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?

There's kids playing in a garden and then there's kids screaming non stop.

Bollocks. Hearing their radio, tv, socialising all day every day from lunch until 10pm?? No, that’s not normal or acceptable. Imagine if everyone lived like that!

We have been outside all day and the only noises we have heard are kids playing, people playing tennis in the park, etc. no music. No parties. And thank fuck!

I'm very fortunate. My neighbours are all pretty elderly and therefore we have almost zero noise. Although next door have a dog that barks a fair bit if it's in the garden.

I can live with that far more easily than I could do with music blaring out or kids screaming.

The trouble is, one person’s loud is another person’s normal. My neighbour doesn’t tolerate any noise at all and it has ruined all enjoyment of my garden as I’m too on edge due to him.

Loud parenting is the worst. I hate it so much. People should get fined for loud parenting. The neighbours behind me (who are absolute c about their trees) do loud parenting beyond belief. IS IT YELLOW? IS IT RED? IS IT GREEN? IS IT BLUE? IS IT YELLOW? WELL DONE IT IS RED. CAN YOU KICK THE BALL, KICK THE BALL, KICK THE BALL, KICK THE BALL, WELL DONE YOU KICKED THE BALL, DADDY KICK THE BALL, WELL DONE DADDY, DO YOU WANT TO GO ON THE SWING? GO ON THE SWOING, GO ON THWE SWING. WELL DONE YOU ARE ON THE SWING. GOOD SWINGING, THE BEST SWINGING, YOU ARE AMAZING AT SWINGING, BETTER THAN DADDY AT SWINGING (I should hope so...) At full fucking volume. Unfortunately they also loud scream at their kids which negates their happy parenting front. Once during one of the later lockdowns, the Dad asked his son repeatedly what he should do next. WHAT SHOULD DADDY DO NOW? WHAT SHOULD DADDY DO? TELL DADDY WHAT TO DO, SHOULD DADDY KICK THE BALL? To which one of my favourite nearby neighbours responded DADDY SHOULD SHUT THE FUCK UP? Genius and it worked.

The ones at the side do loud gardening... she yells at him to do stuff in an insufferably pedantic way, he yells back about doing it. We don't know her name but we know his as she yells it so often when he fucks up her directions. It's mildly entertaining.

I just want to sit and hear the new blackbird (hilariously all over the place but very committed) whilst downing a wine or a G&T.

OH NO, Not the folk music. Anything but that.

We have screamers next door. I actually call it the scream Olympics. One day during a play date, the parents joined in... Two grown arsed women screaming alongside their 4 and 2 year old children. No idea why. I would not have allowed my two children to have screamed like that anywhere. And so when the screamers start I play my music to drown them out. Fuck that shit.

Yes, loud music has also got a lot worse since everyone has portable speakers and Alexa etc…Have been listening to next door shouting at Alexa all day with no signs of stopping any time soon. Watching tv at double the normal volume just to drown some of it out. I’m definitely no longer cut out for living in an urban area.

Not normal here, though there’s a party going on a few doors down but that’s not usual.

One side we rarely hear in the garden unless he’s composing in his studio with the door open.

Other side is very occasional friend round or occasional mowing.

It’s a very quiet street. In inner London.

Sounds wonderful! Can I move next door? I’m quiet, promise. 😂

I think you can ask the kids knock off the noise midweek, and they quit blasting music while mowing the lawn, but the rest of it sounds within normal behaviour -

I wouldn’t like it either but you happen to be next to a bunch of sociable extroverts.

There are a lot of new earplug designs out, so explore those..

Otherwise, the only answer is to move

It’s not all day everyday, it’s at the weekends

Plus midweek noise when they’re kids entertain.

My point still stands: weekends are when most folk socialise and relax in their gardens. the neighbours are irritating and antisocial.

Made me laugh - think that sums it up perfectly! I think my issue is my dog likes to be outside a lot and he likes me to be with him.... otherwise I'd just avoid the garden when people are doing their extrovert sociable thing.

I agree

Agreed!

I used to love where I live, it was calm and peaceful. Now it's next door's constant music, FaceTimes, hot tub and kid squealing; non stop dogs howling and barking; constant power tools; idling/fixing cars and off road bikes at unsocial hours. It's noisy here from 4am until midnight and I've had enough. I can't sit in my garden anymore and I very often have to close the back door, even on hot days like this.

Your neighbours sound obnoxious and inconsiderate. I don't call those noises normal. Everybody has the right to enjoy their garden in peace - no idea why people think they can inflict their noise on others. The occasional outdoor party is fine but music doesn't have to blast across everybody else's garden - volume can go down as well as up.

You must live in my street! NDN chases the kid until it squeals, then the dad squeals, then the grandparents come over and everyone is running around squealing and hysterically laughing at themselves squealing. When they take a breath, it’s to do the loud performance parenting.

I’ve said this before on here and I’ll say it again. We need extrovert housing developments and introvert housing developments. Extroverts like me can obviously invite introvert friends round but if I visit them I have to sign an agreement and can be forcibly evicted like the quiet carriage.
I’m semi joking but it would solve a lot of problems.

They sound like my neighbours. I like hearing people enjoy themselves though so it doesn't bother me.

Normal neighbour noise is one thing but when you can hear someone's music, from inside your house with the windows closed but they're not your neighbour and you can't even see into their garden (and they're possibly on a different street), I'd hazard a guess the music is unreasonably loud.

It's become normal to play music on massive speakers better suited to commercial premises.

I like my neighbours, but recently we have had beautiful weather and they have their grandchildren in the garden. The kids scream ALL THE TIME. I have the back door and the windows closed and it is still as loud as if they were in the next room. 😫

Looking forward to the kids going back to school here tomorrow.

That’s terrible parenting

This thread absolutely confirms my decision to offer on a house that has no neighbours. For miles. I like it quiet!

My neighbours play music, have friends round, cut their grass, talk, splash in a paddling pool. All of which I don't mind, I don't mind their music and means I can put mine on too.

There are usually several cats (sometimes mine) having a face off in the gardens, I can hear the other neighbours motorbike and dog barking sometimes even late at night but it's never relentless.

I also live next to a small park where all the kids from the estate play including mine and I can hear the high school bell which goes off several times a day.

Right now in my garden there are 4 children being noisy, not screaming but just being loud. I will definitely not be telling them to keep it down, they are having fun.

We sometimes have a BBQ with music, last year I did have a party with several friends and a hot tub but it was pretty much over by 9. This year I'm getting another hot tub but just for family use for a bit. I'm sure I would be the neighbour from hell because of the hot tub and the kids but the kids are in by 7/8pm and I can't see me and my husband being in the hot tub past 10pm, earlier on a weekday and it is only for a week.

I think a lot of noise is give and take, some things might be annoying but as long as it's not constant and every day and at some ridiculous hour then we just need to learn to deal with it.