Neighbour’s building work

[Frannyhy]

My neighbours want to improve their home which I have no problem with. After insisting on a party wall agreement, I’ve been sent the documentation.

This states that the work can’t start earlier than two months from the date of the letter unless I agree in writing. I won’t do this. Saving them money means I lose money, due to the fact I work at home. I can’t do this with construction noise going on.

All they can think of is that they might have to wait longer if their builders start another project and return later in the year. However, this timing would be more convenient for me.

AIBU

Surely if your business is reliant on a quiet space then you should be renting a space?

Actually you know what, I thought YABU until you said you have clients visiting your home. Let’s say you do massages where clients expect peace and quiet.

surely they know you’ve got this business? Whilst OF COURSE they can have work done on their house, if it were me and you were my neighbour I would try to find a resolution. I would offer to pay to rent a space for you whilst the work goes on, or try to negotiate something with the builders to accommodate eg half days, 3 days a week, whatever. Try to work around you taking holiday. Anything to help!

I think you’re being super awkward and you better cross your fingers you never need them to be helpful to you in future.

Are you a dominatrix? 🤔

🤣🤣
If that’s the case the clients may like a bit of background construction noise … drilling and the like!!

If I was I’d tie them up and blindfold them, and leave them with the noise as punishment.

Does your business insurance cover disruption to home working environment?

My new neighbours were extending their house but had to knock down half of the length of their garage to make room. They asked we sign a party wall agreement as our garages are semi detached, we did so saving them money for solicitors fees. The work went on for months through the summer, builders with radios blaring all the time, noise and dust from construction. They then hard some work on their garden and put in a fence ( we have a hedge on the boundary) and strung cables for electric and telephone all the way to the end of the garden so husband could use a shed as a home office. It looked bloody ugly. Then their gardener made a bonfire close to our hedge and burnt a 3 ftx 6 ft hole in it. Not one word of apology! Favours are not always repaid unfortunately.

They’re going to hate you.

My neighbour had a difficult attitude like you during our building works. She showed her true colours and showed herself up no end- for being passive aggressive seemingly jealous and rude, with multiple trades people and immediate neighbours.

Just be careful before you are so difficult, and sour things. You never know what help you may need from them, or any related trades people if you are ‘that person’

Its temporary

Best thread I’ve read in ages as it’s been massively validating.

Our neighbour has been awful for 20 years, proper rude, dogs barking awful.
She's cost us a bomb with her party wall agreement, like we are building some complicated experimental engineering project rather than a standard extension on a standard detached plot.

She is old and getting older and there will be no quarter given in years to come if she runs into difficulties.

We've just finished the structural work renovating a completely, derelict house. DH and I lived in a caravan in the garden. We both WFH and had client calls/meetings to host etc, so I can understand the constant disruption and noise. I used to text the neighbours either side if I knew it was going to be a noisy day/noisy delivery.

One of the more annoying things was the workmen's radios! One day I realised there were 5, different radios blaring from in and outside the house! I cracked and said no more. That would be 1 thing I'd be asking your neighbours to ensure- NO radios.

Depending on the nature of your business, if massage, beauty etc could the client wear ear phones with relaxing music being played? Obviously not an option if you are a counselling though.

The noise will be the same whether there is a party wall or they build a few cm away from the boundary. With the party wall you at roast get the future benefit of building off that too.

having worked from home throughout my own extension build, using decent headphones helped, and I made sure I had prior warning of days where walls where being knocked out (that was the noisiest). I also gave the builders dates and times where I had super important meetings.

between myself and neighbours we’ve all had building work done over the last 10 years. I see it as scratch my back and I will scratch yours.

Given this update I can understand why you’re upset. I have to admit your earlier posts just made it sound like you were being difficult. I’m not sure what the answer is as it’s a difficult one for both sides. Are the neighbours aware that you have clients coming to your home and that is why you are asking for a delay?

We recently did some work on our house. Our neighbours were lovely about it and we bought them a huge hamper of lovely things when we were done. Never underestimate the long term value of being a good neighbour.

You have to think it through, for example if you say no they can't start for two months they can then start at any point after two months have passed so it might be another time which is less convenient. Also if you ever need work doing then good luck getting anything signed in return. Chances are the builders need to start a bit sooner and it's your right, but somewhat unreasonable to delay

I said this on another thread: I practically lived with builders when they did substantial work on my house (new roof fully rewired, heating system and so on). I finished writing a book in that 18 months.

If you want to focus on your work, you can. And you set up Zoom/Teams so that background noise doesn’t intervene.

YABU.

Your neighbours bought a HOME next to another residential HOME NOT a business! They could report you to the council for running a business from home which isn’t registered properly have you considered this?

My business is registered properly.

Take another 50mg.

How do you know it’s not properly registered?

I get it OP. Particularly if you do something that requires peace and quiet like counselling or alternative therapies. How long is the work likely to last?
I do think, however, that it might be better to get it over with because as others have said when Autumn/winter comes the work might be delayed and stop/start due to the weather.
How many clients a day are we talking?
Could you get them to agree not to do the work outwith the hours or 10-4? Then you could take clients between, say, 8-10am and 4-6pm. Or temporarily just work in the evenings? Of course it all depends on how much work you are doing.
The noise mightn’t be that bad.

I suspect you're cutting off your nose to spite your face here. If you genuinely don't have a problem with the work being done then there are huge advantages to it being done in the summer while daylight hours are longer and weather is better.

If you insist that they wait for another two months and they don't start until August (or later, as builders may have other commitments) then you are potentially looking at double the length of works - what could take a month in June could take two months in November / December. Your business will be more impacted by that.

There's never a good time to do this type of work but I think it's more considerate to try and get it done over the summer when work can more reliably get done and neighbours may be away than over Christmas when it will take longer, they'll need huge floodlights for any work in the dark, and most people want family round. Force them to wait if you like but be prepared for the rest of the neighbours to be unimpressed.

I just wonder why they booked their builders in before the Party Wall stuff was finalised. How thick is that?

Party wall stuff is a pain in the arse and ends up costing tens of thousands!