noisy neighbours - advice please!

[bbish]

Hi all,

Just wanted some impartial advice really...

We moved into our house about 6 months ago. Occasionally I work from home in the week days, and noticed that every day, from about 2-5pm, for anything from 1-3 hours, there's drum/band practice coming from a house accross the road. You can hear it clearly in our living room, above all TV/music noise. Not REALLY noisy, but you can hear it... clearly.

I am going on maternity leave (for the first time) in about 1.5 months, so am going to be home a lot more in the days, and am worried that it's going to drive me MAD! Not to mention it's a bit embaarrassing if you invite soemone round for tea and there's drums in the background the whole time...

I was thinking of going round and asking them to either a) practice somewhere else if it's a band or b) practice with those noise mufflers you can get for drums.

What do you think? Am I wrong to want them to be quiet? I wouldn't mind if it was once or twice a week, but every day! Do you think it's ok to go and have a word (with the mum or someone probably?)

I am a bit scared to go round but otherwise I think it will eat away at me!

Thanks for advice,

B

Well I don't really see how it's embarrassing
You could perhaps go over to say when the baby arrives could they possibly buy those muffler things but they may say no. Tricky.
Tbh if it happens every day your baby won't know the difference & it's better IMO for babies to get used to some noise.
Good luck!

I don't think you can really say anything.

Why would you be embarassed if you had friends round?

I used to live opposite a primary school. At breaktime and lunchtime it was really really noisy. I just got used to it. PArt of life living in such a tiny over-populated country I think.

I don't think you can say anything, especially if they are across the road. Not like they are next door. Plus if you sugest they either do a) or b) it sounds like you are giving them orders. Atleast it's at a decent time and not late at night. I would leave well alone else you will be on a bad foot from the start and that wont be good. People have their own lives to live.

My son has a drum lesson from 5.30 - 6.30pm a couple of times a week, in fact he's having one now. It's not that noisy.

Yes, you could try and ask your neighbours over the road to go practice somewhere else and they will laugh in your face and tell you to get lost.

Of course if it really bothers you that much you could offer to buy mufflers for the drums. But they're practicing mid afternoon (entirely reasonable), not first thing in the morning or last thing at night. If you said they were practicing from 8-10pm or starting at 6am then I might think you had a point .

they are doing it at very reasonable times, not early morning or late night so I'ld be grateful that they were considerate, sounds like its more to do with your sensitivity to noise than their output, which is your problem not theirs!

p.s. where else? are you offering your living room?

Sounds like they are being considerate about when they practice as even night workers would generally be up by then. I think you would have to get used to it.

Are you round the corner from me? there's a young lad over the back from me and he and his band are lucky I haven't shoved the drumsticks up their arse.

My next door neighbour does this sometimes. I ignore it if it's at a reasonable time, I go round and rant if it's at 6am though!

They are under an obligation to keep noise to a minimum where it is reasonably practicable for them to do so, they don't need to use speakers and they can sound proof the room for example. I'd contact environmental health and ask them for advice and keep a diary. Environmental health will come out and record the levels of the noise, then issue an abatement notice if it's necessary. It's very annoying and they should soundproof the room if they are making a lot of noise. I feel very sorry for the people living next door to them though. If you can hear it from the other side of the road then it's going to be far worse for them. You don't have to put up with it. They are not being considerate, it's still noise pollution no matter what time of the day.

I think you are being a bit precious to be honest! As long as they are doing it at a reasonable time of day I don't think you can complain about it. Maybe if you offered to buy the muffler or pay for them to hire a practice room!!! I can hear traffic from the main road in my house, sometimes it's louder than the tv if it's only on quietly, I jus get on with it! To be honest, once you are on maternity leave and hearing it every day, I doubt if you will even notice it after a couple of weeks!

IT IS DURING THE DAY !!! LIKE OK IF 2A.M. TILL 5A.M. >COMPLAIN ! MEANWHILE, GET OFF YOUR MUSTANG

Well, I literally can't hear the TV when the "group" near me are practising, I had to block the chimney as the noise was coming down the chimney

We bought ds3 a set of drums with the following rules. Midweek playing after school is fine but only until 5.30 when the neighbours come home from work. Saturday mornings ok as long as its not continuous and nothing on a Sunday.

One neighbour mentioned hearing them but before she could complain I jumped in and told her the rules we had imposed out of consideration for the neighbours.

I think your neighbour is being pretty reasonable.

We almost bough a house once, then we just casually strolled by and there was a live band playing next door!!!!
We asked and were told it never bothers us......yeah right!! I would have gone mad!
We have a neighbour now that plays a piano and i quite like to hear a h
Bit of tinkling...his direct neighbour hates it!!

Not sure you can complain if its over the road.....Council maybe? Maybe stand outside with screaming infant at 3 am to get revenge???