Neighbour complaining about drum practice

[Cleanermaidcook]

First, I know that drums are loud and not everyone enjoys them but does my neighbour have a point here or do I ignore.

Ds 14 is a drummer. He practices on his acoustic kit 3 afternoons a week between 4 and 5pm for a maximum of 30 minutes.

He practices on a Sunday afternoon at 3pm for 30 minutes. Neighbour is not in at this time on a Sunday.

The kit is in the room furthest away from the neighbours house. He uses dampeners on his drums to reduce the noise but I accept that they are still loud. He closes all windows and doors before he starts.

He's grade 6 so not a kid banging tunelessly.

Neighbour has said any drum noise is unacceptable and he needs to practice out of the house. He does twice a week.

I tried to ask her to talk about it and could we arrange a set time when she is out walking her dog but she just facepalmed me and shouted at me that she's not discussing it.

We've always got on ok, I don't want to fall out but I don't want to stop him either. I can't afford to soundproof a room but am open to other suggestions

If she complains to the council will it be upheld?

(Donning hard hat for having a drummer)

I hate, hate, hate noise and particularly this type, as soon as you hear it start you know you're in for a session.

BUT it is not unreasonable. I'd never complain if my neighbour was doing the amount you say, just grit my teeth and bare it or if on a useful schedule like you go walk the dog or do the shopping.

The council will do nothing about this level of noise.

If you were feeling petty you could get the drill and garden shredder out to disguise the noise 🤣

It sounds amazing to you, it wouldn't to me and drumming is way louder than cutting the grass. We have someone near us who drums, fortunately we aren't that close but if I'm walking past I feel so sorry for their neighbours. It honestly causes me pain it's so loud.

That he's proficient won't cut any mustard with someone that flat out doesn't like drumming. And if it's always the same time of day on the same days of the week, the predictable anticipation of the annoyance can sometimes make it worse.

If you live in a semi or terrace it's definitely unreasonable. If your house is detached from this neighbour, see what else can be done to dampen the sound - acoustic foam tiles on the practice room walls?

Whether the council upholds the complaint or not, you're going to have to declare this as a dispute in the event of a sale. Thankfully it's an easily explainable one.

I'd absolutely hate it. A neighbour with a drum kit would make me cry.

BUT, I'd totally co-operate with letting the neighbour know when I'm out, so that he can practice then. In fact I'd love that kind of arrangement. I'd even happily deliberately go out at certain times if we could build some kind of practice timetable around it.

I can't understand why the neighbour doesn't do that. If she walks her dog for half an hour a day, sharing those times would surely solve her problem?

We have a teenage drummer 3 houses away from us, I absolutely love it! The young lad near me is pretty good, obviously when practicing plays certain parts over and over, but I thoroughly enjoy listening to him. An hour and a half spread over a week doesn’t seem unreasonable at all, keep up the practice.

Tbh I think anyone having a drum kit at home without full soundproofing is really unreasonable. Horrid noise and horrid vibrations too.
You say he practices outside the house a few times a week. I'm afraid I think he should only practice outside the house unless you completely soundproof the house and damped down the vibrations too.
Really antisocial hobby.

Do you know anyone with bagpipes you could borrow and let your neighbour see them being brought into the house?

Ultimately it doesn't matter what anyone thinks. 30 mins drum practice per day during daytime hours will not be seen as noise polution/anti-social behaviour.

The noise of drilling absolutely goes right through me but I would never dream about complaining about my neighbour's DIY (next door was a do-er upper).

I'd prefer a teenage drummer next door to one who had no purpose in life and was hanging round the streets smoking weed.

Just ignore her. Those hours are not antisocial and it’s not for a long time.

I don't think you're unreasonable OP. I think your neighbour is for not attempting to compromise with times she is out but complaining anyway.

Buy her some noise cancelling Bluetooth headphones 😂

I'm learning to play the drums and use an electric kit with headphones

Very selfish unless you live in a detached house.

She may well go to the council to get it stopped.

To play acoustic drums in the house which is not detached is a trial for your neighbours. Mind you piano practice in a house would be the same. I think as long as it’s set times you can agree with your neighbour on and it doesn’t go on too long that is reasonable. The problem is communicating with your neighbour and discussing it. I don’t think she’d have any grounds for complaint to the council because you appear to being reasonable and keeping the noise within limits

The council will do Diddly Squat as it is not anti-social. If it was for hours and hours at a time or at 3am in the morning then yes, they would probably act.

But definitely not for half an hour a day in the afternoon/early evening.

nc fail :-)

Here is some useful government guidance on the law around noise.. www.gov.uk/guidance/noise-nuisances-how-councils-deal-with-complaints

You are definitely not being selfish, unreasonable or anything else you’ve been accused of, OP.

In actual fact, YOU are also entitled to “ quiet enjoyment” of your house, which means not being harassed by your neighbour.

Noise complaints aren’t simply about whether someone doesn’t like the noise you’re making; they have to be at a certain decibel, for a certain duration, and between certain hours to constitute an actual issue.

Drumming for 30 minutes before 9pm, even daily, doesn’t constitute a nuisance.
Let your neighbour carry out her threats - you’ve tried to mitigate as reasonably as you can, so if she wants to take it further, she can.

He does not need an acoustic kit, he needs a good electric kit and decent headphones. My drummer passed grade 8 with distinction on an electric kit. She lives and breathes drums and expects to take her drumming to degree level and into her career. I think your neighbours are perfectly reasonable. No way would I let her play an acoustic kit without a fully soundproofed room, it’s completely intrusive and unecessary,

Drums can be very noisy. Our next door neighbour plays the drums. We can hear them in our house with our windows closed, and we live in a detached house.

But, from the sound of it you’ve tried to talk to your neighbour about what times would suit her and she’s refused to discuss that.
So as long as your DS isn’t playing at unsociable hours or for excessive periods of time, I don’t think you’re being unreasonable.

You have been entirely reasonable and she has been nothing but rude. Continue to do as you are doing. Or as he is doing rather.

You’re being very reasonable but I do sympathise with your neighbour. I live in a detached house. The neighbours 4 houses away (also detached house) have a teenage son who plays the drums. Even though it’s always done at a reasonable time of day, noise that loud is awful. You can hear it from inside my house. Your neighbour just has to put up with it.

That would drive me mad three times a week. I know someone who had her garage sound proofed.

I use headphones with brown noise to deal with it.

I'm massively sensitive to neighbour noise and can get very upset by it, but even I think that's reasonable. I think the key things are it is a) predicable (no nasty surprises) b) not too long at one time and c) not too early or too late. What you've described sounds fine. I mean, I wouldn't love it but I'd recognise it isn't unreasonable.

My ds plays bagpipes! He mainly uses his chanter in the house but does use his pipes at set times for 15 minutes at a time, mainly after school when the neighbours are out or busy. He never uses them in the evenings when their kids are going to bed or early in the mornings.

Give and take.

Our neighbour is obsessed with power washing his patio, I'm surprised he hasn't worn it away by now, and a couple of hours of listening to that on a Sunday afternoon is way more annoying that 15 minutes of bagpipes 3 times a week.