To think that if you have noisy unnecessary building works done, you lose the right to object to noise made by your neighbours?

[CrispieCake]

Inspired by another thread. AIBU to think that if you subject your neighbours to months of disruption and misery in their own homes so that you can have a bigger kitchen or loft conversion (and particularly if you move elsewhere so you're not disturbed), then it's open season on you as far as noise is concerned from then on? You lose your right to object to your neighbours' babies crying, kids screaming, pool parties, garden raves, essentially any lawful use of their property from then onwards. And if you try to complain to them, they're fully justified in laughing incredulously, shutting the door in your face and inviting 20 5 year olds round to go wild in the paddling pool.

I know I'm not BU on this but interested to know what others think.

It is not always so someone can have a nice house. Like I said in a PP, some people have work done to accommodate disabilities. And sometimes it is vital repair work. In both of those cases, the residents did live elsewhere (one was even funded by the council). Their homes were inhabitable at the time the work was being done.

How do you manage when work is carried out in the street? Lots of drilling and concrete breaking... and you also have the added nuisance of not being able to park outside etc. However you manage with that, apply to your neighbours having work done. Easy.

Maybe pay for your neighbours to rent an Airbnb during the worst of the noise so they're not subjected to it

lol, don't be absurd. Building work is generally in daylight hours. Unless the builders were working 10pm-4am this is ridiculous.

My neighbours had building work lasting 7 months. That doesn't give me free rein to be a twat about noise in general.

It's their home. Subject to planning, they are able to do whatever they like to it. It's part of living in a built up area, tolerating neighbours' building noise. Allowing my own family to be as noisy as they like in some sort of tit for tat scenario is ridiculous.

@PreferMyAnimals . It's funny how some people think consideration is a one-way street.

A lot of people would also be out at work then anyway.

OP are you being hypothetical?

Did your neighbour have literal years of building work and then complain about drumming at 10am on a Saturday?

Not everyone works out of the home. What about those working from home or new mothers on mat leave?

Well it's not the brightest thing to do is it? It just means that they will also feel that they have free reign to continue to make lots of noise.

OP is saying they want to play a loud recording of building works on repeat just to annoy their neighbour

The phrase 'drinking poison and hoping the other person dies' comes to mind

How do they manage when there is road works outside their house?

Well, you'd only put it on when you went out 😂.

I hope you enjoyed the peace and quiet 😉.

No, it was shit. Living in temporary accommodation with a child during the school holidays was awful. We could only afford a1 bedroom place so it was crowded.

Maybe your neighbours would have as well.

Our neighbours were very understanding. They were pleased to see a family buy the house that had stood empty for 4 years. They're happy to see it lived in and updated.
Our builders were very considerate but we also spoke to the neighbours regularly to check it wasn't too disruptive.

They also understand that building work is part of life if you have neighbours

By consoling themselves that they will be finished in a few days or (if you live in our area), they might be there for months but the council won't have anyone working on them so it'll be dead quiet.

Not everyone works out of the home. What about those working from home or new mothers on mat leave?

What about them? And I say that as someone who WFH regularly.
You can't stop people doing building work because people might be WFH.

I’m not sure anyone has the right to object to babies crying in the first place!

I agree, though. Neighbours negotiate unwritten rules about living alongside each other. If someone plays the radio loudly throughout the summer, for example, it’s very silly to come round and complain when their neighbour does the same.

I had 12 weeks of works 5 years ago. I've lived here quietly minding my own business ever since. Newly grateful my neighbours aren't psychotic.

Sometimes it's nice to be petty.

Totally agree. Sometimes I’m magnanimous, sometimes I’m petty. I like to surprise people.

That's quite reasonable though, assuming it was carried out at considerate hours.

Petty can be very therapeutic.

Well, you'd have to do a tally of all the previous noise made by both sets of people.

If your household made, say, no noise whatsoever until their building work started, you could have a free pass for the exact amount of time their building work was noisy.

So you'd have to have been keeping a record of the exact amount of hours and minutes, to make it fair.

If, however, you'd made any noise prior to their building work starting, you'd have to reduce your allotment of 'noisy time'.

Equally, if they had been making more-than-usual noise outwith the building works noise, you'd be able to add more time to your allowance.

This is the only way I can see it being 'fair'. And obviously you'd never be able to do any building works yourself, because the whole thing would begin again.

Far better to not be an idiot about it, I'd say. Just In Case.

@SerenityNowSerenityNow . But maybe people should be able to stop them?

Why is it ok to ruin your neighbours' lives for months just because you want a bigger home?

There's a balance to be struck here - the neighbours' right to peaceful enjoyment of their properties against your right to improve yours.

At the moment, the law/planning peocess seems to balance that in favour of home improvements. Maybe the balance is wrong and, at the very least, some sort of compensation should be payable to neighbours.

But renovations go quicker if the house is empty! If they stay, the noise and dust goes on for far longer as the builders have to work around the people and possessions left in the home.

You are so far beyond reasonable, reasonable is a dot to you.

So again I'll ask. How are people supposed to do home improvements? What do you suggest?

I'm our case it wasn't an extension. We bought a house that had had nothing done to it in over 40 years and the work that been done was cheap and poor quality. It required a full renovation to be habitable. What would you have done?

Again, some people have improvements to their home to accommodate disabilities. I know a few people that have done just that. And some people need repairs done.

All building work is regulated and only carried out in certain hours. So you could be noisy in retaliation, but it can also only be during certain hours. Otherwise, your neighbour is well within their right to put in a complaint.

Do your improvements if you like but then keep your mouth shut about Arabella's terrible violin playing and the live band in the garden for her dad's 50th. They might be annoying, but they come nowhere near the inconvenience of having the ceiling crack due to the vibrations from your building work. That's what I'm suggesting.