Neighbours' building works affecting my mental health. How to cope?

[msfring]

Trying to type this without sounding dramatic. My neighbour has been doing building works for three weeks now. Drilling from 9am until around 6. Scaffolding up, heavy machinery. Knocking walls down that are the other side of my wall. It was OK the first couple of days, but I work from home and am starting to find it is affecting me quite significantly. I can wear ear plugs but I am finding meetings and delivering training more and more difficult. I don't have anywhere else I can work from. I've asked him how long he is going to be doing work for and the only thing he can tell me is 'the foreseeable future, possibly a few months to a year'. I am considering moving house. It is 7 days a week. I feel like I am going loopy. I'm not in love with my house but do like it here. Is it crazy considering moving into another rental just to get away from the noise? Feeling quite tearful and a bit ridiculous!

Try two neighbours on one side having extensive works for the past 10 months (not quite finished, was proposed to take 6m) when the neighbour opposite started on theirs and also predict 6months of it. I could cry from the noise all day, the dust in my house and the days I can’t even get off my f*cking drive because some tosser of a scaffolder has parked across it for 3 hours despite my asking them to move. The neighbours, all 3, have moved out into rented accommodation and are in no way impacted by it on a day to day basis. And the tradesmen couldn’t care less about impact on their clients’ neighbours, so long as they are getting the job done.

DH recently bought a flat in central London for work - it is actually a haven of peace and quiet compared to Surrey suburbs. So much so I am contemplating putting the house on the market and moving, but trying to work out how to manage my dogs/where would give me access to safe spaces to walk them.

Not very reassuring, but just to say it is bloody awful and it does affect your MH after a while. Only advice is to buckle up and be tell your neighbours every time there is something they can address.

Yeah now isn’t a good time to sell anyway let alone with a building site next door!

Yes it’s dreadful but equally it happens to most people. My neighbours (otherwise lovely) decided to do a full renovation during Covid when I was stuck at home with 3 kids under 8 and trying to work!

I would suggest-

• working elsewhere, like a local library or work hub
• joining a nice gym on a 3 month membership so you can spend time there
• some mini breaks with friends/. Family or at a cheap hotel in a nice place near to you.
• rent/ buy a small caravan then sell it on when the work is over?

I also agree you should get a break- if they went for planning permission usually they have to stop by mid-day Sat. Even if not they should be making an effort to accommodate one day a week peace. If the owner is a pain, try to establish a good relationship with the builders. I was nice to the builders next door but part of that was leaving them alone to get on for the majority of the time- then when I really needed it they were prepared to stop for a short period.

Also try not to take it personally- the owner isn’t doing it to make your life miserable and the builders are just doing their job. The alternative to people renovating is living in an area where all the houses are grubby/ falling apart which I wouldn’t like much either.

You absolutely cannot have building work done past 1m on a Saturday or at all on a Sunday without a permit from the council.

Also have you tried white noise like an air purifier or something?

We’ve had acoustic/laminate glazing put in and it has helped.

That is really hard, and I would probably react the way you are.

Honestly if you can find another rental then give notice and move, that’s totally reasonable.

They do it all day every day. Saturday and Sunday. From what I can gather he is a builder and it's him and people in his network working on it.

As others have said the council should have something to say about that.

New Forest Council for instance.

Unfortunately for the OP that isn't what quiet enjoyment means in a tenancy agreement. Quiet enjoyment is the tenant's right to live in their home without being disturbed by their landlord or people acting for their landlord, e.g. unannounced visits, harassment etc.

In addition for some reason known only to builders they feel the need to have a radio at full blare throughout the day.

I feel for you OP.

I would weigh up the cost and inconvenience of working from a shared office space against that of moving.

So the rules are different if you are doing work yourself (i.e. classed as DIY) rather than using a contractor but if it’s work that wouldn’t be classed as standard DIY work I think it’s something to speak to the council about.

It’s a difficult one because them working 7 days a week will mean the work will be done much quicker which is good for you. Having said that for your mental health it might be nice to know that come 1pm on a Saturday you can enjoy your quiet home for the rest of the weekend!

I would personally put in a complaint to the council and they might stipulate no work on Sundays.

Does your workplace have an office?

that makes me wonder even more if he's got correct permissions for this

Have you talked to your landlord about it?

I really wonder what he is up to. Okay, it might be legit, but the amount of crazy that goes on these days....

Oh, and swearing as loudly as possible even if there are children playing out in the garden!

This happened to me . I was so stressed by it that I thought I could hear him in my sleep , we would drive to the top of the multi storey car park and it was actually quieter there than in my house.
I made a video of the noise , I kept a diary for a week.
I went round and played the video to him , he was shocked , I asked him to only do this from 9 until 5 , Monday to Friday .
I asked him to tell me if I was going to take a day off so I could use my garden.I think that was when he realised he was a noisy .
I said that if he did not stick to this and work was not completed within 28 days the video would be going to the council.
Other neighbours had complained previously , I wasn't aware of this ,but he continued but the video helped.
I did get advice over the phone with the council after speaking to my neighbour, they were pleased that I had spoken to him.
I just wanted it logged incase I had to make a formal complaint.
I got some noise cancelling headphones and that helped.
He did stop after 28 days and he moved in with his mum soon after that , the house went up for sale and now we hardly hear or see our new neighbours, it is bliss.
Good luck , I did consider going to my GP to ask for anti depressants, as it drove me mad .

I sympathise, I hate loud noises when I'm at home. Do you have a local library you could work from?

Thanks all. We got a hotel for the weekend. Just for a break and so I don't snap! I'm a single mum and I need a long sleep tomorrow morning so going to let my son lay in bed with me and watch cartoons whilst I sleep.

Sadly can't work from a shared space. The work is too sensitive (think speaking to vulnerable people on the phone and typing up their case notes).

Going to forget about it until Monday so I can enjoy my weekend without dread! The house is going to take a long time. He is putting central heating in. The toilet it still outside. One of the rooms doesn't even have electricity!

Seven days a week, every week, all day for a year??

WTF are they building?

Can you not work in the office? x

They can’t legally use power tools Saturday afternoon or Sunday. Check the LA website. The worst noise is usually at the beginning. Maybe you could agree to keep some days free from noise if he is amenable?

All university libraries allow access to the public (but not all during exam periods) and some have private rooms you can go in to use.

He sounds like he’s a shit builder as he told you it will go on for “a few months to a year”. Or perhaps he was winding you up.

Complain to the council and if no joy comes from that, then move. That’s the good thing about renting - the flexibility.

Do you not think that would have already occurred to her if possible? 🙄

Our office is a 5 hour train journey away anyway so I can't work from there