To confront my neighbours

[neighbourhoodhell]

So, would love opinions on how to deal with this situation.

Neighbours moved in 3 or so months ago and when they moved in, I went over to introduce myself and say hello and welcome etc etc. They seemed friendly and apologised about the upcoming work they will be having done, asked if I WFH to which I said yes, hybrid but majority at home.

For the past 3 months, every single day there has been drilling, hammering, shouting etc that has been pretty unbearable however, I have just let it slide and put my headphones in... I should also add that the work starts at around 7am and finishes about 9pm... and goes on over the weekend on both Saturday and Sunday!

Last weekend we got a card through the door apologising and saying thanks for the patience etc, and that they were nearly half way through... I thought oh god another 3 months of this hell, but again thought they are doing what they need to do, keep shtum and say thanks for the note.

Until today.... my whole house is shaking, the noise is unbearable and my colleagues and clients can no longer actually hear me on calls (with or without headphones) and no matter what room I work in, it is the same! I had a peep in and it looks like they are completely knocking down walls and building a brand new kitchen

SO WIBU to go round and ask for clarity on what work happens on what day so I can plan accordingly and let them know I can no longer WFH because of them... or should I just grin and bear and try and go into the office more (although this costs me £50 a day...!)

Lol, and OP completely ignored the comments in her subsequent second post. Too embarrassed to acknowledge the cock up I assume!

Had similar with neighbours. WFH. Surprised your clients and colleagues can't hear you with headphones in. Do you have the kind that go over your ears fully and with a mouthpiece? If not definitely get some. Even when my house was shaking and it was as loud as you say your works were the other day I could hear and be heard on calls. The system should adjust for background noise if you have your settings sorted.

The crazy loud work around knocking out walls is probably done now. It's lovely and quiet next door now and they are really nice people.

No work can happen on a Sunday and I’m sure no work can happen at 9 pm . That’s absurd.
fies thus work touch your property at all ? Is there any walls shared ?

Why on earth does it cost you £50 a day to use the office? Is it a spectacularly long commute? Most bus/train fares are not much more than a fiver each way.

People are allowed to remodel their homes. My friends house has been undergoing building works since last November, 6 days a week. If you work from home full time and cant work with the noise then its the library or coffee shop. None of us has a an absolute right to no noise.

Is there a "rent a desk" space near you?
We have a converted barn near us that does this for a few pounds a day.

I would nicely ask what the noisy work left is and plan accordingly. I would guess there can't be much more. If they're half way through the later parts will be the plastering, plumbing, electrics rather than the demolition! At least they put a card through. They might we'll be upset at the disruption their build is causing and where possible it's best not to fall out with neighbours.----

Clearly what you & I would discuss with others regarding issues arising from the massive disruption to daily life & misinformation about works planned differ greatly @Blowdown
I would bring up all that I have added to my comments & though I wouldn’t expect compensation the conversation would be had because it needs to be had.

Yes I would bring up loss of earnings & costs incurred due to the works going on for so many hours a day & every day of the week.

The new neighbours need to be made aware of the detrimental effects their works are having on OP’s life & OP’s ability to WFH. The new neighbours literally asked about WFH when they 1st discussed the works they were having done at the house with OP.

Hypothetical & extreme situation but … imagine if OP’s employer lets them go due to the works interfering with their ability to do their job!
Would you be happy if discussed ‘minor’ renovation works turned into a whole internal rebuild next door to your house &, in an extreme situation, left you jobless?

Half a year of being unable to do your job properly at home due to noise, that you could possibly rein in with a conversation with the new neighbours, & being unable to come into work on extra noisy days because you either can’t afford to get there or there are no hot desks to book onto last minute is not a problem an employer is going to let slide!

The issue is that even if the out of hours work stops OP still has the issue of working hours and there is no entitlement to quiet in that time. Can ask about scheduling the loudest work so days in the office can be chosen. Guessing house is not detached so was bound ro happen at some point. Also guessing house has had a quiet older couple or people out during the day or been vacant and now it's being used. People tend to integrate unused spaces into the idea of their space and then get disturbed when the property comes back into use. That is a massive guess but I wonder why things have been so peaceful until now if the properties are so linked. For long term FT work from home I would suggest sound proofing. It isn't reasonable to expect neighbours to facilitate a working environment in their home

100% - it’s like people complaining about colleague’s kids/pets whatever disturbing meetings. No, you are holding the meeting in their home. If you work from a place that isn’t a workplace, you won’t have workplace conditions.

People’s homes are not the workplace! If you need an office environment and quiet office conditions to effectively do your job, the employer should provide an office! Legal building works carried out by neighbours are proper use of a home - commercial activity is not!

I't interesting that you are denying that you want to confront your neighbours, despite that being in the title, and having absolutely no problem being aggressive with someone who alludes to this. I think you may have forgotten what you've written. Always best to check before you go in all gung ho.

I suggest you are taking your understandable frustration on the wrong person, and really need to address it before you damage relationships in RL with your misplaced anger.

You can ask for a schedule but the likelihood is it will end up changing so it’s worth bearing that in mind. We’re renovating and were meant to be finished 2 months ago (there’s been lots of tears). A combination of surprise issues and the builder having other jobs booked in means we’re still not finished.

Check your council’s guidance on noisy work as those hours seem too long. The Pollution Act gives them statutory powers around noise pollution and they can decide how to enforce these.

