Aibu new neighbours and building work?

[Threeandacat]

So the house next door to me has been recently sold. They have started doing building work and have said it will be 6-8 weeks of building as quite a lot. Our local council says building work to be done between 8-6pm. They started at 8.30 drilling banging etc the louder machinery I guess you would say. It is now 6.30pm and they are still working. Not the loud drilling etc (so far) but more hammering, taking tiles off etc scraping the walls etc so not as loud as during the day but I can hear it nonetheless. It's the first day so I'll see how it goes/if its a one off. But given they aren't using the louder machinery wibu to mention the construction hours etc? I have no idea what time they will be done. The thought of this going on for 8 weeks is driving me crazy already 😅

Unless they are working really late into the night, disturbing your sleep, I would let this go. Because working a bit later each night means they'll finish a bit sooner or may already be in their "will take 6-8 weeks" estimate

It won't be forever

Our local council says building work to be done between 8-6pm.

That's only a recommendation though. As far as I know there are no laws preventing them doing DIY past that time, although if it was really late at night you could report to Environmental Health.

Might be best to give it a couple of days and see how it pans out.

Thank you I thought because its not heavier work it would be OK I guess I'm grouchy from coming off night shifts 😅 I'll give it some time and see how it goes.

I think the council rules relate to big structural work, not DIY. For people who work full time, sometimes doing DIY in the evenings is the only option. I’d let it go unless it went on beyond about 9pm, at which point I’d go round and ask them to stop.

It’s only temporary and falling out with your neighbours can be way more hassle in the long run.

I think I’d let it go at 630 or even 730
It’ll take longer if they have to work shorter days

I'd put up with it tbh, but, I think that having a good relationship with the neighbours is worth it's weight in gold, and it'll give you a little leeway if you choose to have building work done in the future.

I don’t why people moan about their neighbours having building work. Seems so petty.

I don’t know if it differs between councils, but for ours, the restricted hours only apply for works that are part of the planning application

So if they are doing an extension, the hours apply

But if they are also refurbing a bathroom, the restricted hours don’t apply, just regular noise rules

Scraping walls and removing tiles is something any neighbour could be doing after work so not really like actual building work.

My understanding is 8 to 6pm is for electric tools /structural work only

You will have to live next to these people for years potentially.

I'd keep quiet. It sounds minor/ allowed and you don't want to be 'that' neighbour

I feel your pain, I live in the middle of 2 roads, we had about 6 new people move in over lockdown, the building work was relentless for about 8 months, day and night, it drove me insane.

But its standard when people move, its now over, I wish we had an open communication with them, so we could ask that they stop the 6am starts and 11pm finishes as it was too much, but also didn't want to sour any relationships.

Now its all over and normal peaceful service resumes.

Our neighbors requested no work after 6 when we had our building work done. We were fine with that (if disappointed) but it did add 3 weeks to the finish date. (Hence our disappointment.)

@Threeandacat

Thank you I thought because its not heavier work it would be OK I guess I'm grouchy from coming off night shifts 😅 I'll give it some time and see how it goes.

Awww you work ngiht shift? So you sleep during the day? I actually do empathise tbh.

Would you be able to get some proper noise cancelling headphones to help you sleep through it?

The time restrictions are for 'noisy' work, not building work per se.

And the definition of noisy is works that can be heard from the property boundary.

It might be annoying, but it's temporary and a means to an end.

Agree with most - I wouldn't start off being petty over it being into the early evening.
The longer the days worked now, the shorter the time they will be working for (as in number of days).
I know it is a pain, but it is just life really when we all live alongside others.

Also a night worker OP, invest in some white noise, if you have alexa, that has a skill called sleep sounds, honestly, it will save your sanity

We live in large Georgian terrace and as soon as the neighbour on the left finished their three month programme of complete refurbishment, the neighbour on the right started theirs. They are refinishing three storeys of wood floors, installing three new bathrooms and a new kitchen, and my favourite part, installing floor-to-ceiling library shelving on one of our shared walls. I actually rented an AirBnB nearby when that was going on- it was so loud my husband and could only communicate by shouting. Aside from just leaving for a week, the only thing that has saved my sanity is a big box fan to make white noise to drown them out. I point it away from myself when I don't want to actually be subject to gale force winds.