what would you do?

[babyonboard]

hi..just looking for a little advice
we have a fireplace shop below our flat, which was there when we bought it and they have a workshop in the back yard.
they used to only do work on a thursday and friday..which was annoying but fair enough but now it is every single day
this means that directly out of our window they are drilling, using electric saws and hammering from 8 am to 7 ish every single day
i'm not sure if it is intensified as i am pregnant and a bit gnarlyy but it is starting to drive me crazy
there is absolutely no peace during these hours
my flatmate finds it a problem too as he works nights and only gets very broken sleep due to the noise, and he has now decided to move out as a result.
previous tenants have left beacuase of this too and we struggle to pay the mortgage without th extra rent coming in
i have asked them to limit the hours as before but they said no, its because business has improved and they are very busy, but we are in a residential area and i'm sure i'm not the only person who is annoyed by this.
i want to go to the council and report them for noise pollution but am not sure if i am being unreeasonable, or if i'd actually have a case against them
please advise!..it feels like we are living on a building site and may be forced to move..

I do think the earlier suggestion of renting to someone who works f/t might be the best long-term option tho'

she has taken the details, and will be checking their license..she didn't say much, but promised to call back within the hour

We lived in a flat above a shop undergoing repairs, when we complained to the council they made them only make noise between the hours of 8am and 6pm monday to friday and 10-5 on a friday.
They said this was as far as they could go as the shop were there first and had a right to execute their trade...

good luck, hope you get some good news, you could do without the stress i should think.

the issue of renting out the room is only a minor annoyance to add to it..
it's mainly myself being diven crazy by it that bothers me, and the thought that we may be forced into moving just because of it

Have to say I tend to veer towards MH's POV too...

If they've got permission to run a business I would imagine it not restricted to certain days of the week.

Hmm..well just heard back from environmental health and they have a license to operate as a retail and workshop during stated business hours which are 7am to 7pm..
so there isn't much we can do
she said if i could get neighbours onside we could form a case to appeal the license and restrict hours, but this is london! no one will be interested I'm sure.
also, as some of you mentioned, it is limited to 'reasonable levels of noise' so they said we could have an investigator come round so i will discuss with dp.
i don't want to cause a fuss..even though it is truly affecting our way of life, and as one of you said, i wouldnt want to ruin their business..i just wish they would agree to limit the times/days etc..at least let us have a lie in and peace and quiet on weekends!
i'm being driven truly crazy by this..as stuck at home with pregnancy related ailments..
ah well
may be a good thing if it gives us a kick up the ass to move to a nicer place..

You could try keeping a diary as well

If you want to sell up and move then remember that if you are in a dispute with the business over noise you will have to fess up to potential purchasers, but if they ask you about noise from downstairs you will have to anyway.

I'm surprised they have permission for noisy work 7 days a week. I would have thought Saturday post 12.00 noon and all day Sunday would be off limits.

Well we probably won't sell if we move, as the market is bad at the moment so it will work out better finacially to rent this place out ans pay mortgage and some towards our rent with the proceeeds. but of course, that would be a worry as we would have to tell potential tenats about the noise. i guess if they work then it would barely bother them

babyonboard - you say 'stated business hours'. Do you mean that they have a specific licence allowing them to operate between 7 am and 7 pm making that level of noise?

I would be very surprised if this is true. Does the Council know exactly what they do and where and how long they do it?

To me, business hours are 9 am to 5.30 pm ish.

they said, that the license staes the business can operate between those hours, but as they are mainly a retail premises I wondered that too. semms fairly silly aswell, as who would shop for a new fireplace at 7am?
I got the impression they didn't have too much interest in my enquiry which would be fully inline with our experience from the rest of our local council
i.e we havn't had a bin for 6 months, and only two out of 10 flats in our building do, and we have placed many orders for a new one without success, resulting in us recieving four (disputed of course!)fines, for dumping waste.grr

Go for the investigator then. I know I couldn't live with that level of continuous noise.

I would think that the Council really doesn't know exactly how the business is conducted.

Just called agin whilst noise outside was in ful swing and they couldn't believe how loud it was..so we are now having an officer come round to monitor
just hope it doesn't cause any probalems with the shop owners as we have to live with them..