Elderly neighbour v house renovation

[shazwee]

I've inherited a house which had tons of damage, needed new roof, re wire, concrete base new ceilings etc..basically almost has to rebuild, semi detached dormer bungalow. House has been empty for many years. Some things have been done since March, new roof etc..elderly single lady next door is not coping well with the noise of the workmen. It's been difficult as I don't have a massive pot of money to put it right so relying on family and friends etc trying to keep noise to minimum at weekends ( although this is really only the time hubby and I can spare to do bits) I have sent flowers to neighbour, kept her informed etc..gave her some doors etc she wanted , basically I have tried to be as accommodating as possible. Yesterday the plasterer was in and she came round complaining its was a holiday and didn't want to noise ( she is round every time a trade is there complaining about noise) I dont know what else I can do. There is possibility months more of noise to come, plumbers, patio to be laid, new kitchen the list is endless...Yesterday she asked us to tell her everytime noise is going to be made...impossible for us as we're not always there and cannot ask workmen to do so...what can I do, I don't want to fall out but I can't see a way forward..she has had silence from the house for years. I didn't think a plasterer would make any noise 🤔 please help MN friends x

id give a end date and apoligise say what needs doing and hope it don’t take to long

It must be very difficult for her. I think she should at least get some respite at weekends. Can you offer to pay for something that would make her life easier e.g. earplugs, white noise machine, National Trust membership so that she can get out of the house?

If the plaster is too much noise, how will she cope when people actually move in and use vacuums, TV's washing machine. I'd make sure the work is done in the allowed times according to the council and just get on with it. The sooner it's done the better.

Hope they're not bringing the Kanga in to take up a concrete floor (like we might be doing right now 🫣)

Unfortunately she needs to suck it up.
If she had workmen digging up the road outside her house they wouldn't stop because she doesn't like it, would they?
She should be happy that the house is being renovated. In its current state being a semi, it could be causing issues for her house as well

Working on a bank holiday or at weekends (after 1pm on a Saturday) is really inconsiderate, especially as the work is going on in the week too. When builders are listening to the radio, above the noise of building it is really stressful day after day. And the shouting above the radio and the building noise is awful.

As PP have said, plastering can be very noisy. It's not just applying plaster to a wall. They use power tools to remove old plaster, mix new, and putting up new boards uses nail guns which make a horrible sudden noise. Not to mention, there's often a radio playing loudly, shouting etc.

I think you were unreasonable to have work done on a bank holiday. I'd leave Sundays clear as well. As soon as you know when work is going to be done, I'd let her know.

Maybe you could get/offer to get her some noise cancelling headphones so she can watch TV or listen to music or radio while work is going on?

I've been on the receiving end (noisy neighbour) and the giving end (building work) of noise problems, it can really cause significant stress. Whatever you can do to lessen the impact on her while still making progress, you should.

It's an 'elderly' neighbour. I very much doubt Bank Holidays, or weekends for that matter, are of any significance to them - unless they've got family round!

What a horrible, ageist comment this is!

So if she has family round, it would be okay to not want noise on a bank holiday, but no family = fuck off because you're a lonely old person. What a twatty thing to say.

Most councils don't allow noisy building works after 1pm on a Saturday, on a Sunday or a bank holiday. Here are the rules from Greenwich council for example.

https://www.royalgreenwich.gov.uk/info/200205/pollution_and_noise/654/noise_from_building_works

She can get a noise abatement order from the council easily. You need to stop making a noise during restricted times.

There is possibility months more of noise to come

And how long has it being going on for so far? If she is suffering daily noise, simply because it’s being dragged out due to lack of funds, I can understand why she’s annoyed. Months of noise with no respite is torturous. Having trades in even on a bank holiday is quite inconsiderate in any case.

https://metro.co.uk/2021/04/05/can-builders-work-on-bank-holidays-what-time-can-they-start-14355983/#:~:text=Builders%20and%20other%20contractors%20cannot,on%20Sundays%20and%20bank%20holidays.

No she doesn't need to "suck it up".

Many councils don't allow you to make noise doing DIY outside specific hours.

Like this one for example:

As long as you're sticking to the local council rules, you can ignore her. If you lived near me though, it sounds like you're breaking them as ours are:

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Saturday, 8am to 1pm
Sunday and Bank Holidays, no noisy works allowed - such as power tools

So yes, she needs to 'suck up' work between the permitted council hours, and is completely reasonable to object to power tools outside of those hours. Not her problem that you're trying to do it on the cheap at weekends.

I don't think you can really work the weekends if you've got workmen making noise all week. That sounds really unfair and would drive me to distraction.

@AllyCart snap!

This! Just carry on as you are OP.

Could you offer to do some little bits for her eg cut her grass or give a n hour to her garden. She might appreciate the help and not feel so hard done by.
Definitely focus on the fact that living beside a derelict house is awful..rats/ squatters etc so she can feel things are improving.

You shouldn’t do any thing that causes noise on a Saturday afternoons or Sunday or bank holidays. She has a right to complain about that.

God the ageism on MN is repugnant.

There was no need to even mention the neighbour's age, it would suffice to whinge that the neighbour was pissed off that you're having work done on a bank holiday.

She was right to be pissed off. As has been said.

Whilst it's no fun for her, I'm not sure what else you can do. If the house needs renovations, it needs renovations. Unless she'd like to pay for it all to be done at once, it is what it is. Surely if you stop work at weekends it will just drag on longer.

While those hours of no building sounds good in theory…won’t that just make the work go on for a much longer time? It’s a little hard to fit a bunch of work into 5 hours on a Saturday if they are relying on people who have jobs to help with the work.

They are a legal requirement. If the OP can't afford to do the house up then she should consider selling it as it is. A big job like this needs professionals.

We have had this on and off for years with neighbours and a building behind us.
I'm afraid I regularly lose it when builders and 'mates' are doing stuff on weekends and Bank holidays. It's anti social and illegal after certain times. Just rude!

Offer to direct her to the purchasing pages of some white noise headphones while the work is going on, but make it clear that the work needs to go on and that isn't negotiable.