AIBU to think DIY/Building work should stop at a weekend?

[VelvetChairGirl]

someone in this building has been drilling and banging from 10am to 5pm every day since Wednesday and they are at it again today, its Saturday.

Your local council may well outline times when noisy work is acceptable, Saturday is certainly entirely reasonable. Should these trades be barred from working on a Saturday?

It is annoying for everyone but part of life. Also - this is only day 4, if it was an extension or renovation it would be perfectly reasonable for them to be banging around for a few months, not a few days.

Properties need maintaining and it simply can't be done quietly most of the time, getting irritated with the noise is a surefire way to increase your stress levels needlessly

Just try and be happy for them that they are able to improve their living conditions - mind over matter in this instance

Look up permitted working hours on your local authority website. Under the control of pollution act they have the power to control noise from construction sites. It mostly applies to noise heard at boundaries and the hours vary in different boroughs. Working in general is not permitted Sundays, on Saturdays it is usually 8-1pm, but can vary in different boroughs.

Do note that if you have a complaint, depending on your borough it may be extremely hard to actually have any action taken if work is carried out outside the hours. My borough only take action if a breach has occurred over a certain amount of days, so I would have to tolerate the nuisance for ages before anything is done.

So DIY should just stop when most people have the free time to do stuff round the house? ... Yeah you're being unreasonable

Presumably people who work full time should never do DIY?

Our council website is clear - Sat until 1pm only and none on Sundays.

Assuming it's not the only council in the country that says that, suggest check your local councils website OP as might be similar?

Simple things like letting neighbours know in advance, letting then know how long it might go on for, accomodating reasonable requests etc can really help prevent tit for tat noise and escalating disputes.

It's reasonable to be fed up of your neighbors haven't even had the courtesy to speak to you about it.

The council can day whatever they like, it isn't a legal requirement! People are allowed to use their homes as they see fit, within reason. I would say diy is a normal noise, just like children playing, music practice and all the other things people try to complain about.

it is shaking the building

I think I'd want a full structural survey if some DIY caused the entire building to shake.

Totally depends if it's builders or DIY. Builders usually not permitted to work after 1 on a Saturday and not at all on Sunday day. Check your council website and find out if it's your neighbours doing DIY (totally reasonable) or builders (u reasonable).

@unchienandalucia

Totally depends if it's builders or DIY. Builders usually not permitted to work after 1 on a Saturday and not at all on Sunday day. Check your council website and find out if it's your neighbours doing DIY (totally reasonable) or builders (u reasonable).

Ours (central London says the same)

We take a more lenient view of DIY (depending on the scale and nature of the work) than commercial work carried
out by paid contractors, and do permit DIY activities to
take place beyond the normal contractor’s hours (8am
to 6pm Monday to Friday and 8am -1pm on Saturdays). This takes account of householders working alone or with limited help who may have far less time to carry out home improvements than a paid contractor and the Council recognises this.

Generally, it is acceptable for householders to undertake noisy DIY work between from 8am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and between 10am and 4pm on Sundays and Bank holidays.

If they stop at 1pm, they're totally entitled to have workmen in on a Saturday.
And if they're knocking down internal walls the work is going to go on for a lot longer than 4 days.

I find it strange it’s a “not after” time on Sat, and not a “not before”. Surely it’s a lie in that people are after?

It’s a lark’s world I guess

I had someone in putting up shelves between 6 and 9pm last Tuesday. It's taken weeks to get hold of him to do the work. My neighbours were OK about it - having received my apologies. The alternative would have been Saturday morning if he hadn't done the work then. YABU.

I recommend you move to Germany which has strict rules about these things, including noisy gardening and housework. On a Sunday you aren't even supposed to hoover as its too noisy...

Unfortunately they permit work from 6am on weekdays which will give you something to complain about!

@GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing

I find it strange it’s a “not after” time on Sat, and not a “not before”. Surely it’s a lie in that people are after?

Maybe Saturday morning is seen as time to get housework and other jobs done, then afternoon is relaxing or entertaining time when you wouldn't want work noise? That's how it is for us and most people I know.

It could be worse.
I've had my new neighbours renovating the house next door since 20th November, including weekends, usually 6 or 7 days a week. It's a nightmare.
They have no respect, they start before 8 on a weekday and work late on Sunday. I'm trying to work from home and have lost income because of the noise.
It is only a 3 bed terraced house (no extension just a renovation), I can't think why it is so loud and why it is taking so long.
And the dickhead threw a smoke detector in a skip in the front garden on a Friday afternoon, this was just before the one (and only) weekend he decided not to work. The detector was activated by the rain and rang on Friday from 16.30 to Monday morning, I called the estate agent twice who said that they'd spoken to the owner, and he claimed the noise was not coming from his house. Both the police and firebregade were called by neighbours, and came out to the property at midnight on Friday. The police said it is not their job to go through rubbish to find the smoke detector. Then the dickhead turned up on Monday morning and told my neighbour that 'It couldn't have been that bad because someone would have gone through the rubbish in his skip to find it and disconnect the battery.' Seriously, like it's our job to wade through the crap in his (full) skip, he's a gaslighting narcissist. Sorry, I just need to vent!

Because they have been at it since Wednesday so I assumed it was workmen and they would be off at weekend
Probably better to crack on and get it finished rather than stop and start.

Would 8pm-11pm Monday-Friday suit better?

I’ll let my class know that I won’t be in next time I need to decorate, as apparently I can’t do it at the weekend. I’m certain their parents will be absolutely fine with that.