To want to enjoy my garden!

[FunLovinGal]

DP and I have spent a large amount of money and effort building a tikki bar, built in BBQ and hot tub in our garden (it’s a proper one - not inflatable).

As the weather was so nice yesterday and DP’s kids were at their mums we decided to have a garden party/BBQ and invited a few of our friends round early evening.

It was so great to try out the new BBQ, hot tub, and the bar is fab - really fun and quirky decor, inspired by our holidays. Made everyone cocktails!

Only thing is, we’ve put in a new sound system, so wanted to test it. But before you criticise me, it’s not like we expect to be able to play loud music all of the time - only thinking in the afternoons and perhaps a couple of hours on Friday or Saturday nights when kids aren’t staying with us.

Anyway, at 10.30 (so not exactly middle of the night!) our neighbour came and screamed at us over the fence to turn off the music and to stop talking. We weren’t even playing it that loud at that point as had turned it down - so we could all hear each other talk over it without shouting.

She said if we don’t shut up she will call the police! FFS! We’ve only just put it in so of course we wanted to enjoy it.

I’m so angry! We’ve spent thousands and fully intend to enjoy our new outdoor space. We would not play music to the early hours but it really wasn’t that late.

AIBU to just keep using it and make sure music is off before 11? The thought of not being able to enjoy our lovely garden is heartbreaking!

The fact that you ‘feel awkward’ going round there should be telling you that you know you’re in the wrong!!
come on, op… you are being ‘that neighbour’ and you know it… and your reaction of
“it’s new and it’s mine and I’m going to do what I want to do - so there” is loud and clear.
If we’re all living close by each other, we have to try and rub along.. anything else is dickish behaviour… but I think you know this and are either pushing your luck or maybe showing off a tiny bit, as the cost of equipment is prominent in your post.
Voice, music, car noise carries a lot at night… and disturbs people.
Think again

It was 10:30 not 9:00, though children will often be in bed by 9:00. She should turn her outdoor music off because other people don't want to hear it. These aren't difficult questions.

This.
Honestly op just meet your pals in your local Wetherspoon's beer garden. If your neighbour is close enough she can talk to you over the fence it's too close for bars and sound systems in the garden.

100% this, and also the user name

A hot tub, sound system and Tiki bar? LOL

Are people actually like this in real life? I’d be mortified if I had neighbours who thought that was 1, normal and 2, even remotely aesthetically pleasing. Also why would anyone want to go and sit in a hot tub in someone else’s garden? 🤣🤮

Move OP.

we do it when the kids aren’t there just so we can have a few drinks and not have to be responsible parents for a while!

Plenty of people go to bed at 9pm on a Saturday, those who have to work the next morning... children... elderly etc.

A sound system, 8 drunken arseholes sitting in a bath in the garden next door at 10.30 on a Sat night, I'd hop the fence and drown the lot of you. Absolute gimps.

You know the perceived noise cut off is for music inside the house? You realise that the music is the same fucking level in their garden?

people accept once off parties but music on the garden is really antisocial if you’re doing it every bloody night and weekend. If your neighbours can hear it then it’s too loud FFS

Young children are definitely in bed before 9pm! It was 10:30 anyway wasn't it? Surely you don't need your music booming out offending everyone else to have a good time.

I expected some negativity about the music but WTF is wrong with a hot tub?! Every one has one these days. Your just criticising for the sake of it now 🙄

Local acoustics is what can be wrong with a hot tub & how you use it.

Quietly sitting with a partner or friend talking quietly, unlikely to bother anyone. Drinking, giggling, screeching & loud people talking over each other in the hot tub can be very intrusive to neighbours, especially if local acoustics mean it's loud when it hits your neighbours property. Some places can act like amphitheater's & magnify sound up to the higher floors, so it can be worse than you realise

Hot tub parties 🤮

And borrow a dog that's very barky.

And start doing noisy DIY on the dot of 8 or 9 or whatever time it's allowed on a Sunday.

if it’s not a problem then go and speak to your neighbours

Thing is you know (think) you're going to behave reasonably. However, your neighbours see all this "investment" & think you'll be using it all the time.

You can choose when you make noise or want quiet time. They will have no clue when your noise might occur, so the thought of it will send them screwy.

They might be on edge after months of this being built? That would have been noisy.

A sound system, 8 drunken arseholes sitting in a bath in the garden next door at 10.30 on a Sat night, I'd hop the fence and drown the lot of you. Absolute gimps

Don’t hold back 😂

My neighbours have done similar. They had all their family round to try it all out. They spent the bank holiday sanding their deck (lovely trying to enjoy my garden whilst all the sawdust floated over and the noise sounded like roadworks) then had a party. The music, the shrieking, the drunken laughter and the dog barking absolutely ruined my own chances of enjoying my my garden (that I've also spent thousands and thousands doing up). It's selfish and antisocial and I think they are dicks. I would think the same of you.

It's not about whether the neighbours have kids.

I would be fucking fuming having to listen so someone else's music all day.

You don't get to enjoy your garden at the expense of everyone else.

@11Hawkins just because some people may be in bed for any reason (which applies to many situations across all times of day and night eg night shift workers) that doesn’t mean that the normal 11pm noise legal cut-off doesn’t exist.

Your garden sounds like a chavs paradise..tiki bar? really OP could it be any less tacky?

Welcome to MN, OP. What an interesting first post.

This thread can’t be for real?

If people think that then they should report the thread.

I await the 'omg my electricity/water bill is horrendous and I don't know why!' post in a few months from the OP

Aside from that you sound like a completely nobbish nightmare neighbour

Yes she sounds just like my noisy chav neighbours.

We don’t all live on a council estate.

Playing music in your garden in a suburban area is never really ok tbh. Its really. really intrusive on other people.

Doing this at night is really anti-social.
You should only really do this as an very, very occasional one off and then with polite prior notice to your neighbours.

Kids are in bed by 9, shift workers and people like me who go to bed early - we do exist!