It’s normally 7.30/8 - 5.30/6 on weekday plus a half day/no work on Saturday. My area it’s 8-6 then 9-2 on Saturday but only applies to professionals. DIY is classified as a separate noise source, with different guidance around being considerate. It’s worth noting noisy work is stuff like drilling, hammering, sawing and not the general noise of humans working so shouting or playing the radio isn’t restricted to these hours.

We’ve had a nightmare with our next door neighbour so have ended up just doing what we think is right and fair, we can’t cease all work to give her the total silence she wants as the house has been untouched for 40+ years and was literally falling apart when we got the keys. I’ve had abuse and personal insults screamed at me in the street, a barrage of abusive texts if we are doing any work when she’s in a bad mood, etc.

Our builders work 9-4.30 on weekdays, going up to 6 for time bound work (e.g. using a machine on hire that has to be returned) and we do DIY on one weekend day, keeping noisy builder work to the half day allowed on Saturday. It’s also worth checking what the noise is if it’s not clear - I had abusive texts about our “selfish illegal noisy work” on a Sunday afternoon and I was hoovering.

I used to work nights, so would need to sleep in the day. My neighbours were getting major works done and apologised . I kindly asked if it would be possible to start no earlier than 8, just so I can get to sleep cause once I'm asleep I'm dead to the world, and if the work needs to start sooner could they let me know so I can sleep somewhere else 😅. This arrangement worked really well and was only woken up once when they were drilling into the wall we share. There's no harm in asking for a schedule, they seem like nice reasonable neighbours

YANBU op but be prepared for an I don’t know.

I had this experience with a new neighbour when my baby was just a few weeks old. He didn’t say he was getting a full redevelopment of his 2bed semi and when asked for info to allow me to plan (with a 6week old baby)was told he wasn’t a developer and didn’t know. It lasted months and months and then he had an extension built a year later and his garden landscaped after that.

I'm.pretty certain it's against the law to carry out noisy work on a Sunday

I get what you are saying but with more & more people working from home, covid gave some the flexibility they had been asking for for years, many have paid a premium to change their mortgages & home insurances etc so they can work from home, because legally you have to do that at a point.

Building works should ‘ideally’ not start before 8am & this article, https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/What_hours_are_construction_sites_allowed_to_operate%3F , was a good read for permitted works ideas OP could take to the new neighbours.

At the end of the day OP has been more than accommodating, the new neighbours are now taking the piss saying the work will take about her 3months - I’m wondering if new neighbours knew the ball park length of the build beforehand but chose to water down the plans to keep neighbours sweet & get the go ahead -, the works are being done in a residential area not in the middle of nowhere so noisy building work 14hrs a day, seven days a week is really not on.

Would you be happy being unable to relax or even think straight in your own home between the hours of 7am & 9pm 7 days a week due to the building noise?
I certainly wouldn’t & I can assure you the new neighbours wouldn’t either 😬

On the subject of compensation @Blowdown many building firms compensate those living within a certain radius of their ongoing works.
These are big companies but it isn’t something new, unheard of or compensation grabbing either.
There is a load of new housing, 30 houses in total so not massive but big enough ti create a lot of mess & dust around the site, being built at the top end of my town & everyone within a mile radius is getting money towards gas & electricity bills as they are unable to dry clothes outside due to the dust from the building works & fortnightly window cleans have been scheduled while the work is ongoing. They will also receive compensation at the end of the build for the inconvenience & any out of pocket expenses incurred due to the works.

@Blowdown I can tell from your reactions you have know matter and don't know the process, I am not even going to stoop to your level anymore. I will not be answering you again

Why do people think 3/6 months is unrealistic? A renovation can easily take a year. New builds getting thrown up have massive teams of labourers you can't compare it, the process is completely different.

I get what you are saying but with more & more people working from home, covid gave some the flexibility they had been asking for for years, many have paid a premium to change their mortgages & home insurances etc so they can work from home, because legally you have to do that at a point.

It depends on what you do and who your insurance is with as to whether you have to tell them. My contents insurance is with Direct Line and as I don't have work visitors or hold stock here I don't need to notify them. I've no idea about the buildings insurance as that's arranged by the freeholder and I can't remember who it's with right now.

Read the title of your thread ‘should I confront my neighbours’.

I am having my home renovated soon. Do you think I should go and ask my neighbours when my builders are allowed to do the work on my house? Allowing for naps and SAHWs? Really?

I don't think it's realistic and the latter jobs such as plastering and the like will be a lot quieter. It's swings and roundabouts isn't it definitely around here, loads of people having work done as no one wants to move. I've never complained to anyone else and I wouldn't be that receptive to others complaining unless we did something that went beyond the norm and in which case I would apologise and rectify. "It's noisy in the day" isn't really within that remit

I've never complained to anyone else and I wouldn't be that receptive to others complaining unless we did something that went beyond the norm and in which case I would apologise and rectify. "It's noisy in the day" isn't really within that remit

I've only ever complained once and we actually got an apology - I think the arseholes were covering themselves in case I complained to their company as they were doing noisy work outside permitted hours for their mate and their vans were parked outside. Otherwise it's a case of live and let live - DH has done a lot of work on our house, although he only did noisy work between 9 and 4 to be considerate.

They knocked in to tell us the work was happening and they then had the luxury of living somewhere else whilst the work was done.

They do sound totally inconsiderate @Tigger1895 but to be fair to them, living elsewhere during big renovation works isn't a luxury - it would have taken much longer had they remained living on site, which isn't in your best interest either. We're looking at doing the same during our planned renovations and it will cost us a LOT, but it would be a nightmare staying on site and cause a lot of inconvenience to the builders and considerably hamper progress.

They still sound like stinkers, but that part isn't unreasonable.