Quiet neighbours now making noise.

[OpalBird]

My neighbours talked to us about the noise coming from our property. OK, my son has a hobby that does make an annoying noise. Since then we have made sure he's doing it less but we obviously aren't going to stop him completely. They haven't said anything since and I think we've been considerate in reducing the number of hours our son does his thing.

It seems like they've now decided that they are allowed to make more noise. We've been neighbours for years and they've always been quiet. Now we get occasional music or radio in their backyard. When I asked them about it they said they have always worn headphones to be considerate but they don't really like listening that way, so they thought it was fair they got to have their hobbies the way they enjoy them best as well.

Would I be unreasonable to complain to them again? There is a difference between children playing and music when they have the option of headphones.

This is a wind-up, or the OP is so entitled that her precious son annoying the neighbours is absolutely fine.

Ha ha, good for them, I'd do the same, but with the music on full blast. Watch out that they don't move out and you actually get genuine neighbours from hell in their place, karma's a bitch 🤣

This is a joke right?!!!

I did move house for this exact reason! It was unbearable.

Can't he play basketball at the park?

4 times a day at 30 min each is 2 hours over the day. I would def take the music over the basketball. I can totally understand your neighbours being frustrated if your son used to play basket ball for 4 hours a day.

It's actually right next to it but I work during school hours anyway. During holidays I just deal with it.

Haven't RTFT. You sound entitled, and your neighbour now making noise is karma. YABU, suck it up. I'd rather listen to music then the thudding of Bball any day!

Just seen your update about the only concreted area being by their house - you seriously need to find another space for it then. What about driveway? Add a paved an area at the bottom of the garden with rubber type surface then he can bounce all day!

trouble with asking what is reasonable, is very subjective and you can’t expect your neighbour to answer that unless they want a row (which given how quiet and tolerant they’ve been to date, they clearly don’t). Personally, after 10/15 minutes of constant bounce bounce bounce I’d start to get really pissed off if I was in my garden or sitting indoors with the windows open.

Good try op 😂

In the real world the solution would be to get off your butt and take your child to a park where he can play basketball

You're being so obtuse it's funny. If a bit of radio is so awful whilst you work, how do you work whilst your son is thudding constantly with his ball? I can't believe that a radio is more disturbing than a basketball.

wtf with the siblings sitting in silence remark?! I don’t t get what you’re getting at there.

how is asking if he has siblings a nasty thought? Please write down whatever your projections are

I’m team neighbour.
I had a neighbour like you who didn’t care much about the impact of their noise, so we also took the ‘can’t beat them, join them’ attitude.
Being the neighbour in your situation I know how irritating it is to hear repetitive loud sounds that you can’t cope with, as the neighbour you start to resent being courteous to them. Our neighbour told us to ‘live and let live’, so we do! We live like we don’t have a neighbour too. It actually helps with the stress of it, we often drown the noise out with music that we enjoy.
Funnily enough they don’t like us doing that either. We were meant to stay in our box and be the quiet neighbour for them, because I think they think only their feelings matter.

How old is your son? If 11 or older, surely he can go to a local basketball court?

This.

You're lucky they aren't complaining to the council. Op is very very selfish allowing her child to do this multiple hours a day.

Also bringing child up to be entitled.

Go to the park, pay for child to go to training properly.

You will also be upsetting other neighbours. When kids play out front with theirs it reverberates through about 6 other houses.

So you can’t tolerate radio for an hour but you can put up with a bouncing ball?

We've got our son down to no more than three or four times a day now, so it's not excessive
It is. Also from the neighbours point of view, they don't know when it's going to start so there is the anxious feeling of anticipation of the noise but they don't know when ( I've had this with a previous neighbour and his noise)

What does seem odd to me is that they've suddenly decided to be tit for tat and use that expression. To me that's very childish. But I'm also surprised you asked them about it tbh. They are just listening to music!
They have decided to give up wearing headphones to listen to the radio in their own home. That's reasonable, not tit for tat.
But both need to grow up and just do your thing!
How does the neighbour need to grow up?

I suspect the music is going on to either try and drown out your noise or because they have stopped trying to be considerate on the basis you are not being remotely considerate towards them. You should be apologising not asking them to turn their radio off!

The sound of a basketball repeatedly slamming on the ground/wall would drive me mad. You need to change where he’s doing it if possible.

People on Mumsnet are so odd about normal noise. I WFH two days a week and currently we have a building site next door and ongoing water pipe replacement works on our road. I just crack on, it's not the end of the world as we do need water pipes that don't leak and houses to live in.

Pave an area as far away from their house as you can get and let him play there.

You can improve things if you choose to.

My house is an L shape. The paved area is is that indent bit. That bit has their fence along it which, obviously, their house is on the other side of. That is the only place to put the hoop. I can't put it on the roof.

I would suggest one session per day, an hour max.

have you looked into alternative options? A local park, sports camps, etc? The idea of having to listen to a basketball bouncing three times a day all summer is torture tbh.

Sorry, just seen he's 13

This has to be a joke.

No one who can hold a down a job can be seriously this self unaware. 🤷‍♀️