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

Having a plasterer round on a bank holiday is very inconsiderate.

As long as they remember to pay capital gain tax of course.

Working on a bank holiday or at weekends (after 1pm on a Saturday) is really inconsiderate

lol at everyone saying something similar to the above. That weekend/holiday law definitely belongs in the archaic bin together with my house covenants of not boiling soap, digging for clay or emptying night soils in the garden.

I'd support the law if it went with the times and included the holiday noise from feral kids, weekend gardening and loud all-day music fests. I love to get the breaker drill out on a Sunday to drown out the nuisances whilst getting something of use done.

Unfortunately people don't want weekend silence - they just want their neighbours to be quiet.

Similarly massive project going on next to me at the moment, six days a week. It doesn't hugely affect me as we're up early most of the week anyway but even when it's not "noisy" work they're still clattering about in a echoing shell and yes, it's pretty disruptive. BUT the progress is reassuringly fast (professional builders) , the owners are at pains to be friendly and there are no radios or loud talking - that makes a big difference.

The people across the road had trades in for a couple of days last week and that was worse because they were working in the street and making impossibly loud phone calls and conversation all day.

If the neighbour has been living next to an empty house she will have been lucky to have years of silence, there's no way you can continue that. It's unreasonable to expect a house that needs it not to be renovated.

I wonder if there's an alternative. The neighbour is being oversensitive but in a way it's probably not about the noise. It's about the change, fear of unknown, lack of control. She probably needs to feel listened to and acknowledged. I would try asking is there something in particular that the noise interrupts or even just have the "you must feel you had a lovely quiet spot before we came along" talk.

I don't know if I'm being very clear but sometimes it can defuse a situation to tease out the underlying problem which is probably being cross and lonely with only a TV and next doors banging for company.

@NotMeNoNo Yes, exactly. I think that's an important point - it's much, much easier to tolerate noise when it doesn't feel like it's coming from an enemy! If your only contact with someone is their bloody incessant noise and you feel utterly powerless, it's a very different phenomenon from your lovely neighbours making a bit of a racket while they do a few bits... Not that the OP can necessarily do much, if the underlying problem is a general sense of frustration or fear or helplessness - but that sort of empathetic approach can't do any harm!

Interesting perspective, I can’t see myself doing that nor do I know anyone who has. At 60, I know plenty of people who have sold properties that belonged to elderly relatives

It is miserable living next to building work. It was incredibly inconsiderate to do work on Sundays and Bank Holidays. The only thing that keeps one sane when neighbours are doing building work is the knowledge that there will be these handful of days when there will be peace and quiet.

Her age is irrelevant.

I did it. The £35k profit to made came in very handy.

It made, damn it, not to made!

well, I started out with an elderly neighbour like this, accommodating, wine and flowers...She soon started harassing my builders, made the whole thing into a hobby, shouted at us and builders for making noise every single day. Builders handled it amazingly, but I got upset. Basically told her I would call the police if this continued, that I had every right to be building, and building work creates noise obviously, within the legal hours, and suggested her to go find another hobby and take up some aquatic swimming lessons. My mad look did the trick, she stopped. We made peace at some point later on, wine again, what can you do...

Wow so many judgemental people on here...for context and to explain that I am not contradicting myself the friends and family working on the house are self employed professional tradesmen who are fitting us in to speed things up. I rang 8 plasterers a few weeks back earliest start was September! Finally a friend said they would fit us in btw jobs, hence working bank hols..feels like a I can't do right for doing wrong. This is also extremely stressful & upsetting for me, this was the house my mum spent her final days. It has huge sentimental attachment and I am mortified at the state of it when I finally got access in December. We are planning to move in myself, husband & 2 school aged kids and 2 dogs...so yes lots more "living noise to come". Not living there yet as no kitchen no bathroom no ceilings. No walls. The works me and hubby have been doing on weekends are the gardens, ripping out rotten doors skirting boards etc..no power tools used. We obviously want great neighbour relationships and have been as accommodating as possible. Thank you for those that have been understanding, as for thr prat that said I sound like her neighbours...Read my post properly 😀

OP, don’t worry hun, in a year this will all be forgotten, and you will be enjoying your new home. Try not to stress, it is very difficult to see the end, but it does come and it is worth it. The weekend work sounds entirely reasonable, probably people using lawn mowers on a weekend are doing more noise than you.

