooms then move room to room when an alternative is get the extension done and any structural work for a couple of months (brief the neighbors) and then have one contractor in to do a full house rewire, have the plumbing done as a house, plastering as a house. Are you doing room by room so you can live in the house? Just from what you're saying this is a total overhaul and I'd be inclined to say it's probably not the sort of project that works well with people living on site.

Yeah, I totally agree with this to be honest. You're choosing to live on site (presumably because it's cheaper) but doing so is extending the job massively and causing more disruption than if you just did all the, say, plastering at once, and then the tiling, or whatever.

I understand both POV. I have an office base, but I can also work at home. This is pretty marvelous tbh as there is a major redevelopment happening next door to my office which will go on for about 3 years. So I am able to switch location as I need to. I don't have face to face meetings very often - always over skype. So I understand that noise if you are permanently based at home can be intrusive (and no amount of noise-cancelling headphones will help with interrupted concentration levels).

All that said I am working at home today - there is a neighbour at the top of the road who is having major structural work being done but I can't really hear it. What I can hear is the noise of Network Rail machinery and the constant beeping of reversing trucks.

I will say that I also have access to a workspace that I can use for free on the basis that I buy numerous amounts of coffee throughout the day. There are places you can hotdesk in for as little at £10 a day.

So I don't think YABU. Maybe talk with the neighbour - outline the works that need to be done and if you can share a rough timeline. If it's a period where you think there will be extra noise consider offering to cover the cost of a hotdesk for a few days.

I think fostering a good relationship with neighbours where possible is a priority (though some people are just dicks and it doesn't matter what you do)

I actually agree with others, if you can move out and shorten the time frame that would be better. If it was taking 5 months then your neighbour might be able to afford to rent a temp office space but that is a bit ask for a whole year for a small buiness.

*adaline
It’s just the rotten attitude that their job comes before everything

Well, yes, for them it does. Presumably because they need to work to pay their mortgage and bills!*

Exactly. And considering the neighbours lived there first before the OP moved into a 'house' that by all rights shouldn't even still be standing and should have been condemned and decided to string it out with weeks not doing any work instead of doing it quickly all in one go.... Seriously there should be a law against this. If a house has been untouched for that long, it should be bulldozed. No ifs, ands, or buts. Anything longer than 6 months should be illegal in a residential area. The more the OP posts, the more I feel they are being a CFer and deliberately taking the hardest and longest route.

Your builders sound as though they are rinsing you to the maximum and judging by your previous few posts, you've fallen for it.

I'm so glad you don't live next to me. I actually feel sorry for your neighbours as you appear to show very little empathy towards them.