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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To tell my neighbour to STOP

89 replies

Helpmememe · 28/04/2020 23:12

23:05 neighbours been doing DIY since early afternoon. For a few months now is he building the fucking Trojan horse and usually it ends about 8.
Lovely neighbour each time we see each other we don't have much conversation as he's not into the whole small talk kind of man, lives alone, has kids every now and then.
Don't know how to ask him to kindly NOT be drilling and hammering at 11pm at night, it's a terraced house so his walls are basically mine.
We both have kids so you'd think he'd have the consideration of kids sleeping!
It doesn't wake my kids but it keeps me awake and they get up at 6am!
I don't want to start a neighbour feud but don't think I can take this for however much longer he needs to finish his Noah's ark.

OP posts:

RebelWhoWashesFor19Seconds · 29/04/2020 07:37

Good Lord! Just go knock and simply say, "It's 11pm!"
Anyone with any sense at all should be well aware that doing DIY using power tools, sawing or hammering after say, 9pm is most definitely fucking stupid and ignorant to all the neighbours! After 7pm is pretty antisocial tbh but with some projects it's worth just cracking on that extra hour or so past 7pm to get it finished is acceptable on occasion.
I've done it before where a quick drill taking about a minute at 8pm to rehang something falling down made me cringe like hell and apologise to the (childless) neighbours the next time I saw them.

Sorocknroll · 29/04/2020 07:42

Although there is no law regarding diy work it's considered a nuisance outside of 8-8 week days. Bit like bonfires

I would knock on his door and stand back and just tell him the noise is travelling through so could he stop the noisy stuff like drilling after 8pm.

I lived in a terrace and the new neighbours were doing work at 9pm and I was really Ill so I sent my house mate to get them to pack it in.... next day I had a box of chocolates and flowers dropped off. They honestly just didn't realise.

And you can knock and stand back. I did this when I needed to take to neghbour about a tree and some fences. They were perfectly fine and lovely with talking to me on the doorstep

Supersimkin2 · 29/04/2020 08:13

He's breaking the law. The max you can inflict noisy work on your neighbours is 8am-6pm Mon-Fri and 9-1 on Sat.

He's a nasty neighbour.

3746xvy734 · 29/04/2020 08:15

A note through the door looks cowardly, like you're not sure you should be complaining. Face to face nice and pleasant is much better. I lived on my own for quite a while, you do get lost in your own little bubble a bit. It should have occurred to him it is too late but it hasn't.

ChoppingBlock · 29/04/2020 08:22

What did you do, OP?

My guess is he lost track of the time, I agree with PP, do NOT put a note through, just speak nicely to him, ask how he is, and mention the late night DIY noise - I'd ask if there's anything YOU do noise wise that he wants to mention too, so it's a collaborative conversation.

FallonSwift · 29/04/2020 08:25

Go and talk to him.

The majority of people are reasonable as long as you are polite when you speak to them.

CliveyBaby · 29/04/2020 08:33

Just knock and be polite!
I've been the culprit in this situation - hammering until 11 as I completely lost track of time. Some neighbours came to the door and I apologised (a lot), immediately stopped, and was much more careful after that!

custodiandiscount · 29/04/2020 08:44

just speak nicely, I did this with my massive scary hard-man downstairs neighbour and just asked him if he could turn his music down a little bit as I could hear it over my own. He was totally fine and really polite - we had a wee chat about music!

Mammatino · 29/04/2020 08:44

Speak to him nicely and matter of fact lay, don’t apologise though (I always do this and it puts you on the back foot). He isn’t giving a shit about neighbour relations doing this so you have every right to speak to him. Just ask him to start after 8/9 and finish at a reasonable hour.

thedancingbear · 29/04/2020 08:56

speak to him nicely, like a normal person

Nah, fuck that. You should go and hammer on his door and make some shit up about waking some kids

NotQuiteUsual · 29/04/2020 09:01

My first conversation with a neighbour was them letting us know the noise carried when our toddler played in his room early in the morning. We certainly didn't take it as a complaint, we were new to the house and didn't know which noises carried yet. Plus they were later to bed and later to rise than our family.

So we just made sure the toddler was taken downstairs as soon as he woke and that was that. I think almost everyone who lives in a terrace, knows there's a certain amount of give and take that's needed. If they don't know, then they need it to be pointed out to them.

Yourteaisgettingcold · 29/04/2020 09:17

I'm a non confrontational person but even I would knock on their door and tell them they may not be aware (even if ite obvious they would be) but the noise is so loud its keeping you up and can they keep to the council guidelines please.

Nanny0gg · 29/04/2020 09:20

There is nothing wrong with politely asking him to be careful of the time.

Herpesfreesince03 · 29/04/2020 09:24

Did you speak to him op?

Sorocknroll · 29/04/2020 09:27

@Supersimkin2 please show us the law he is breaking?

The nuisance noise law only applies for consistently making loud noise not a one off.

If after a polite conversation the neighbour persists or it gets worse then the op can log a nuisance noise complaint.

Ilovemypantry · 29/04/2020 09:32

I don’t believe that he doesn’t realise that you can hear his DIY noise through the walls. He’d have to be pretty thick if he didn’t (unlike the walls).
I would definitely go and speak to him about time limits for his DIY. in these difficult times we don’t need any extra stress.

Ilovemypantry · 29/04/2020 09:35

@Sorocknroll

Doesn’t sound like this is a one off though, OP said it’s being on for months

MyTwoLeftFeet · 29/04/2020 09:43

I hope you spoke to him OP. I do think it should be blindingly obvious to anyone that DIY noise is going to carry through to the nieghbours and be bloody annoying at 11pm!

lowlandLucky · 29/04/2020 09:50

Pull your big girl pants on and have a conversation with him ffs

Original poster

Helpmememe · 29/04/2020 09:51

Thanks all, he called it a night at midnight - I'm guessing he just didn't realise how loud it actually is and the fact he did not have his children last night. He is a really nice man - been out to give me tools etc in the past when he saw me changing my tyres in the drive I don't think he's a genuine no consideration bellend.

By the sounds of things most people won't take offence to being asked so I'm going to try to catch him today, we're both often in our gardens. I was thinking of saying something like "Oh I've been hearing you've been busy around the house, big project?" That should let him know I can hear it??! Nice enough?

I'm exhausted this morning by my own fault I know.

OP posts:

Nanny0gg · 29/04/2020 09:53

Too nice! Just ask him to please stop by 7 as you can hear it! Its stopping you sleeping! Be polite but direct!

MyTwoLeftFeet · 29/04/2020 09:56

That's definitely too nice OP. Just politely ask him to cut the DIY out after 8pm. That's still very nice and reasonable on your part but doesn't leave him in any doubt as to what you're actually asking.

StormTreader · 29/04/2020 10:02

Just say "Hi! So, I feel a bit awkward asking but our walls are really thin - is there any chance you could try not to do so much hammering/sawing after 8pm or so? It's really noisy and with the kids waking up at 6, I'm having real trouble sleeping! I'm so sorry to ask you but it's making things really difficult for me"

saraclara · 29/04/2020 10:03

Way too nice.

If you don't want to sound TOO complainy, just ask him if the work he was doing last night is finished, because you need to get an early night tonight. Hopefully the conversation about how loud it was will naturally flow from there.

curious79 · 29/04/2020 10:04

Man up and put a polite note through his door, as social distancing requires this, and very kindly asked if he could make some changes. Start polite and friendly and it’s amazing where you can get

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