Building Work next door

[Witsend23]

I have a 12 week old baby. Our neighbours are doing a loft conversion. When I found out, I asked the neighbour and their project manager to come to an arrangement about working hours by email. They ignored me.

They harassed my party wall surveyor , who in turn kept bothering me for a response when my baby was days old.

I now have a 12 week old baby and tonight the builders finished at gone 7. Having started at 8. My garden is covered in nails and sawdust. It’s in all my window boxes.

I’m at my wits end, I can’t sleep during the day, I have to push her around town all day to get her to sleep. She screams in the house because she hates the noise and won’t sleep. Pushing her all day makes me physically exhausted. I’m mentally exhausted because I can’t sleep during the day and have broken sleep at night. I can’t go on like this it’s breaking me mentally and physically. I then have to sweep up their contractor’s mess and clean out my pond (which is full of sawdust) when I’m on my last legs. I can’t get the sawdust out of it my window boxes. I have dogs who walk the sawdust in the house and I don’t want them injuring themselves on the nails so I can’t leave it. I don’t have anywhere to go during the day for the dogs respite/sleep.

They could saw inside and use a hoover attachment or wrap the scaffold. They refuse to do so.

It’s not for me to clear up their mess and the project manager said he’s not prepared to do anything as he’s on holiday!

I’ve contacted the council about the working hours, but I just really want a sanity check that I’m not being unreasonable as the builders and project manager are making me feel like I am!

You are absolutely not being unreasonable. I sympathise, we had something similar when my son was born although it doesn't sound as extreme as this. We've basically fallen out with the neighbours now (mainly over the mess in our garden).

I'm so sorry. Can you stay somewhere to get some sleep for a bit? I know you shouldn't have to but it might save your sanity?

You're absolutely NOT being unreasonable. That sounds unbearable. I would be complaining to the council on a daily basis.

Op is this your first baby? Just asking as it might not be the noise upsetting your baby it might just be that she won’t sleep a lot, some babies are like that. And also, I mean this kindly and not to upset you but they need to get the work done, they’re being paid, they can’t work around a sleeping baby. It’s just life it’s not great or fair but I don’t think you’re going to have much luck with them. Can you take the baby over a relative or friends house? How long is the work going on for?

I totally get the noise thing and that I can’t control them working during the day. It’s the fact that:-

1. they’re working til 7pm having started at 8am. Most planning permissions have conditions during which contractors can work. I can’t see one in theirs, which is why I’ve contacted the council to see if it’s a council wide thing. I’ve also contacted our party wall surveyor as the award limits noise until 5.30 pm. I don’t think their works are party wall relevant but I thought it was worth a shotS
2. they’re making a mess of my garden during their works. Why should I clear up their mess when there are things that they could do to mitigate the mess to stop it landing in my garden?

She’s screaming bc she’s tired-she’s asleep by the time I get to the top of my road.

I don’t have anywhere to go during the day hence aimlessly walking around town.

it’s going on until the end of June. Im
hoping that most of the noisy works won’t be going on all that time!

Do you have family or close friends nearby?

Babies can sleep through anything if they get used to it.

I did a DIY project with 4 month old twins and they slept through very loud drills taking walls down!

After that they slept much better through loud noises!

With my first son I was too focused on keeping naps quiet! Wish I'd been more noisy with him.

Yes it's annoying but it isn't forever.

I'm guessing if you can hear their noise that they can hear your baby crying at night?

Just put some music on and do your best to ignore it. You can sleep 7pm once they stop perhaps?

No they’re not living there at the moment so they can’t hear her cry.

No friends or family nearby.

I know how awful this is. We had a similar thing next door and it nearly drove me insane. The neighbours didn't give a shit and refused to do anything to make it easier on us. We all hate each other now. Luckily they have their house on the market so at least we will have rid of the CFs soon.

My ASd Dd never slept through anything as a baby. Slightest thing woke her up.

The longer they work, the quicker it will be finished OP.

Have you a partner who could clean up the garden and walk the dogs?

Young babies naturally sleep through noise, your not meant to tip toe around them. I doubt very much doubt it's the workmen stopping her from sleeping. Some babies are just naturally harder to settle. I think this is probably a case of you're an exhausted new mum and the neighbours noise is tipping you over the edge. It would annoy anybody, it's just particularly challenging because you've got a new baby. They need to work obviously though so there's not much you can do other than request work stops earlier

Should the neighbours stop work on their home so your baby can nap? What are you proposing as a workaround ?

@PonyPatter44
*
You're absolutely NOT being unreasonable. That sounds unbearable. I would be complaining to the council on a daily basis.*

What would you complain about ?

This sounds awful! You might have already tried it but if not might be worth trying a white noise machine? We had a week of a digger outside my 5 months old bedroom and I just turned up the white noise machine and she slept through it all.

Hope things improve for you soon.

Nightmare! The reason you have a PW surveyor (at their expense) is to stop things like this happening and to fight your corner. Get them to sort it out. The mess etc is not on - nor working til 7pm.

In our area, building work can happen from 8am-6pm weekdays and then 9-1 on Saturdays. Nothing on Sunday or Bank Holidays.

That they stick to the council enforced times for construction like considerate builders? Wrap their scaffold/saw inside/stop dropping their cr@p in my garden.

The council have confirmed tonight they’re in breach so they also agree inbu.

Ear defenders for you and baby

For context our builders went and washed our neighbours cars when they got dusty, cleaned up after themselves every night, did all sawing etc in the contained back yard or indoors and worked 8-4:30 90% plus of the days they were on site. It’s pretty unneighbourly to move yourself out to avoid the disruption then have your builders work outside agreed hours

I am fully aware that building hours are recommended to be between 8-6 so if they are working gone past 7pm they are technically in breach however that still doesn't solve the issue with your baby not being able to sleep .
Let's assume that the builders confine and stop working at 6pm - you would still be left in the exact same situation which is why I initially asked what are you proposing? I'm not meaning to come across rude , I am genuinely interested in what solution you have which will help both you and the baby get some sleep and your neighbours have their building work done.

I’ve already said i accept the noise during the day. I want them to crack on during the permitted hours. Today I came home at 5 expecting them to be done for the day (see below). I’ve then had 2hours of banging sawing drilling radio blaring. It was the same yesterday.

The letter from the project manager when they started on site said they’d be working 8.30-4.30, which would have been acceptable albeit annoying.

My point is the cr@p everywhere which I have to clear up when I’m exhausted. Last week a plank of wood fell off the scaffold into our garden. If I’d been out there, or the dogs, one of us could have been injured. The builders/neighbours/project manager don’t care and I’m tired and fed up with it. It’s completely avoidable by doing it inside, or wrapping the scaffolding. It’s hard enough staying on top of the house inside with a baby, without the dogs walking sawdust in, cleaning out the pond and sweeping up every evening. It’s not my job- I don’t benefit from the build and I’ve got more than a full time job looking after a baby on my own.

I'm having the same issue with my baby and building noise nextdoor, he just cannot get the sleep he needs because of the noise, shouting, machinery etc and he's tired and grouchy 😞 Its horrendous.

This does sound awful, and I can hear the sleep desperation in your post.

Do y ou have anyone you could go stay with for a week or two? To get a break from it? This is the sort of thing that can drive you crazy at the best of time, and unfrotunately into PND too.