What is considered normal garden noise from your neighbours?

[Mistywalnut]

My neighbours constantly have friends around and they entertain outside on their patio which is right next to our patio. Sometimes there is lots of loud music from around lunchtime to 9-10pm at the weekend. There has been mid-week loud music when their kids entertain. I can hear it everywhere in the garden (not small) and in the house with the windows open - unavoidable as it's hot. I am the kind of person who has no issue with normal noise - i.e. friends round, having a nice time etc, the occasional (like once a month) party with loud music. As it is hot, their kitchen doors are all open - I get to "enjoy" their TV mid-afternoon, radio all morning etc. These aren't super loud but it all adds up. We have also had music blasted really loudly while they mow the lawn. I am feeling very overwhelmed with the constant noise from nextdoor. They are not friendly people and I doubt approaching them would do anything. I am also aware it could be much worse! What is "normal" for garden noise from neighbours?

I think people are just getting worse

Well I hate to say it but all of those you described just sounds like 'normal' garden noise to me

It would drive me mad and I would probably move. Saying that I was an arsey teenager in my time and depending upon whether I liked my neighbours or not, would have respected them accordingly. Every week is a bit much but I do think the weather has made outside a little more noisy - certainly has round here but I'm in a very built up family area. Moving soon to a peaceful hamlet 🤔

Not normal apart from weekend evenings in my opinion.

If you want to complain to the council then you need to start keeping a diary of the noise. If there are regularly the same people visiting and you have any suspicion of drinking and driving, the car registration.

I'm starting to think there's mainly two types of garden users. The cheeky fuckers, who make ridiculous noise. And the serial complainers, who will be annoyed by anything louder than a bird's whisper in the garden and who will be livid that their neighbours (gasp) are in the garden a lot.

And there's also a tiny sliver of population who uses their garden as normal and recognises their neighbours are also allowed to use their garden as normal.

I'm noticing a trend of complaints by people who seem to think they are entitled to detached in the countryside levels of silence in the garden, when they've bought a terraced in a residential area in a town.

Surely only King Gary would think 'music blasted really loudly while they mow the lawn' is normal garden noise?

Our neighbourhood is so quiet you can hear a pin drop. We sit outside quite a lot, but we dont have music on or talk loudly. We have friends over for the occasional BBQ and that’s as noisy as it gets and will only be for a few hours. I will never move. It’s bliss.

Yes, I am in a built up family area too and not used to it! Hence thought I'd ask. Everyone else around here seems pretty quiet - have dinner outside, hear some kids playing and 2 big parties. Neighbours were actually seeming pretty quiet until the sun came out and now it just seems lots of noise. I am guessing it is just me that needs to adapt BUT I don't hear other houses making similar noises so not sure.

Garden to my left has regularly barking dogs. Garden behind them seem to performance parent, loudest voices ever shouting all day at little Johnny not to do this or do that, or telling him how clever he is. Garden behind me very quiet. Garden to my right very quiet. Mixed bag.

One thing's definite - playing loud music in a garden with neighbours is a dick move.

Just normal noise, and some people are louder than others.

I’ve been in my garden all day today and neighbours are out both sides. The builders doing the extension to the back of me aren’t working today and the kids that live there and shriek all day long have moved out while the extension is built. It’s been bliss! So peaceful!
usually there’s either builders or shrieking kids, one sides noisy barking dog and the other side have a gym in the massive shed they’ve built and play loud thumping music while they pretend to work out - or worse, listen loudly to a podcast!

For my neighbours it’s a couple of hours a few times a week. I find that acceptable. BBQ, kids playing, friends over , garden tools, dog yapping. All fine
twice a year they have a Christmas and summer party. Again it’s a one off.

constant noise would drive me insane.

Usually I think MN is massively OTT when it comes to people using their gardens, but what you describe is a bit excessive IMO.

Around here, you can generally hear very little (and we live in a row of tiny terraces) - yes, occasionally a dog will bark, or a child will scream, but otherwise it's very quiet.

It sounds mainly like normal noise but a lot more frequent than I would consider normal. I doubt there’s much you can do unfortunately through.

I'd expect kids playing, a bit of dogs barking, people chatting in their gardens, lawn mowers. Just usual enjoying being outside noise. But I hate the ones who play loud music outside, it's rude and entitled. Do they genuinely think the noise stops at their boundary?

I feel like I should be grateful as it stops before bedtime... I don't know what to do about it - do we play our own music? I just feel it's rude to impose yourself on others. Normal noises sure but music feels optional to me...

Definitely not normal

Music in the garden has not been a problem for all my 50+ years, and now we get it regularly. I agree that people are getting worse. Just less inclined to think about how the sound carries.

If anyone is reading this, and they play music in the garden, can I beg you to stop? It's so invasive. Talking, playing, laughing, all those joyful sounds of people getting along together: great. Nice. Music just fries people's brains and their patience. Please please stop!

I can hear the birds, the conversations of neighbours enjoy in a party in their garden (they’re talking about whether people have the right to walk through the streets naked, love eavesdropping), music from another garden, and businesses closing their shutters. I like the noise of gardens.

I could not agree more!

Not normal.

If if everyone did that, the neighbourhood would be awful.

We have just moved and neighbours are fine except when the grandchildren come over. They have a trampoline and a very large paddling pool, so we have none stop shrieking and shouting. Last weekend I’d had enough by 3 pm so I got out some speakers,
aimed them next door and started playing folk music, quite loudly. They went in after 5 minutes.😆

That's pretty mean.

I don’t think I was mean, I was letting them know that if they let their kids scream for hours on end then I would play loudish music.

You mean, kids playing in a garden?