We ve inherited many properties and have always sold once updated and in tiptop condition.
It really isn’t unusual

Plasterers make a lot of noise if they need to hack off old plaster prior to skimming the walls.

It sounds like a really tricky situation from both sides. Did you neighbour know your mum well?

I’d suggest popping round with cake and flowers, tell her you’re really sorry about the disruptions and exactly how sentimental the project is and how much it means to you.

From the neighbour’s POV it must be an absolute pain to have so much disruption going on and it’s going to be worse over the next few months as it will be warmer and she’ll need windows open (dust/noise) and might want to be out in her garden.

I think you need to ask her what you can do to mitigate the inconvenience and schedule in some days/weekends ‘off’. It doesn’t sound like you’ll be able to complete the project any time soon so an extra few days without work being done isn’t going to make much difference.

It's really inconsiderate of you to have months and months of noisy work being done with no prior warning or discussion with her about the effects it would have on her.
You should be able to make sure the tradesmen are as considerate as possible and noisy work scheduled in advance with respite days.
It is totally unacceptable to have work being done 7 days a week and on public holidays.

For the sake of neighbourly relations you should go round and apologise and confirm with her that no work will be carried out other than 9-5 on working weekdays.

If you can't afford to do it within normal working hours then perhaps you shouldn't have taken it on!

justgettingthroughtheday......another judgemental person that has not read my post in full...she had been kept informed at every point, she came and seen the house inside yesterday to see for herself...have you tried to get tradesmen in last minute, do you have an endless bag of cash...? I have apologised as much as I can, many many times...noisy work is kept btw 8 and 5 !!

Funnily enough I have regular tradesmen in renovating my own home. And no I make god damned sure that it's not everyday that there is work going on and noise is kept to the minimum. I keep the neighbours informed of who is coming and when. I've not had a single complaint.
Does it mean the work ends up being slower - yes it does. But it's worth it in the end for good neighbourly relations.
There is nothing worse than noisy inconsiderate neighbours!

@PatAndMat

I know exactly what I am talking about after over 35 years working in the industry…..Thankyou

So why are various councils saying you can't do noisy DIY at all hours, then?

Thankyou. [sic]

The OP can’t win with her neighbor or the helpful posters in this thread.

Her choices are
A- Have constant work (aside from the plasterer) during normal work times and the overall length of work is short

• Assuming the perfect storm of cash and available trades people

B- spread the work out to give the neighbor a break and lengthen the overall time to complete.

The other helpful suggestions for selling a perfectly good inheritance house is not even an option that deserves to be entertained by the OP. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that nobody has ever sold a home just so they don’t annoy their neighbors. That is ridiculous.

I would try to keep her informed with a text or note and try to keep noisy work to office hours.

I have every sympathy for you OP. You can't do right for doing wrong. It's hard getting trades at present and as I said, if one is available I just grab the opportunity. You can't leave the property to deteriorate further, so need to crack on. I think, unfortunately, your next door neighbour is just going to complain no matter what.

OP you've nothing to apologize for. It's not inconsiderate to repair your own house.
Your neighbour must have had some idea of the condition the house was in, so the renovations surely can't be a total surprise to her...

The Op has everything to apologise for! She is having work done 7 days a week on a house with absolutely no regard for the neighbours.

To go from nothing to 7 days a week full on noise for the neighbour is probably close to torturous!

It is completely reasonable to expect that noisy work only be carried out during regular working hours!